Public Records Settlement Hits Taxpayers Hard – Capital News Service

[Baitball Blogger]

Taxpayers will be one point three million dollars poorer after Governor Rick Scott’s office settles several public records lawsuits. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the costs have public records advocates fuming.

Behind this law office sits the home of former Governor Leroy Collins. It’s soon going to be a museum. The Attorney..Steve Andrews, supported Governor Rick Scott’s opponents. And after Scott was elected, a dispute erupted over who had rights to buy the law firm property…Andrews or the state. In requests for public records, Andrews discovered Scott had two non state email accounts used for state business. Law suits followed. This is what Andrews told us last year.

“One of the most important rights in the Florida Constitution is the right to public records. In any form. Private emails, cell phones “ said Andrews last August.

A year later, the state is settling with Andrews for 7 hundred thousand dollars. A 120,000 check was ordered by the Governor’s office on Monday. The exchange is set for 10 am Friday morning.


http://floridafaf.org/public-records-settlement-hits-taxpayers-hard-capital-news-service/

[Indydem]

1. Once again - the Hatch Act and it's state equivalents is the problem.

When you have to keep a separate cell phone, email, and landline for campaign and any personal business, and another for official business - wires are bound to get crossed.

How many times have you accidentally send a work e-mail from your personal account or vice versa?

If you have, then you'd be in violation of records laws, or the Hatch Act - depending on which way you screwed up.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. No dice.

Last edited Fri Aug 14, 2015, 01:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Florida has a huge problem with public officials crossing into the private sector. They call it public-private partnerships. Especially through the economic development departments they do not know where one line ends and the other begins. They don't know because they do not want to be burdened by the rules.

Everything in Florida is based on social networking because you can bend the rules if you can build confidence with the key people in a community. Or, if you can get in close enough, you can learn how to manipulate them through their belief systems. And believe me, when this politicos want something from you they have no compunction about lying to you in order to push your buttons.

Sometimes these things can get po-dunk stupid. I know of an employee who used their government email as a social outreach program and even emailed me to inquire about a personal health issue, like mammograms, because, you know, I'm a Latina. ????

No way did that subject have anything to do with her government job, unless her job was to develop a social relationship that her department needed for some ulterior reason.

No passes for Jeb or Rick Scott. Florida has to stop this cronyistic style of governance that is corrupt and self-serving.

[csziggy]

3. No - State officials and employees are NOT supposed to do

Campaign business while working for the public. They can do it at home, in their car, in their campaign offices. But while they are in a state funded office, they are supposed to be doing state work.