The First Amendment Foundation is warning against dangerous implications of a bill filed by state Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Lady Lake.
“Here’s the bill we’ve been warned about,” said Barbara Petersen, president of the foundation in based in Tallahassee.
She said the bill would poke holes in the Sunshine Law which forbids elected leaders from secretly communicating outside of a public meeting.
“This would allow daisy-chaining by members of a board,” Petersen said.
Daisy-chaining is when one commissioner talks with another in private. That commissioner meets with a third commissioner, who meets with a fourth commissioner. And so on, and so on, and so on until they all reach consensus prior to a posted public hearing, she said.
“To say this obliterates our right to oversee government and hold it accountable is an understatement,” Petersen said.
Baxley said the current law is too restrictive.
