An editorial in the Citrus County Chronicle says that Florida House Bill 35, a repeat of last year’s unsuccessful measure, calls for eliminating the requirement for local governments to place public notices in newspapers in favor of local governments assuming that role with their websites.
"If this measure succeeds in becoming law," the editorial argues, "it would be a huge step back into the shadows for Florida’s Sunshine Law, since the posting of public notices would no longer be widely disseminated by newspapers as an independent third party."
The paper points out: "Newspapers have diligently carried out their role as our Republic’s guardians of government transparency and accessibility for over two centuries. There is no legitimate reason for entrusting this responsibility with government, which would be tantamount to government restricting the free flow of public information."
