Thomas, Madelynne Y

Florida Sunshine Law

Fla. Stat. sec. 119.01 et. seq.

The Florida Sunshine Law, established in 1995, is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to the public records of government bodies in Florida. Public records include all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, or means of transmission, made or received pursuant to law to ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency.  Some exemptions that are included are federal records that the federal government has designated as non-public, personal e-mails sent from or received by city employees using a government computer, some “drafts” or “notes” are also exempt.

According to the Florida Sunshine Law, any person in Florida can request public documents and a purpose does not have to be stated. Records can be used any way the person want and the law does not specify a specific response time.