Fla. open government advocates to focus on rights of speakers at public meetings

From The Republic:

ORLANDO, Fla. — Advocates of Florida's open government laws should focus on the rights of speakers to have their voices heard at public meetings and push to open up the state's process of making laws to further scrutiny, one of the state's top defenders of government transparency said Monday.

Too often in the past year citizens have been denied the right to speak at public hearings before a vote and state lawmakers have passed measures that haven't been properly vetted, said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation at a forum commemorating Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of the open government laws.

First Amendment Foundation is a member of NFOIC. — eds.