Pushing Rope: FDP, the Sunshine Law & Rick Scott

The Florida Democratic Party is accusing Gov. Rick Scott of not abiding to Florida's Sunshine laws. Eric Jotkoff, of the FDP, requested documents relating to the redistricting. Jotkoff has failed to receive any requested documents. Attorney Mark Herron sent Gov. Scott this letter. Herron informs Scott that if Jotkoff doesn't receive the document by April's Fool Day (I kid you not), the FDP will take the governor to court.

The Honorable Rick Scott

Governor

PL 05, The Capitol

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

RE: FDP Public Records Request of January 27, 2011

Dear Governor Scott:

On January 27, 2011, Eric Jotkoff, on behalf of the Florida Democratic Party (FDP), made the following request for public records:

Pursuant to Florida Statute 119.01(1), Florida Statutes, as member of the general public I am requesting that the Office of the Governor and any agency or agent acting under the direction of the Office of the Governor, as well as from the Gubernatorial transition, comply with its duty to provide access to public agency records, as afforded by Florida law pertaining to any and all of the following records related to Amendments 5 & 6 (commonly known as the Fair Districts Amendments), from November 3, 2010 to today, including the following:

- All documents including but not limited to all memos, emails, and correspondence relating to Amendments 5 & 6 including but not limited to Governor Scott’s decision to withdraw the application for preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice.

- All documents including but not limited to all memos, emails, and correspondence regarding the use of taxpayer money on efforts to obstruct, delay or prevent Amendments 5 & 6 from being implemented after nearly 63% of Floridians voted to enshrine these amendments in the Florida Constitution.

- All documents including but not limited to all memos, emails, and correspondence regarding the appointment of Secretary of State Kurt Browning including but not limited to how this appointment would affect the implementation of Amendments 5 & 6.

I request that the information I seek be provided in electronic format via an electronic file, in lieu of hard copies.

On February 15, 2011, this request for public records was also forwarded to the Department of State, in accordance with Mr. Jotkoff’s understanding of the policy of the Governor’s Office that he needed separately to request these documents from the Department of State.

As of this date, the requested public records have not been provided to Mr; Jotkoff as required by Article I, Section 24, Florida Constitution, and Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. This request for public records has been pending in your office for two months and has been pending in the Department of State for six weeks.

On behalf of Mr. Jotkoff, it is requested that these public records be made available to Mr. Jotkoff by the noon on Friday, April 1, 2011. In the event that your office and the Department of State fail to do, please be advised that the FDP will pursue legal action to obtain these public records as provided by law.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Mark Herron