Activist Stanley Voice and FAF President Barbara Petersen discuss open government issues in a Palm Beach County

The Florida First Amendment Foundation (FAF) and FOGWatch have taken up the cause of Stanley Voice.  Stanley is an 89-year-old gentleman living in Palm Beach County, and  an advocate for the elderly and disabled.  His passion is improving public transportation for folks who otherwise would be unable to travel.

As part of his advocacy Stanley makes public records requests to demonstrate that things for these folks could and should be better.  Unfortunately, the political leadership of Palm Beach County has adopted a policy which requires citizens seeking access to public records to make their requests to a centralized location, regardless of where the public records are stored.  That policy is inconsistent with Florida’s Public Records Act.

Both the FAF and FOGWatch have appealed to Palm Beach County to reconsider their policy.  Below is a letter authored by Barbara Petersen, President of the FAF and arguably the preeminent scholar on open government law in Florida.