The Miami-Dade County Commission recently passed a resolution supporting an ill-conceived proposed measure in Tallahassee that would allow local governments to close the door on the Florida Government in the Sunshine Act. At a time when the public should hold the decisions of their elected officials at a premium, now is not the time to hide important information on the Internet where many constituents whom the County Commission serve cannot access it.

Florida has made great strides in making state and local government notices more accessible to the public. Allowing public notice to appear only on a government-controlled website, and not appear on the printed page, will disenfranchise many.

According to the 2009 Pew Internet & American Life project and the U.S. Census, many Americans still don't use the Internet, including 57 percent of adults over 65, 52 percent of Hispanics and 49 percent of African Americans.

As chairman of the Keep the Public Noticed Coalition, whose members include AARP Florida, the Florida State Conference NAACP, Associated Industries of Florida, the Florida Associations of Black Owned Media, La Gaceta Newspaper and others, I believe it is responsible for public notices to remain in local newspapers as well as posted on the Internet.

Florida leads the nation in home foreclosures; the need for public awareness is at an all time high. Other essential information includes notice for public budgets, public hearings, government contracts and purchases and nongovernmental entities that use public powers or institutions. Can we trust a government-sponsored website to be self regulating?

MATT MEADOWS, Lauderhill

[Mr. Meadows served in the state House of Representatives and Senate.]

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@