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Commission on Open Government Reform records, 2006-2010.
Amount:
6.50 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement:
Arranged by subject.
Restrictions:
***RESTRICTED***Boxes 8-9 are RESTRICTED BOXES containing confidential/exempt records separated from other boxes per s. 119.071, F.S. Redacted copies have been placed in original record locations where possible.
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
Charlie Crist, the forty-fourth Governor of Florida, began his gubernatorial term on January 2, 2007. Prior to being elected Governor in 2006, Crist held elective office as a Florida State Senator (elected 1992), Education Commissioner (elected 2000), and Attorney General (elected 2002). On May 12, 2009, Crist announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. He lost that election to Marco Rubio, and his term as Governor ended in January 2011.
Charlie Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania on July 24, 1956, and later moved with his family to St. Petersburg, Florida. He attended Wake Forest University for two years, completed his undergraduate degree at Florida State University in 1978, and received his law degree in 1981 from the Cumberland School of Law in Alabama.
After passing the bar exam, Crist served as general counsel to minor league baseball. He first ran for office in the 1986 Republican primary for a state Senate seat in Pinellas County. He followed up this unsuccessful run, he served as an aide to Connie Mack III in Mack's successful 1988 bid for a U.S. Senate seat.
Serving in the Florida Senate for six years, Crist chaired the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee and the Appropriations Criminal Justice Subcommittee. In 1999, following his term in the Senate, Crist was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation by Governor Jeb Bush.
Governor Crist signed Executive Order 07-01 on January 3, 2007, formally creating the Office of Open Government. On June 19, 2007, Governor Crist issued Executive Order 07-107, thereby creating the Commission on Open Government. The Commission was established to review, evaluate and issue recommendations regarding Florida's public records and public meeting laws, policies, and statutes, and Article 1, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution. The Executive Order further defined the duties of the Commission to include: the relevance and redundancy of all exemptions to government meetings and records; review fees and charges imposed for inspecting and copying public records in light of of advances in information technology; review the collection, storage, retrieval, dissemination, and accessibility of public records through advanced technologies, including Internet access; and review current policies regarding the public's right to participate in agency meetings subject to the Sunshine Law, including, but not limited to, the right to speak at meetings and whether meetings conducted through the use of telephone, video conference or other remote electronic means was consistent with rights guaranteed by the Florida Constitution.
The Executive Order further outlined that Governor Crist would appoint nine members from a broad spectrum of interested parties to serve on the Commission on Open Government, such as a state agency; the Florida Senate; the Florida House of Representatives; Florida law enforcement; city or county government; the First Amendment Foundation; the media; an attorney with experience in First Amendment issues and litagation; and a private citizen who was a resident of Florida. Governor Crist appointed Barbara Petersen, President of the First Amendment Foundation, to serve as the Commission chairperson. The Commission members served from July 1, 2007-December 31, 2008, meeting at least once every three months. The Commission was advised to hold at least three public hearings throughout the state during that time period to gather information and input from all parties concerned with open govenment, freedom of information, and first amendment issues. The Commission was to compile its findings and to present a final report to the Governor, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 31, 2008.
In February 2007, through a partnership with the Florida Institute of Government at Florida State University, the the Office of Open Government provided Sunshine Law training to 500 state agency managers. In April 2008, training was provided for over 800 state employees by the Office of Open Government and the First Amendment Foundation. In total, the Commission held six public hearings and meetings throughout the state by the end of October 2008.
Summary:
This series consists of records related to the operations and functions of the Commission on Open Government Reform. The series includes commission reform notes of Barbara Petersen, Chairperson of the Commission on Open Government, as well as commission records maintained by the Office of Open Government. The series includes correspondence; project reports; Florida Statutes and proposed legislation related to open government; House and Senate Bills related to open government; economic impact statements; staff analyses; electronic mail printouts; newspaper articles; presentations; speeches; testimonies; meeting packets; hearing/proceeding transcripts; constituent complaints; House and Senate resolutions; and commission budget and member information.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available 0
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Subject Access Fields:
Crist, Charlie, 1956-
Florida. Governor (2007-2011 : Crist) Florida. Governor. --Office of Open Government.
Public records Florida
Agendas. aat Annual reports. aat Articles. aat Attendance records. aat Bills (legislative records) aat Electronic mail. aat Hearings. aat Legislative acts. aat Letters. aat Organizational charts. aat Press releases. aat Reports. aat
Florida Officials and employees Florida Government Florida Politics and government 1951-
for detailed listing.