E-mail Violates Sunshine Laws?
Edupage (2/16/95), originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal (2/16/95).
Government officials exchanging E-mail with each other may be
violating some state's open meeting laws. Most agencies have not
thought through E-mail in the light of public access. With E-mail, it's
much easier for officials to unthinklingly toss out ideas and debate
public business in private, says the director of University of Florida's
Brechner Center for Freedom of Information. Florida law prohibits even
two officials conferring privately on a policy matter. One California
city council member is careful never to send any of her messages to
more than three colleagues at once, because to do so would constitute a
meeting of a majority of the nine council members.
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