Carlson v. State, Department of Revenue

Florida is the Sunshine State. It has long had the “Government in the Sunshine Law,” which generally requires open meetings for boards, commissions, state agencies, and the like. See § 286.011, Fla. Stat. (2017)1; see also Art. I, § 23, Fla. Const. The statute, which the Legislature “enacted in the public interest to protect the public from ‘closed door’ politics,” Wood v. Marston, 442 So.2d 934, 938 (Fla. 1983), is serious business: not only is there criminal liability for officials who knowingly disregard it, e.g., § 286.011(3)(b), Fla. Stat. (2017), but also Florida law provides that…