The "Sunshine" Law To assist the public and governmental
agencies in understanding the requirements and exemptions to
Florida's open government laws, the Attorney General's Office
compiles a comprehensive guide known as the Government-in-the-
Sunshine manual. The manual is published each year at no
taxpayer expense by the First Amendment Foundation in
Tallahassee. Florida began its tradition of openness back in
1909 with the passage of Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes or
the “Public Records Law.” This law provides that any records
made or received by any public agency in the course of its
official business are available for inspection, unless
specifically exempted by the Florida Legislature. Over the
years, the definition of what constitutes “public records” has
come to include not just traditional written documents such as
papers, maps and books, but also tapes, photographs, film, sound
recordings and records stored in computers. Florida's
Government-in-the-Sunshine Law was enacted in 1967. Today, the
Suns