The committee that reviews Florida’s child-abuse deaths can’t do its job as effectively because of a public records exemption Gov. Rick Scott vetoed, the committee chairman said. He said, people testifying are less open with a microphone in front of them.
As broadcasters can attest, interviewees sometimes save their most honest observations for the minute the microphone is turned off. That’s why Special Agent Terry Thomas, who chairs the State Child Abuse Death Review Committee, has been pushing for a public records exemption, so his group’s reviews don’t have to be recorded. He said, he’s very disappointed Scott vetoed it.
“Law enforcement, medical, prosecutors and so on are less likely to be candid about the circumstances and making recommendations of prevention if they’re being recorded," Thomas said.
In a letter, Scott said he vetoed the exemption to preserve the "careful balance between openness and reasonable confidentiality.”
For several years, the committee was exempt from recording reviews, and the bill was an attempt to reinstate that.
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