A slippery slope

- The issue: Judicial rulings in Florida for decades have tended to support the right of the public to attend and speak at local government public meetings. But two recent appellate court rulings upheld that citizens only have the right to attend, and the Florida Supreme Court declined to hear appeals of those rulings.

- The danger: It wouldn't be a good idea, but Florida local governments - such as county commissions and school boards - could use the court calls as justification for eliminating general public comment periods.

- Our take: Attending and having the chance to speak at local government meetings should go hand-in-hand and is essential to public policy making. The Legislature should pass legislation ensuring the public's right to speak - for reasonable periods of time - at public meetings.

Tax the people. Ride their votes into public office. Spend their money.

And let the people be seen at the public meetings of local decision-making councils, commissions and boards - but you don't have to let them be heard.

That's the chilling message echoing throughout Florida because of recent court calls.

And state lawmakers should approve a bill this spring to ensure that local governments recognize the right of the governed to be heard at local meetings covered by the state's Sunshine Law.

The issue strikes at the heart of what democratic government is all about, along with the First Amendment right of free speech.

People who take time off from work, time away from their families at night and who just take the time to drive down to a local meeting deserve the chance to be heard by their local leaders if they want to be, even if it's just for a few minutes.

Bucking the past

For decades, appeals courts have leaned on the side of interpreting state opens meetings laws as including both the right to attend and speak.

But the courts changed course in recent cases involving local government entities in Escambia and Alachua counties, and the Florida Supreme Court let the rulings stand rather than hear the cases.

That sets up a precedent that could set in statewide. The rulings do not affect public hearings that are required in specific cases, such as rezonings or when considering new ordinances.

Many local governments - such as school boards, county commissions, city councils, committees, subcommittees and other public boards - offer the chance for the public to comment in general to some degree or another.

At the full meetings of the 19-member Jacksonville City Council, for instance, the council allows people to speak for up to three minutes, either early during the meeting or at the end after council business has been done.

Much to its credit, the council added the second public comment earlier this year as a way to give people another option for addressing those they elected.

Not only is it proper for the public to have that chance, but it's also healthy for local leaders who might gain insights on what actions or proposed public policies might mean.

Those insights could include better ideas, or the beginnings of them, that could result in smarter ways of spending money or wiser methods of handling public resources.

No substitute

Sure, people have the ability to e-mail, text, call, make an appointment or write letters to their local leaders about their views on public policy and what should be done.

But nothing can take the place or convenience of the public having the chance to address their local leaders as a group about the issues that matter to them.

It would be ill-advised, but local officials could let such chances fade away because of the two appeals court rulings and the state Supreme Court's refusal to hear appeals in the cases.

The Supreme Court would have to weigh in, however, if in some future similar case a court of appeal ruled that the public has the right to speak. Given the contradictory rulings from courts of appeal, the Supreme Court would need to decide the issue.

But all that could take years.

A concerned group could mount a petition drive to put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot seeking to ensure public comment through flexible guidelines adopted by local governments.

Again, that could take a few years, with a lot of erosion of public access in the meantime.

One of the appeals courts pointed out the Legislature could make the adjustment.

The public's right of access to speak at their local government meetings is too important to let slip away.

The best route is for the state Legislature to step up and do what's right for the people by cementing it in law.