The Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday struck down a package of transparency reforms that would publish emails and text messages lawmakers exchange with lobbyists and force city officials to reveal details about trips they take on the dimes of political committees, which are shrouded under existing disclosure requirements.
Our Florida Times-Union news partner reports the bill died in a 16-3 vote, a result foreshadowed last week after a council committee criticized it as draconian, burdensome and demeaning to the council’s reputation with the public.
The bill’s sponsor, Councilwoman Anna Brosche, acknowledged its fate on Tuesday before the final vote, saying she wanted “the public to know” her colleagues denied her request for more time to change her proposal and instead moved to “kill” an attempt to bring more transparency to local government.
“Transparency is about the people, providing access, facilitating accountability, and ultimately building trust in your elected officials,” Brosche said.
Her three-pronged bill would have required companies seeking to do more than $1 million worth of business with the city to disclose their political giving and for council members to submit emails and text messages they exchanged with lobbyists, which would then be published online.
The legislation would have also required elected and appointed city officials to disclose information about official travel costs that were covered by political committees.
A longer version of this story is available on Jacksonville.com.
