ORLANDO, Fla. ― The business of Florida’s 12 public universities is supposed to be public like any other state agency. Salaries, contracts, policies and other university business records are supposed to be subject to Florida’s expansive Sunshine Law, which mandates that most government actions be open to scrutiny.
But that’s not always happening. The universities are getting around Florida’s open government laws through dozens of private corporations that have been created over the years to oversee everything from athletic programs to dorm construction to salaries. Under state law, these university corporations don’t have to make public the same records their parent universities must provide, though the corporations perform tasks once done by school employees and act on the universities’ behalf.
The lack of disclosure makes it difficult for Floridians to know clearly how businesses that are acting on behalf of their taxpayer-supported universities are spending money.
While claiming exemption from public records law, the university corporations have recently embraced another Florida law that says government agencies are liable for only $200,000 if they lose a lawsuit, no matter how much a jury awards. That happened recently after a jury ordered that the private corporation that oversees the University of Central Florida’s athletic teams pay $10 million in a negligence lawsuit that stemmed from a football player’s death during practice. The corporation argued successfully in an appellate court that it is only responsible for $200,000.
The Florida Supreme Court will take up the case this fall, and its decision could determine whether university corporations can keep some of the legal protections of a state agency.
The university corporations are trying to have it both ways, said Stacy Blank, a Tampa attorney representing the family of Ereck Plancher, the player who collapsed and died during a 2008 preseason workout.
