TIME LINE: PUBLIC RECORDS LAW

1892: The state Legislature passes the first public records law, making all records kept by clerks of court open to inspection.

1909: The Legislature broadens the public records law, saying "all state, county and municipal records" must "at all times be open for a personal inspection of any citizen of Florida …"

1959: Xerox introduces the office copier, giving citizens easier access to records.

1967: The Legislature defines a public record as "any document, paper, letter, map, book, tape, photograph, film, sound recording or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristic, made or received … in connection with the official business of any agency."

1975: The Legislature gives more power to citizens, including the right to recover attorney fees if they win a lawsuit over records.

1979: The state Supreme Court rules that all law enforcement records, previously considered confidential, are now public.

1980: The state Supreme Court rules that private consultants hired by public agencies are not exempt from the public records law.

1981: The Miami Herald and The Miami News are awarded attorneys' fees of $73,000 in a lawsuit filed against the local police, which had refused to release records in alleged police brutality cases.

1983: An appellate court rules that information stored on a computer is a public record.

1984: State law stiffens the penalty for public records violations by making it a first-degree misdemeanor to "knowingly" violate the laws.

1984: A state Supreme Court ruling establishes that an individual's privacy concerns are not enough to deny access to public records.

1989: The state Attorney General says all information stored on agency computers, including calendars, bulletin boards and e-mail, are public records.

1990: The Legislature establishes a fee of 15 cents a page and for all other records actual cost of duplication.

1991: The Attorney General's Office sets up a mediation program to expedite public records disputes. The program now handles more than 100 disputes a year.

1992: A constitutional amendment, passed by 87 percent of the voters, makes access to public records a right in the state constitution, not just in statute.

1997: A "Driver's Privacy Protection Act" passed by U.S. Congress in 1994 goes into effect with several options that can be chosen by states. Florida's Legislature says that driver information will remain public unless anonymity is requested by the driver.

1999: An Escambia County school board member becomes the first official to go to jail for records violations.

2001: Following the fatal accident of race car driver Dale Earnhardt, the Legislature exempts autopsy photos from the public records law to prevent their publication.

2002: Florida voters approve a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to grant new exemptions to the public records laws.

Reacting to a growing number of identify thefts, the lawmakers make all Social Security numbers confidential. It also exempts information about medical facilities that are part of the state's anti-terrorist plan.