Florida leaders halt state effort to ban release of 911 recordings

A measure to make all emergency dispatcher recordings private in Florida was sidelined on Monday when a state legislator revoked his support, The Miami Herald reported.

When the bill was approved by an initial House committee last week, it had the support of House Speaker Larry Cretul. Cretful then decided to "take a breather on the issue" after speaking with colleagues and media representatives. His decision came on the first day of national Sunshine Week.

"We often hear that sunshine is the best disinfectant and I truly believe that," state Sen. Alex Sink told the Miami Herald. "It’s one of the things we need here in Tallahassee."

The Florida bill was to be one of a handful proposed by state legislators to exempt 911 calls from open-records laws.