Florida Senate - 2018 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 560
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Rules (Steube) recommended the following:
1 Senate Substitute for Amendment (851136) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete lines 27 - 90
5 and insert:
6 officer of the governmental entity or his or her designee, is
7 exempt from this section and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State
8 Constitution for the limited purpose of meeting may meet in
9 private with the entity’s attorneys and technical experts
10 attorney to discuss imminent or pending litigation to which the
11 entity is or may in the foreseeable future be presently a party
12 before a court or administrative agency, provided that the
13 following conditions are met:
14 1.(a) The entity’s attorney shall advise the entity at a
15 public meeting that he or she desires advice concerning the
16 imminent or pending litigation. For imminent litigation, the
17 entity’s attorney shall identify the name of the potential
18 claimant or litigant.
19 2.(b) The subject matter of the meeting must shall be
20 confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions related
21 to litigation expenditures.
22 3.(c) The entire session shall be recorded by a certified
23 court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of
24 commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and
25 proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and
26 the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session may
27 shall be off the record. The court reporter’s notes must shall
28 be fully transcribed and filed with the entity’s clerk within a
29 reasonable time after the meeting.
30 4.(d) The entity shall give reasonable public notice of the
31 time and date of the attorney-client session and the names of
32 persons who will be attending the session. The session must
33 shall commence at an open meeting at which the persons chairing
34 the meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length
35 of the attorney-client session and the names of the persons
36 attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the
37 meeting must shall be reopened, and the person chairing the
38 meeting shall announce the termination of the session.
39 5.(e) The transcript must shall be made part of the public
40 record upon conclusion of the litigation. If imminent litigation
41 does not commence, the transcript must be made part of the
42 public record within a reasonable time after the matter
43 underlying the imminent litigation is resolved or upon the
44 expiration of the statute of limitations applicable to the
45 matter underlying the imminent litigation, whichever occurs
46 first.
47 (b) Litigation is considered imminent when the entity has
48 received notice of a claim or demand by a party threatening
49 litigation before a court or administrative agency.
50 (c) This subsection is subject to the Open Government
51 Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand
52 repealed on October 2, 2023, unless reviewed and saved from
53 repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
54 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
55 necessity to expand the exemption from public meetings
56 requirements currently applicable to meetings at which any board
57 or commission of any state agency or authority, or any agency or
58 authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political
59 subdivision, and the chief administrative or executive officer
60 of the governmental entity meet in private with the entity’s
61 attorneys to discuss pending litigation to which the entity is
62 presently a party before a court or administrative agency. The
63 exemption is expanded to include such meetings when the designee
64 of the chief administrative or executive officer of the
65 governmental entity is present, when technical experts of the
66 entity are present, and when such meetings are related to
67 certain imminent litigation. In addition, the Legislature finds
68 that it is a public necessity to exempt the transcript of such
69 exempt meetings from public records requirements. These public
70 meetings and public records exemptions are necessary to allow a
71 governmental entity to privately prepare for threatened
72 litigation by obtaining legal advice, exploring and developing
73 relevant facts, and considering an early settlement or
74 discussing other possible resolutions in order to make better
75 informed decisions. The Legislature also finds that these public
76 meetings and public records exemptions will help ensure that
77 governmental entities receive
78
79 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
80 And the title is amended as follows:
81 Delete line 5
82 and insert:
83 entities to meet in private with attorneys and
84 technical experts to