House Bill hb0327

    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HJR 327

        By Representative Carassas






  1                      House Joint Resolution

  2         A joint resolution proposing an amendment to

  3         Section 24 of Article I of the State

  4         Constitution relating to public records and

  5         meetings exemptions.

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  7  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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  9         That the amendment to Section 24 of Article I of the

10  State Constitution set forth below is agreed to and shall be

11  submitted to the electors of Florida for approval or rejection

12  at the general election to be held in November 2002:

13         SECTION 24.  Access to public records and meetings.--

14         (a)  Every person has the right to inspect or copy any

15  public record made or received in connection with the official

16  business of any public body, officer, or employee of the

17  state, or persons acting on their behalf, except with respect

18  to records exempted pursuant to this section or specifically

19  made confidential by this Constitution.  This section

20  specifically includes the legislative, executive, and judicial

21  branches of government and each agency or department created

22  thereunder; counties, municipalities, and districts; and each

23  constitutional officer, board, and commission, or entity

24  created pursuant to law or this Constitution.

25         (b)  All meetings of any collegial public body of the

26  executive branch of state government or of any collegial

27  public body of a county, municipality, school district, or

28  special district, at which official acts are to be taken or at

29  which public business of such body is to be transacted or

30  discussed, shall be open and noticed to the public and

31  meetings of the legislature shall be open and noticed as

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HJR 327

    757-116-02






  1  provided in Article III, Section 4(e), except with respect to

  2  meetings exempted pursuant to this section or specifically

  3  closed by this Constitution.

  4         (c)  This section shall be self-executing.  The

  5  legislature, however, may provide by general law passed by a

  6  two-thirds vote of each house for the exemption of records

  7  from the requirements of subsection (a) and the exemption of

  8  meetings from the requirements of subsection (b), provided

  9  that such law shall state with specificity the public

10  necessity justifying the exemption and shall be no broader

11  than necessary to accomplish the stated purpose of the law.

12  The legislature shall enact laws governing the enforcement of

13  this section, including the maintenance, control, destruction,

14  disposal, and disposition of records made public by this

15  section, except that each house of the legislature may adopt

16  rules governing the enforcement of this section in relation to

17  records of the legislative branch.  Laws enacted pursuant to

18  this subsection shall contain only exemptions from the

19  requirements of subsections (a) or (b) and provisions

20  governing the enforcement of this section, and shall relate to

21  one subject.

22         (d)  All laws that are in effect on July 1, 1993 that

23  limit public access to records or meetings shall remain in

24  force, and such laws apply to records of the legislative and

25  judicial branches, until they are repealed. Rules of court

26  that are in effect on the date of adoption of this section

27  that limit access to records shall remain in effect until they

28  are repealed.

29         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in accordance with the

30  requirements of section 101.161, Florida Statutes, the title

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HJR 327

    757-116-02






  1  and substance of the amendment proposed herein shall appear on

  2  the ballot as follows:

  3      LAWS PROVIDING PUBLIC RECORDS OR MEETINGS EXEMPTIONS;

  4                     TWO-THIRDS VOTE REQUIRED

  5         Requires that laws providing exemptions from public

  6  records or public meetings requirements must be passed by a

  7  two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature.

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