| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to statutorily authorized private meetings |
| 3 | of a state or local governmental entity; amending s. |
| 4 | 286.011, F.S.; revising a condition under which specified |
| 5 | state and local governmental entities are authorized to |
| 6 | meet in private with the governmental entity's attorney to |
| 7 | discuss certain pending litigation; clarifying the term |
| 8 | "pending litigation"; providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 286.011, Florida |
| 13 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 14 | 286.011 Public meetings and records; public inspection; |
| 15 | criminal and civil penalties.-- |
| 16 | (1) All meetings of any board or commission of any state |
| 17 | agency or authority or of any agency or authority of any county, |
| 18 | municipal corporation, or political subdivision, except as |
| 19 | otherwise provided in the Constitution, at which official acts |
| 20 | are to be taken are declared to be public meetings open to the |
| 21 | public at all times, and no resolution, rule, or formal action |
| 22 | shall be considered binding except as taken or made at such |
| 23 | meeting. The board or commission must provide reasonable notice |
| 24 | of all such meetings. |
| 25 | (8) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), any |
| 26 | board or commission of any state agency or authority or any |
| 27 | agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or |
| 28 | political subdivision, and the chief administrative or executive |
| 29 | officer of the governmental entity, may meet in private with the |
| 30 | entity's attorney to discuss pending litigation to which the |
| 31 | entity is presently a party before a court or administrative |
| 32 | agency, provided that the following conditions are met: |
| 33 | (a) The entity's attorney shall advise the entity at a |
| 34 | public meeting that he or she desires advice concerning the |
| 35 | litigation. |
| 36 | (b) The subject matter of the meeting shall be confined to |
| 37 | settlement negotiations or strategy sessions related to |
| 38 | litigation expenditures. |
| 39 | (c) The entire session shall be recorded by a certified |
| 40 | court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of |
| 41 | commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and |
| 42 | proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and |
| 43 | the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session |
| 44 | shall be off the record. The court reporter's notes shall be |
| 45 | fully transcribed and filed with the entity's clerk within a |
| 46 | reasonable time after the meeting. |
| 47 | (d) The entity shall give reasonable public notice of the |
| 48 | time and date of the attorney-client session and the names of |
| 49 | persons who will be attending the session. The session shall |
| 50 | commence at an open meeting at which the persons chairing the |
| 51 | meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length of |
| 52 | the attorney-client session and the names of the persons |
| 53 | attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the |
| 54 | meeting shall be reopened, and the person chairing the meeting |
| 55 | shall announce the termination of the session. |
| 56 | (e) The transcript shall be made part of the public record |
| 57 | upon conclusion of the litigation or as soon as practicable |
| 58 | after the governmental entity determines that it will not |
| 59 | commence litigation. |
| 60 |
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| 61 | For purposes of this subsection, "pending litigation" shall |
| 62 | include matters which are the subject of notice given to a |
| 63 | governmental entity pursuant to s. 768.28 and for which a |
| 64 | lawsuit has not yet been filed, and matters about which the |
| 65 | governmental entity is contemplating litigation. |
| 66 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |