| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public meetings; amending s. 286.011, |
| 3 | F.S.; revising an exception to the public meetings law |
| 4 | that allows specified governmental entities and the chief |
| 5 | administrative or executive officers thereof to meet in |
| 6 | private with the entity's attorney to discuss specified |
| 7 | pending litigation; expanding the exception to include |
| 8 | public employees or agents who possess relevant |
| 9 | information needed by the entity's attorney among those |
| 10 | authorized to attend such private meeting; revising a |
| 11 | condition precedent to such private meeting; providing for |
| 12 | future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; |
| 13 | providing a statement of public necessity; providing an |
| 14 | effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 286.011, Florida |
| 19 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 20 | 286.011 Public meetings and records; public inspection; |
| 21 | criminal and civil penalties.- |
| 22 | (8)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), |
| 23 | any board or commission of any state agency or authority or any |
| 24 | agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or |
| 25 | political subdivision, and the chief administrative or executive |
| 26 | officer of the governmental entity, and any public employees or |
| 27 | agents who possess relevant information needed by the entity's |
| 28 | attorney may meet in private with the entity's attorney to |
| 29 | discuss pending litigation to which the entity is presently a |
| 30 | party before a court or administrative agency, provided that the |
| 31 | following conditions are met: |
| 32 | 1.(a) The entity's attorney shall advise the entity at a |
| 33 | public meeting that he or she desires advice concerning the |
| 34 | litigation. |
| 35 | 2.(b) The subject matter of the meeting shall be confined |
| 36 | to advice settlement negotiations or strategy sessions related |
| 37 | to matters regarding the litigation expenditures. |
| 38 | 3.(c) The entire session shall be recorded by a certified |
| 39 | court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of |
| 40 | commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and |
| 41 | proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and |
| 42 | the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session |
| 43 | shall be off the record. The court reporter's notes shall be |
| 44 | fully transcribed and filed with the entity's clerk within a |
| 45 | reasonable time after the meeting. |
| 46 | 4.(d) The entity shall give reasonable public notice of |
| 47 | the time and date of the attorney-client session and the names |
| 48 | of persons who will be attending the session. The session shall |
| 49 | commence at an open meeting at which the persons chairing the |
| 50 | meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length of |
| 51 | the attorney-client session and the names of the persons |
| 52 | attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the |
| 53 | meeting shall be reopened, and the person chairing the meeting |
| 54 | shall announce the termination of the session. |
| 55 | 5.(e) The transcript shall be made part of the public |
| 56 | record upon conclusion of the litigation. |
| 57 | (b) This subsection is subject to the Open Government |
| 58 | Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand |
| 59 | repealed on October 2, 2016, unless reviewed and saved from |
| 60 | repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 61 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 62 | necessity to expand the current exemption from public meeting |
| 63 | requirements for those meetings wherein any board or commission |
| 64 | of any state agency or authority or any agency or authority of |
| 65 | any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision, and |
| 66 | the chief administrative or executive officer of the |
| 67 | governmental entity meet in private with the entity's attorneys |
| 68 | to discuss pending litigation to which the entity is presently a |
| 69 | party before a court or administrative agency. The Legislature |
| 70 | finds that it is a public necessity to allow public employees or |
| 71 | agents identified by the officer, the entity, or its attorney as |
| 72 | possessing relevant information to attend such meetings. The |
| 73 | Legislature finds that allowing those employees or agents to |
| 74 | attend such meetings will allow the entity to fully explore the |
| 75 | facts of the case, obtain the best possible legal advice, and |
| 76 | make better-informed decisions with respect to pending |
| 77 | litigation. The Legislature also finds that this measure will |
| 78 | ensure fair treatment of a public body as part of the judicial |
| 79 | and administrative process. |
| 80 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |