Florida Senate - 2015 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 224
Ì750274)Î750274
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: WD .
03/26/2015 .
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The Committee on Fiscal Policy (Hays) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 100 - 111
4 and insert:
5 (4) CIVIL ACTION.—
6 (a) If a civil action is filed to compel production of
7 public records relating to the public agency’s contract for
8 services, the court may assess and award against the contractor
9 the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable
10 attorney fees, if the party filing the action provides written
11 notice of the public records request, including a statement that
12 the contractor has not complied with the request. The notice
13 must be sent by common carrier delivery service or by
14 registered, Global Express Guaranteed, or certified mail, with
15 postage or shipping paid by the sender and with evidence of
16 delivery, which may be in an electronic format, to the
17 contractor at least 10 business days before filing the action.
18 (b) An award of the reasonable costs of enforcement against
19 a public agency must be in accordance with s. 119.12.
20 Section 2. A public agency has until October 1, 2015, to
21 amend a public agency contract for services, if needed, in order
22 to comply with the amendment made by this act to section
23 119.0701, Florida Statutes.
24 Section 3. Section 119.0702, Florida Statutes is created to
25 read:
26 119.0702 Agency requirements for staff training and public
27 postings.—
28 (1) Each agency shall determine and provide the appropriate
29 amount of information or training on the requirements of this
30 chapter for each agency employee, taking into consideration
31 whether the employee’s duties are performed in any office where
32 public records are routinely created, sent, received,
33 maintained, and requested.
34 (2) Each agency shall post the contact information for the
35 agency’s custodian of public records in any office to which the
36 public has access in which public records are routinely created,
37 sent, received, maintained, and requested, and shall post the
38 contact information for the custodian of public records on the
39 agency’s website if the agency has a website.
40 (3) A violation of this section does not form the basis of
41 an independent cause of action and may not be used to recover
42 attorney fees under s. 119.12.
43 (4) If an agency provides information or training to agency
44 staff and publicly posts contact information in accordance with
45 the requirements of subsections (1) and (2), the agency is
46 deemed to be in compliance with this section.
47 Section 4. Section 119.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
48 read:
49 119.12 Attorney Attorney’s fees.—
50 (1) When If a civil action is filed against an agency to
51 enforce the provisions of this chapter, and if the court
52 determines that the agency was provided written notice of the
53 public records request to the agency’s custodian of public
54 records, using contact information provided by the agency, at
55 least 2 business days before filing the action and that the
56 court determines that such agency unlawfully refused to permit a
57 public record to be inspected or copied, the court shall assess
58 and award, against the responsible agency responsible, the
59 reasonable costs of enforcement. The complainant is not required
60 to provide written notice to the agency’s custodian of public
61 records if the agency failed to post contact information for its
62 custodian of public records in accordance with s. 119.0702.
63 (2) The reasonable costs of enforcement include, but are
64 not limited to, including reasonable attorney attorneys’ fees.
65
66 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
67 And the title is amended as follows:
68 Between lines 19 and 20
69 insert:
70 providing for applicability; creating s. 119.0702,
71 F.S.; requiring each agency to provide training and
72 information on the requirements of ch. 119, F.S., to
73 agency employees; requiring each agency to publicly
74 post contact information for the custodian of public
75 records; specifying that a violation may not be used
76 as a basis for an independent cause of action or
77 recovering attorney fees; specifying that an agency is
78 in compliance if certain conditions are met; amending
79 s. 119.12, F.S.; requiring a court to determine if a
80 complainant provided certain written notice to an
81 agency’s custodian of public records in order to
82 assess and award attorney fees in a civil action to
83 enforce ch. 119, F.S.; providing an exception;