Florida Senate - 2016                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1220
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì859582JÎ859582                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/10/2016           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Bean) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 119.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    6  read:
    7         119.12 Attorney Attorney’s fees.—
    8         (1) If a civil action is filed against an agency to enforce
    9  the provisions of this chapter and if the court determines that
   10  the complainant provided written notice clearly and
   11  conspicuously identifying the public record request to the
   12  agency’s custodian of public records at least 5 business days
   13  before filing the civil action, except as provided under
   14  subsection (3), and that the such agency unlawfully refused to
   15  permit a public record to be inspected or copied, the court
   16  shall assess and award, against the agency responsible, the
   17  reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney
   18  attorneys’ fees, against the responsible agency.
   19         (2) The court may not assess and award any reasonable costs
   20  of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, against the
   21  responsible agency if the court determines that:
   22         (a) The civil action or the request to inspect or copy a
   23  public record was frivolous, malicious, or reasonably appears to
   24  have been intended to harass the agency, or was brought or made
   25  for the primary purpose of causing a violation of this chapter;
   26  or
   27         (b) Any alleged delay or error in permitting a public
   28  record to be inspected or copied was a technical violation of
   29  this chapter which constituted harmless error under the
   30  circumstances.
   31         (3) The complainant is not required to provide written
   32  notice of the public record request to the agency’s custodian of
   33  public records as provided in subsection (1) if the agency does
   34  not post the contact information for the agency’s custodian of
   35  public records in the agency’s primary administrative building
   36  in which public records are routinely created, sent, received,
   37  maintained, and requested or on the agency’s website.
   38         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
   39  
   40  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   41  And the title is amended as follows:
   42         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   43  and insert:
   44                        A bill to be entitled                      
   45         An act relating to public records; amending s. 119.12,
   46         F.S.; requiring a complainant to provide specified
   47         written notice to an agency’s custodian of public
   48         records in order to be awarded the reasonable costs of
   49         enforcement in a civil action for enforcement of ch.
   50         119, F.S.; specifying circumstances under which a
   51         court may not assess and award the reasonable costs of
   52         enforcement against a responsible agency; providing an
   53         exception to the requirement that a complainant
   54         provide written notice before filing a civil action;
   55         providing an effective date.