Florida Senate - 2017                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 80
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: RS            .                                
                  03/15/2017           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Steube) 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  such agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record to be
   11  inspected or copied, the court shall assess and award, against
   12  the agency responsible, the reasonable costs of enforcement,
   13  including reasonable attorney attorneys’ fees, against the
   14  responsible agency if the court determines that:
   15         (a) The agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record
   16  to be inspected or copied; and
   17         (b) The complainant provided written notice identifying the
   18  public record request to the agency’s custodian of public
   19  records at least 5 business days before filing the civil action,
   20  except as provided under subsection (2). The notice period
   21  begins on the day the written notice of the request is received
   22  by the custodian of public records, excluding Saturday, Sunday,
   23  and legal holidays, and runs until 5 business days have elapsed.
   24         (2) The complainant is not required to provide written
   25  notice of the public record request to the agency’s custodian of
   26  public records as provided in paragraph (1)(b) if the agency
   27  does not prominently post the contact information for the
   28  agency’s custodian of public records in the agency’s primary
   29  administrative building in which public records are routinely
   30  created, sent, received, maintained, and requested and on the
   31  agency’s website, if the agency has a website.
   32         (3) The court shall determine whether the complainant
   33  requested to inspect or copy a public record or participated in
   34  the civil action for an improper purpose. If the court
   35  determines there was an improper purpose, the court may not
   36  assess and award the reasonable costs of enforcement, including
   37  reasonable attorney fees, to the complainant, and shall assess
   38  and award against the complainant and to the agency the
   39  reasonable costs, including reasonable attorney fees, incurred
   40  by the agency in responding to the civil action. For purposes of
   41  this subsection, the term “improper purpose” means a request to
   42  inspect or copy a public record or to participate in the civil
   43  action primarily to harass or cause unnecessary delay in the
   44  actions of the agency, for frivolous purpose, or to needlessly
   45  increase the costs of the actions of the agency.
   46         (4) This section does not create a private right of action
   47  authorizing the award of monetary damages for a person who
   48  brings an action to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
   49  Payments by the responsible agency may include only the
   50  reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney
   51  fees, directly attributable to a civil action brought to enforce
   52  the provisions of this chapter.
   53         Section 2. This act applies only to public records requests
   54  made on or after the effective date of this act.
   55         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
   56  
   57  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   58  And the title is amended as follows:
   59         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   60  and insert:
   61                        A bill to be entitled                      
   62         An act relating to public records; amending s. 119.12,
   63         F.S.; revising the circumstances under which a court
   64         must assess and award the reasonable costs of
   65         enforcement against an agency in a civil action to
   66         enforce ch. 119, F.S.; specifying circumstances under
   67         which a complainant is not required to provide certain
   68         written notice of a public records request; requiring
   69         a court to determine whether a complainant requested
   70         to inspect or copy a public record or participated in
   71         a civil action for an improper purpose; prohibiting
   72         the assessment and award of the reasonable costs of
   73         enforcement to a complainant who acted with an
   74         improper purpose; requiring the court to assess and
   75         award reasonable costs against the complainant if he
   76         or she is found to have acted with an improper
   77         purpose; defining the term “improper purpose”;
   78         providing for construction and applicability;
   79         providing an effective date.