Florida Senate - 2018                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 560
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì256718DÎ256718                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  01/25/2018           .                                
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       The Committee on Rules (Steube) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Substitute for Amendment (851136) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 27 - 90
    5  and insert:
    6  officer of the governmental entity or his or her designee, is
    7  exempt from this section and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State
    8  Constitution for the limited purpose of meeting may meet in
    9  private with the entity’s attorneys and technical experts
   10  attorney to discuss imminent or pending litigation to which the
   11  entity is or may in the foreseeable future be presently a party
   12  before a court or administrative agency, provided that the
   13  following conditions are met:
   14         1.(a) The entity’s attorney shall advise the entity at a
   15  public meeting that he or she desires advice concerning the
   16  imminent or pending litigation. For imminent litigation, the
   17  entity’s attorney shall identify the name of the potential
   18  claimant or litigant.
   19         2.(b) The subject matter of the meeting must shall be
   20  confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions related
   21  to litigation expenditures.
   22         3.(c) The entire session shall be recorded by a certified
   23  court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of
   24  commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and
   25  proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and
   26  the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session may
   27  shall be off the record. The court reporter’s notes must shall
   28  be fully transcribed and filed with the entity’s clerk within a
   29  reasonable time after the meeting.
   30         4.(d) The entity shall give reasonable public notice of the
   31  time and date of the attorney-client session and the names of
   32  persons who will be attending the session. The session must
   33  shall commence at an open meeting at which the persons chairing
   34  the meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length
   35  of the attorney-client session and the names of the persons
   36  attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the
   37  meeting must shall be reopened, and the person chairing the
   38  meeting shall announce the termination of the session.
   39         5.(e) The transcript must shall be made part of the public
   40  record upon conclusion of the litigation. If imminent litigation
   41  does not commence, the transcript must be made part of the
   42  public record within a reasonable time after the matter
   43  underlying the imminent litigation is resolved or upon the
   44  expiration of the statute of limitations applicable to the
   45  matter underlying the imminent litigation, whichever occurs
   46  first.
   47         (b)Litigation is considered imminent when the entity has
   48  received notice of a claim or demand by a party threatening
   49  litigation before a court or administrative agency.
   50         (c)This subsection is subject to the Open Government
   51  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand
   52  repealed on October 2, 2023, unless reviewed and saved from
   53  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   54         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   55  necessity to expand the exemption from public meetings
   56  requirements currently applicable to meetings at which any board
   57  or commission of any state agency or authority, or any agency or
   58  authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political
   59  subdivision, and the chief administrative or executive officer
   60  of the governmental entity meet in private with the entity’s
   61  attorneys to discuss pending litigation to which the entity is
   62  presently a party before a court or administrative agency. The
   63  exemption is expanded to include such meetings when the designee
   64  of the chief administrative or executive officer of the
   65  governmental entity is present, when technical experts of the
   66  entity are present, and when such meetings are related to
   67  certain imminent litigation. In addition, the Legislature finds
   68  that it is a public necessity to exempt the transcript of such
   69  exempt meetings from public records requirements. These public
   70  meetings and public records exemptions are necessary to allow a
   71  governmental entity to privately prepare for threatened
   72  litigation by obtaining legal advice, exploring and developing
   73  relevant facts, and considering an early settlement or
   74  discussing other possible resolutions in order to make better
   75  informed decisions. The Legislature also finds that these public
   76  meetings and public records exemptions will help ensure that
   77  governmental entities receive
   78  
   79  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   80  And the title is amended as follows:
   81         Delete line 5
   82  and insert:
   83         entities to meet in private with attorneys and
   84         technical experts to