Florida Senate - 2024                                    SB 1494
       
       
        
       By Senator Pizzo
       
       
       
       
       
       37-01554B-24                                          20241494__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records requests; amending
    3         s. 119.07, F.S.; prohibiting an agency from charging a
    4         certain fee under a specified circumstance; providing
    5         that custodians of public records may rely solely on
    6         certain required safeguards to determine whether
    7         records are partly or wholly exempt from disclosure;
    8         making technical changes; amending s. 119.10, F.S.;
    9         increasing the maximum civil penalty allowed for
   10         certain violations related to public records;
   11         prohibiting a public officer from knowingly deterring
   12         a resident from enforcing specified provisions or
   13         retaliating against a resident for making a certain
   14         request; providing administrative and criminal
   15         penalties; providing that any agency that violates
   16         specified provisions must be assessed a daily civil
   17         penalty that must be paid to the impacted public
   18         records requestor under specified conditions; amending
   19         s. 119.11, F.S.; requiring that courts set immediate
   20         hearings on certain actions and give such hearings
   21         priority over all other pending cases until specified
   22         conditions are satisfied; prohibiting the termination
   23         of certain civil actions without an evidentiary
   24         hearing; revising the timeframe in which an agency
   25         must comply with certain court orders; making
   26         technical changes; amending s. 119.12, F.S.; providing
   27         that a complainant is not required to provide a
   28         certain written notice to an agency when the initial
   29         public records request was furnished to the agency’s
   30         custodian in written form, by e-mail, or through the
   31         agency’s website; requiring a court to make a certain
   32         determination after the merits of the case have been
   33         decided; providing for retroactive application;
   34         reenacting ss. 39.00145(2)(c) and 119.0701(3)(c),
   35         F.S., relating to failing to make available certain
   36         records that concern specified children and
   37         contractors who fail to provide certain records to a
   38         public agency, respectively, to incorporate the
   39         amendment made to s. 119.10, F.S., in references
   40         thereto; reenacting s. 213.732(7), F.S., relating to
   41         priority of specified civil actions, to incorporate
   42         the amendment made to s. 119.11, F.S., in a reference
   43         thereto; providing an effective date.
   44          
   45  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   46  
   47         Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section
   48  119.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   49         119.07 Inspection and copying of records; photographing
   50  public records; fees; exemptions.—
   51         (4) The custodian of public records shall furnish a copy or
   52  a certified copy of the record upon payment of the fee
   53  prescribed by law. If a fee is not prescribed by law, the
   54  following fees are authorized:
   55         (d) If the nature or volume of public records requested to
   56  be inspected or copied pursuant to this subsection is such as to
   57  require extensive use of information technology resources or
   58  extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by personnel of the
   59  agency involved, or both, the agency may charge, in addition to
   60  the actual cost of duplication, a special service charge, which
   61  must shall be reasonable and shall be based on the cost incurred
   62  for such extensive use of information technology resources or
   63  the labor cost of the personnel providing the service that is
   64  actually incurred by the agency or attributable to the agency
   65  for the clerical and supervisory assistance required, or both.
   66  An agency may not charge a fee under this paragraph once the
   67  agency has received a request to produce records for inspection
   68  or to be copied. An agency’s custodian of records may rely
   69  solely on the safeguards required in paragraph (2)(b) to
   70  determine whether the requested records are partly or wholly
   71  exempt from disclosure.
   72         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   73  119.10, Florida Statutes, is amended, paragraph (c) is added to
   74  that subsection, and subsection (3) is added to that section, to
   75  read:
   76         119.10 Violation of chapter; penalties.—
   77         (1) Any public officer who:
   78         (a) Violates any provision of this chapter commits a
   79  noncriminal infraction, punishable by fine not exceeding $5,000
   80  $500.
   81         (c)Knowingly deters any resident from enforcing s.
   82  119.07(1) or s. 119.12(1) or retaliates against any resident for
   83  making a public records request is subject to suspension and
   84  removal or impeachment and, in addition, commits a misdemeanor
   85  of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
   86  775.083.
   87         (3)An agency that violates this chapter must be assessed a
   88  civil penalty of $100 per day that the records are unlawfully
   89  withheld, which must be paid to the impacted public records
   90  requestor after a judge issues a final judgment in a civil
   91  action to enforce this chapter.
   92         Section 3. Section 119.11, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   93  read:
   94         119.11 Accelerated hearing; priority civil action;
   95  immediate compliance.—
   96         (1) Whenever an action is filed to enforce the provisions
   97  of this chapter, the court shall set an immediate hearings and
   98  shall give hearing, giving the case priority over all other
   99  pending cases until the agency is in immediate compliance with
  100  this chapter and all requested public records subject to
  101  inspection and examination under s. 119.07(1) have been provided
  102  to the requestor. A civil action filed under this chapter may
  103  not be terminated without an evidentiary hearing.
  104         (2) Whenever a court orders an agency to open its records
  105  for inspection in accordance with this chapter, the agency shall
  106  comply with such order within 24 48 hours, unless otherwise
  107  provided by the court issuing such order, or unless the
  108  appellate court issues a stay order within such 24-hour 48-hour
  109  period.
  110         (3) A stay order may shall not be issued unless the court
  111  determines that there is a substantial probability that opening
  112  the records for inspection will result in significant damage.
  113         (4) Upon service of a complaint, counterclaim, or cross
  114  claim in a civil action brought to enforce the provisions of
  115  this chapter, the custodian of the public record that is the
  116  subject matter of such civil action may shall not transfer
  117  custody, alter, destroy, or otherwise dispose of the public
  118  record sought to be inspected and examined, notwithstanding the
  119  applicability of an exemption or the assertion that the
  120  requested record is not a public record subject to inspection
  121  and examination under s. 119.07(1), until the court directs
  122  otherwise. The person who has custody of such public record may,
  123  however, at any time permit inspection of the requested record
  124  as provided in s. 119.07(1) and other provisions of law.
  125         Section 4. Section 119.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  126  read:
  127         119.12 Attorney fees.—
  128         (1) If a civil action is filed against an agency to enforce
  129  the provisions of this chapter, the court shall assess and award
  130  the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable
  131  attorney fees, against the responsible agency if the court
  132  determines that:
  133         (a) The agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record
  134  to be inspected or copied; and
  135         (b) The complainant provided written notice identifying the
  136  public record request to the agency’s custodian of public
  137  records at least 5 business days before filing the civil action,
  138  except as provided under subsection (2). The notice period
  139  begins on the day the written notice of the request is received
  140  by the custodian of public records, excluding Saturday, Sunday,
  141  and legal holidays, and runs until 5 business days have elapsed.
  142         (2) The complainant is not required to provide written
  143  notice of the public record request to the agency’s custodian of
  144  public records as provided in paragraph (1)(b) if the agency
  145  does not prominently post the contact information for the
  146  agency’s custodian of public records in the agency’s primary
  147  administrative building in which public records are routinely
  148  created, sent, received, maintained, and requested and on the
  149  agency’s website, if the agency has a website, or if the initial
  150  public records request was furnished to the agency’s custodian
  151  in written form, by e-mail, or through a public records request
  152  option on the agency’s website.
  153         (3) The court shall determine whether the complainant
  154  requested to inspect or copy a public record or participated in
  155  the civil action for an improper purpose after the merits of the
  156  case have been decided. If the court determines there was an
  157  improper purpose, the court may not assess and award the
  158  reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney
  159  fees, to the complainant, and shall assess and award against the
  160  complainant and to the agency the reasonable costs, including
  161  reasonable attorney fees, incurred by the agency in responding
  162  to the civil action. For purposes of this subsection, the term
  163  “improper purpose” means a request to inspect or copy a public
  164  record or to participate in the civil action primarily to cause
  165  a violation of this chapter or for a frivolous purpose.
  166         (4) This section does not create a private right of action
  167  authorizing the award of monetary damages for a person who
  168  brings an action to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
  169  Payments by the responsible agency may include only the
  170  reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney
  171  fees, directly attributable to a civil action brought to enforce
  172  the provisions of this chapter.
  173         Section 5. The amendments made by this act to s. 119.12,
  174  Florida Statutes, are remedial in nature and apply retroactively
  175  to July 1, 2017.
  176         Section 6. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  177  made by this act to section 119.10, Florida Statutes, in a
  178  reference thereto, paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
  179  39.00145, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  180         39.00145 Records concerning children.—
  181         (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
  182  all records in a child’s case record must be made available for
  183  inspection, upon request, to the child who is the subject of the
  184  case record and to the child’s caregiver, guardian ad litem, or
  185  attorney.
  186         (c) If a child or the child’s caregiver, guardian ad litem,
  187  or attorney requests access to the child’s case record, any
  188  person or entity that fails to provide any record in the case
  189  record under assertion of a claim of exemption from the public
  190  records requirements of chapter 119, or fails to provide access
  191  within a reasonable time, is subject to sanctions and penalties
  192  under s. 119.10.
  193         Section 7. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  194  made by this act to section 119.10, Florida Statutes, in a
  195  reference thereto, paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
  196  119.0701, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  197         119.0701 Contracts; public records; request for contractor
  198  records; civil action.—
  199         (3) REQUEST FOR RECORDS; NONCOMPLIANCE.—
  200         (c) A contractor who fails to provide the public records to
  201  the public agency within a reasonable time may be subject to
  202  penalties under s. 119.10.
  203         Section 8. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  204  made by this act to section 119.11, Florida Statutes, in a
  205  reference thereto, subsection (7) of section 213.732, Florida
  206  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  207         213.732 Jeopardy findings and assessments.—
  208         (7) If the department proceeds to seize or freeze the
  209  assets of a taxpayer upon a determination of jeopardy, the
  210  taxpayer shall have a right to a meeting with the department, as
  211  provided by subsection (3), immediately or within 24 hours after
  212  requesting such meeting. The department shall, within 24 hours
  213  after such meeting, determine whether to release the seizure or
  214  freeze. If the department does not release such seizure or
  215  freeze of property, the taxpayer shall have a right to request a
  216  hearing within 5 days before the circuit court, at which hearing
  217  the taxpayer and the department may present evidence with
  218  respect to the issue of jeopardy. Venue in such an action shall
  219  lie in the county in which the seizure was effected or, if there
  220  are multiple seizures based upon the same assessment, venue
  221  shall also lie in Leon County. Whenever an action is filed to
  222  seek review of a jeopardy finding under this subsection, the
  223  court shall set an immediate hearing and shall give the case
  224  priority over other pending cases other than those filed
  225  pursuant to s. 119.11.
  226         Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.