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.