Florida Senate - 2026                              CS for SB 332
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Bradley
       
       
       
       
       
       590-02242-26                                           2026332c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public meetings; creating s. 70.90,
    3         F.S.; providing that specified entities may meet in
    4         private with their attorneys to discuss certain claims
    5         concerning private property rights; specifying what
    6         may be discussed during such closed meetings;
    7         requiring that such meetings be transcribed; providing
    8         that such transcripts become public records at
    9         specified times; providing for future legislative
   10         review and repeal; providing a statement of public
   11         necessity; providing an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Section 70.90, Florida Statutes, is created to
   16  read:
   17         70.90 Public meetings and records regarding a claim under
   18  the Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection
   19  Act.—
   20         (1) Notwithstanding s. 286.011(1), any board or commission
   21  of any state agency or authority or any agency or authority of
   22  any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision, and
   23  the chief administrative or executive officer of the
   24  governmental entity may meet in private with the entity’s
   25  attorney during the 90-day-notice period specified in s.
   26  70.001(4) to discuss claims submitted in accordance with that
   27  subsection provided that the following conditions are met:
   28         (a) The entity’s attorney shall advise the entity at a
   29  public meeting that he or she desires advice concerning a claim
   30  submitted in accordance with s. 70.001(4).
   31         (b) The subject matter of the meeting must be confined to
   32  settlement negotiations or strategy sessions relating to a claim
   33  submitted in accordance with s. 70.001(4).
   34         (c) The entire session must be recorded by a certified
   35  court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of
   36  commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and
   37  proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and
   38  the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session may
   39  be off the record. The court reporter’s notes must be fully
   40  transcribed and filed with the entity’s clerk within a
   41  reasonable time after the meeting.
   42         (d) The entity shall give reasonable public notice of the
   43  time and date of the attorney-client session and the names of
   44  persons who will be attending the session. The session must
   45  commence at an open meeting at which the person chairing the
   46  meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length of
   47  the attorney-client session and the names of the persons
   48  attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the
   49  meeting must be reopened, and the person chairing the meeting
   50  shall announce the termination of the session.
   51         (e) The transcript must be made part of the public record
   52  upon settlement of a claim under s. 70.001, or upon the
   53  expiration of the statute of limitations for the claim arising
   54  under this chapter in the event that no litigation is filed and
   55  there is no settlement of a claim under s. 70.001.
   56         (2) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   57  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   58  on October 2, 2031, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   59  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   60         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   61  necessity that meetings to discuss a presuit claim under the
   62  Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act be
   63  made confidential and closed to the public. When those meetings
   64  are conducted in an open meeting, the governing body cannot
   65  effectively review, discuss, and prepare strategies for
   66  resolution of the claim. Similar meetings regarding ongoing
   67  litigation are currently confidential. Making these hearings
   68  confidential and closed to the public encourages a local
   69  government to reasonably develop negotiation strategies that
   70  make presuit resolution more likely. Requiring public hearings
   71  relating to a Bert Harris claim defeats the purpose of having a
   72  presuit claim process, namely, to foster settlement quickly
   73  while limiting attorney fees of all parties. The public is
   74  protected by the requirement that the records of the meeting are
   75  open once the claim is settled.
   76         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.