Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 380
Ì968116/Î968116
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
12/03/2025 .
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The Committee on Judiciary (Trumbull) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 32 - 56
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 50.0311, Florida Statutes, is amended to
6 read:
7 50.0311 Publication of advertisements and public notices on
8 a publicly accessible website and governmental access channels.—
9 (1) For purposes of this chapter, the term:
10 (a) “Governmental agency” means a county, municipality,
11 school board, special governmental agency, or other unit of
12 local government or political subdivision in this state.
13 (b) “Special governmental agency” means a municipality, the
14 office of the clerk of the circuit court, or the office of the
15 tax collector.
16 (2) For purposes of notices and advertisements required
17 under s. 50.011, the term “publicly accessible website” means a
18 county’s official website or other private website designated by
19 the county for the publication of legal notices and
20 advertisements which that is accessible through via the
21 Internet. For legal notices and advertisements by a special
22 governmental agency, the term includes the official website of
23 the special governmental agency’s county, a private website
24 designated by the county, the special governmental agency’s
25 official website, or a private website designated by the special
26 governmental agency.
27 (3) All advertisements and public notices published on a
28 website as provided in this chapter must be in searchable form
29 and indicate the date on which the advertisement or public
30 notice was first published on the website.
31 (4) Any legal notice or advertisement that may be published
32 on the official website of a governmental agency or the official
33 website of a special governmental agency or on a designated
34 private website must, unless otherwise specified by law, be
35 published continuously for at least 2 weeks when the purpose is
36 to provide notice of the status of a government activity or be
37 published continuously from the date of initial publication
38 through the date of the proposed event or activity.
39 (5)(3) A governmental agency may use the publicly
40 accessible website of the county in which it lies to publish
41 legally required advertisements and public notices if the cost
42 of publishing advertisements and public notices on such website
43 is less than the cost of publishing advertisements and public
44 notices in a newspaper.
45 (6)(4) A governmental agency having with at least 75
46 percent of its population located within a county having with a
47 population of less fewer than 160,000 or a special governmental
48 agency that is located within a county having a population of
49 less than 160,000 may use a publicly accessible website to
50 publish legally required advertisements and public notices only
51 if the governing body of the governmental agency, at a public
52 hearing that has been noticed in a newspaper as provided in this
53 chapter, determines that the residents of the governmental
54 agency have sufficient access to the Internet by broadband
55 service, as defined in s. 364.02, or by any other means, such
56 that publishing advertisements and public notices on a publicly
57 accessible website will not unreasonably restrict public access.
58 (7)(5) A special district spanning the geographic
59 boundaries of more than one county that satisfies the criteria
60 for publishing and publishes chooses to publish legally required
61 advertisements and public notices on a publicly accessible
62 website must publish such advertisements and public notices on
63 the publicly accessible website of each county it spans. For
64 purposes of this subsection, the term “special district” has the
65 same meaning as in s. 189.012.
66 (8)(6) A governmental agency or special governmental agency
67 that uses a publicly accessible website to publish legally
68 required advertisements and public notices must shall provide
69 notice at least once per year in a newspaper of general
70 circulation or another publication that is mailed or delivered
71 to all residents and property owners throughout the government’s
72 jurisdiction, indicating that property owners and residents may
73 receive legally required advertisements and public notices from
74 the governmental agency by first-class mail or e-mail upon
75 registering their name and address or e-mail address with the
76 governmental agency. The governmental agency must shall maintain
77 a registry of names, addresses, and e-mail addresses of property
78 owners and residents who have requested in writing that they
79 receive legally required advertisements and public notices from
80 the governmental agency by first-class mail or e-mail.
81 (9)(7) A link to advertisements and public notices
82 published on a publicly accessible website must shall be
83 conspicuously placed:
84 (a) On the website’s homepage or on a page accessible
85 through a direct link from the homepage.
86 (b) On the homepage of the website of each governmental
87 agency or special governmental agency publishing notices on the
88 publicly accessible website or on a page accessible through a
89 direct link from the homepage.
90 (10)(8) A governmental agency that has a governmental
91 access channel authorized under s. 610.109 may also include on
92 its governmental access channel a summary of all advertisements
93 and public notices that are published on a publicly accessible
94 website.
95 (11)(9) A public bid advertisement made by a governmental
96 agency or special governmental agency on a publicly accessible
97 website must include a method to accept electronic bids.
98
99 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
100 And the title is amended as follows:
101 Delete lines 3 - 8
102 and insert:
103 F.S.; revising the definition of the term
104 “governmental agency”; defining the term “special
105 governmental agency”; revising the definition of the
106 term “publicly accessible website”; requiring
107 governmental agencies and special governmental
108 agencies to publish a legal notice for a specified
109 timeframe when the notice is for a specified purpose
110 and provided under a certain circumstance; authorizing
111 certain special governmental agencies to use a
112 publicly accessible website to publish certain
113 advertisements and legal notices under specified
114 conditions; requiring special governmental agencies to
115 provide notice at least once per year in specified
116 publications under certain conditions; requiring a
117 public bid advertisement made by special governmental
118 agency to include a method to accept electronic bids;