HB 405

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public meetings; amending s. 286.011,
3	F.S.; expanding persons authorized to attend a private
4	meeting between a governmental entity and the entity's
5	attorneys to discuss pending litigation to which the
6	governmental entity is a party before a court or
7	administrative agency; revising and providing additional
8	conditions precedent to such private meetings; providing
9	an effective date.
10
11	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13	Section 1.  Subsection (8) of section 286.011, Florida
14	Statutes, is amended to read:
15	286.011  Public meetings and records; public inspection;
16	criminal and civil penalties.-
17	(8)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), any
18	board or commission of any state agency or authority or any
19	agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or
20	political subdivision, and the chief administrative or executive
21	officer of the governmental entity, and the risk manager and
22	division heads of the governmental entity identified by the
23	chief administrative or executive officer as being involved in
24	pending litigation may meet in private with the entity's
25	attorneys attorney to discuss pending litigation to which the
26	entity is presently a party before a court or administrative
27	agency, if provided that the following conditions are met:
28	(a)  The entity gives reasonable public notice of the time
29	and date of the attorney-client session and the names of persons
30	who will be attending the session.
31	(b)  The session commences as an open meeting at which the
32	person chairing the meeting announces the commencement and
33	estimated length of the attorney-client session and the names of
34	the persons attending.
35	(c)  The entity's attorney advises shall advise the entity
36	at the a public meeting that he or she desires advice concerning
37	the litigation, which advisory announcement may be made
38	immediately before the attorney-client session begins.
39	(d)(b)  The subject matter of the session is meeting shall
40	be confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions
41	relating related to litigation expenditures.
42	(e)  A person who is an adverse party to the litigation is
43	not permitted to attend the attorney-client session.
44	(f)(c)  The entire session is shall be recorded by a
45	certified court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of
46	commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and
47	proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and
48	the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session
49	shall be off the record. The court reporter's notes must shall
50	be fully transcribed and filed with the entity's clerk within a
51	reasonable time after the meeting.
52	(g)(d)  The entity shall give reasonable public notice of
53	the time and date of the attorney-client session and the names
54	of persons who will be attending the session. The session shall
55	commence at an open meeting at which the persons chairing the
56	meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length of
57	the attorney-client session and the names of the persons
58	attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the
59	meeting is shall be reopened, and the person chairing the
60	meeting announces shall announce the termination of the
61	attorney-client session.
62	(h)(e)  The transcript is shall be made part of the public
63	record upon conclusion of the litigation.
64	(i)  A person in attendance at the attorney-client session
65	agrees not to disclose any part of the discussion that took
66	place during the session until the conclusion of the litigation
67	unless ordered by the court.
68	Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.