Florida Senate - 2013                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1150
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 418164                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/22/2013           .                                
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Benacquisto) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Before line 44
    4  insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 119.0701, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         119.0701 Contracts; public records.—
    8         (1) For purposes of this section, the term:
    9         (a) “Contractor” means an individual, partnership,
   10  corporation, or business entity that enters into a contract for
   11  services with a public agency and is acting on behalf of the
   12  public agency as provided under s. 119.011(2).
   13         (b) “Public agency” means a state, county, district,
   14  authority, or municipal officer, or department, division, board,
   15  bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created
   16  or established by law.
   17         (2) In addition to other contract requirements provided by
   18  law, each public agency contract for services must include a
   19  provision that requires the contractor and its subcontractors to
   20  comply with public records laws, specifically to:
   21         (a) Keep and maintain public records that ordinarily and
   22  necessarily would be required by the public agency in order to
   23  perform the service.
   24         (b) Provide the public with access to public records on the
   25  same terms and conditions that the public agency would provide
   26  the records and at a cost that does not exceed the cost provided
   27  in this chapter or as otherwise provided by law.
   28         (c) Ensure that public records that are exempt or
   29  confidential and exempt from public records disclosure
   30  requirements are not disclosed except as authorized by law.
   31         (d) Meet all requirements for retaining public records and
   32  transfer, at no cost, to the public agency all public records in
   33  possession of the contractor upon termination of the contract
   34  and destroy any duplicate public records that are exempt or
   35  confidential and exempt from public records disclosure
   36  requirements. All records stored electronically must be provided
   37  to the public agency in a format that is compatible with the
   38  information technology systems of the public agency.
   39         (3) If a contractor or its subcontractor does not comply
   40  with a public records request, the public agency shall enforce
   41  the contract provisions in accordance with the contract.
   42         Section 2. Section 119.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   43  read:
   44         119.12 Attorney Attorney’s fees.—If a civil action is filed
   45  against an agency to enforce the provisions of this chapter and
   46  if the court determines that such agency unlawfully refused to
   47  permit a public record to be inspected or copied, the court
   48  shall assess and award, against the agency responsible, the
   49  reasonable costs of enforcement. The reasonable costs of
   50  enforcement include, but are not limited to, including
   51  reasonable attorney attorneys’ fees, including those reasonable
   52  attorney fees incurred in litigating entitlement to and the
   53  determination or quantification of attorney fees for the
   54  underlying matter.
   55  
   56  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   57         And the title is amended as follows:
   58         Delete line 2
   59  and insert:
   60         An act relating to governmental accountability;
   61         creating s. 119.0701, F.S.; providing definitions;
   62         providing that each public agency contract for
   63         services must meet specified requirements; requiring
   64         the public agency to enforce contract provisions if a
   65         contractor does not comply with a public records
   66         request; amending s. 119.12, F.S.; specifying what
   67         constitutes reasonable costs of enforcement in a civil
   68         action against an agency to enforce ch. 119, F.S.;
   69         amending s.