Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 224
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì2346647Î234664                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  03/12/2015           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Simpson) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (474230) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 92 and 93
    5  insert:
    6         Section 2. Section 119.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    7  read:
    8         119.12 Attorney Attorney’s fees.—
    9         (1) When If a civil action is filed against an agency to
   10  enforce the provisions of this chapter, and if the court
   11  determines that the complainant provided written notice of the
   12  public records request to the agency’s custodian of public
   13  records using contact information provided by the agency at
   14  least 3 business days before filing the action and that the such
   15  agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record to be
   16  inspected or copied, the court shall assess and award, against
   17  the responsible agency responsible, the reasonable costs of
   18  enforcement including reasonable attorney attorneys’ fees.
   19         (2) A complainant is not required to provide written notice
   20  to the agency’s custodian of public records if:
   21         (a) The agency does not post contact information for its
   22  custodian of public records in an office accessible to the
   23  public where public records are either routinely maintained or
   24  requested, or both; and
   25         (b) The agency does not post contact information for its
   26  custodian of public records on the agency’s website, if the
   27  agency has a website.
   28         (3) The court may assess and award reasonable attorney fees
   29  against the complainant filing such an action if the court
   30  determines that it was filed in bad faith or was frivolous.
   31  
   32  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   33  And the title is amended as follows:
   34         Between lines 117 and 118
   35  insert:
   36         amending s. 119.12, F.S.; requiring a court to
   37         determine if a complainant provided certain written
   38         notice to an agency’s custodian of public records in
   39         order to assess and award attorney fees in a civil
   40         action to enforce ch. 119, F.S.; providing exceptions;
   41         authorizing a court to assess and award attorney fees
   42         against a complainant if the action was filed in bad
   43         faith or was frivolous;