Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 224
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì750274)Î750274                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  03/26/2015           .                                
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       The Committee on Fiscal Policy (Hays) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 100 - 111
    4  and insert:
    5         (4) CIVIL ACTION.
    6         (a) If a civil action is filed to compel production of
    7  public records relating to the public agency’s contract for
    8  services, the court may assess and award against the contractor
    9  the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable
   10  attorney fees, if the party filing the action provides written
   11  notice of the public records request, including a statement that
   12  the contractor has not complied with the request. The notice
   13  must be sent by common carrier delivery service or by
   14  registered, Global Express Guaranteed, or certified mail, with
   15  postage or shipping paid by the sender and with evidence of
   16  delivery, which may be in an electronic format, to the
   17  contractor at least 10 business days before filing the action.
   18         (b) An award of the reasonable costs of enforcement against
   19  a public agency must be in accordance with s. 119.12.
   20         Section 2. A public agency has until October 1, 2015, to
   21  amend a public agency contract for services, if needed, in order
   22  to comply with the amendment made by this act to section
   23  119.0701, Florida Statutes.
   24         Section 3. Section 119.0702, Florida Statutes is created to
   25  read:
   26         119.0702 Agency requirements for staff training and public
   27  postings.—
   28         (1) Each agency shall determine and provide the appropriate
   29  amount of information or training on the requirements of this
   30  chapter for each agency employee, taking into consideration
   31  whether the employee’s duties are performed in any office where
   32  public records are routinely created, sent, received,
   33  maintained, and requested.
   34         (2) Each agency shall post the contact information for the
   35  agency’s custodian of public records in any office to which the
   36  public has access in which public records are routinely created,
   37  sent, received, maintained, and requested, and shall post the
   38  contact information for the custodian of public records on the
   39  agency’s website if the agency has a website.
   40         (3) A violation of this section does not form the basis of
   41  an independent cause of action and may not be used to recover
   42  attorney fees under s. 119.12.
   43         (4) If an agency provides information or training to agency
   44  staff and publicly posts contact information in accordance with
   45  the requirements of subsections (1) and (2), the agency is
   46  deemed to be in compliance with this section.
   47         Section 4. Section 119.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   48  read:
   49         119.12 Attorney Attorney’s fees.—
   50         (1)When If a civil action is filed against an agency to
   51  enforce the provisions of this chapter, and if the court
   52  determines that the agency was provided written notice of the
   53  public records request to the agency’s custodian of public
   54  records, using contact information provided by the agency, at
   55  least 2 business days before filing the action and that the
   56  court determines that such agency unlawfully refused to permit a
   57  public record to be inspected or copied, the court shall assess
   58  and award, against the responsible agency responsible, the
   59  reasonable costs of enforcement. The complainant is not required
   60  to provide written notice to the agency’s custodian of public
   61  records if the agency failed to post contact information for its
   62  custodian of public records in accordance with s. 119.0702.
   63         (2)The reasonable costs of enforcement include, but are
   64  not limited to, including reasonable attorney attorneys’ fees.
   65  
   66  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   67  And the title is amended as follows:
   68         Between lines 19 and 20
   69  insert:
   70         providing for applicability; creating s. 119.0702,
   71         F.S.; requiring each agency to provide training and
   72         information on the requirements of ch. 119, F.S., to
   73         agency employees; requiring each agency to publicly
   74         post contact information for the custodian of public
   75         records; specifying that a violation may not be used
   76         as a basis for an independent cause of action or
   77         recovering attorney fees; specifying that an agency is
   78         in compliance if certain conditions are met; amending
   79         s. 119.12, F.S.; requiring a court to determine if a
   80         complainant provided certain written notice to an
   81         agency’s custodian of public records in order to
   82         assess and award attorney fees in a civil action to
   83         enforce ch. 119, F.S.; providing an exception;