Florida Senate - 2018                                    SB 1464
       
       
        
       By Senator Farmer
       
       
       
       
       
       34-00504-18                                           20181464__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Florida False Claims Act;
    3         amending s. 68.084, F.S.; authorizing the Attorney
    4         General, on behalf of the Department of Legal Affairs,
    5         to voluntarily dismiss certain civil actions;
    6         providing an exception; providing that the department
    7         may not dismiss such actions on behalf of the state at
    8         a later date under certain circumstances; amending s.
    9         68.087, F.S.; deleting a provision prohibiting a court
   10         from having jurisdiction over an action brought by an
   11         employee or former employee of state government;
   12         providing an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and subsection
   17  (3) of section 68.084, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   18         68.084 Rights of the parties in civil actions.—
   19         (2)(a) The department, or the Attorney General, as head of
   20  the department, may at any point voluntarily dismiss the action
   21  notwithstanding the objections of the person initiating the
   22  action, unless the department elected not to proceed with the
   23  action and the person who initiated the action proceeds with the
   24  action under subsection (3).
   25         (3) If the department elects not to proceed with the
   26  action, the person who initiated the action has the right to
   27  conduct the action. If the Attorney General, as head of the
   28  department, or the Chief Financial Officer, as head of the
   29  Department of Financial Services, so requests, it shall be
   30  served with copies of all pleadings and motions filed in the
   31  action along with copies of all deposition transcripts at the
   32  requesting department’s expense. When a person proceeds with the
   33  action, the court, without limiting the rights of the person
   34  initiating the action, may nevertheless permit the department to
   35  intervene and take over the action, except to dismiss the
   36  action, on behalf of the state at a later date upon showing of
   37  good cause.
   38         Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 68.087, Florida
   39  Statutes, is amended to read:
   40         68.087 Exemptions to civil actions.—
   41         (4) No court shall have jurisdiction over an action where
   42  the person bringing the action under s. 68.083(2) is:
   43         (a) acting as an attorney for state government; or
   44         (b) An employee or former employee of state government, and
   45  the action is based, in whole or in part, upon information
   46  obtained in the course or scope of government employment.
   47         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.