No. CS/CS/SB 332
Filed under Local Government.
Public Records and Public Meetings/Private Property Rights; Providing an exemption from public meetings requirements for meetings or portions of meetings between agencies and their attorneys to discuss certain claims concerning private property rights; requiring that such meetings be transcribed; providing that such transcripts become public records at specified times; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemptions; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDGovernment agencies may now meet privately with their attorney to strategize about a Bert Harris Act property-rights claim, closed to the public despite Florida's open-meetings law.
The closed session is only allowed during the 90-day notice period before a lawsuit can be filed, must stick to settlement talks or strategy, and requires a certified court reporter to record every word.
The public must be told in advance when the session will happen and who is attending, and the meeting must open and close in public even though the substantive discussion itself is closed.
The transcript becomes public once the claim settles, or once the deadline to sue passes without a lawsuit or settlement; the text does not say what happens if a lawsuit is filed and never settles.
AIDuring the 90-day pre-suit notice period for a Bert Harris Act property-rights claim, an agency and its attorney may meet privately to discuss settlement or strategy, closed to the public despite the Sunshine Law's normal open-meetings requirement.
AIA certified court reporter must record the entire session, including who was present and who spoke, with no portion left off the record, and file a full transcript with the agency's clerk.
AIThe transcript becomes a public record once the claim settles, or once the statute of limitations expires without any lawsuit being filed or settlement reached.
AISeparately from the meeting exemption, the transcripts, recordings, minutes, and records generated during the closed session are also exempt from the public records law until the release trigger is met.
AIThe agency's attorney must first tell the agency, at a public meeting, that he or she wants to discuss the claim, before any closed-door session on it can happen.
AILike other public-records and public-meetings exemptions, this one automatically sunsets in five years unless the Legislature reviews it and votes to keep it in force.