| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public meetings; amending s. 286.011, |
| 3 | F.S.; expanding persons authorized to attend a private |
| 4 | meeting between a governmental entity and the entity's |
| 5 | attorneys to discuss pending litigation to which the |
| 6 | governmental entity is a party before a court or |
| 7 | administrative agency; revising and providing additional |
| 8 | conditions precedent to such private meetings; providing |
| 9 | an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 286.011, Florida |
| 14 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 15 | 286.011 Public meetings and records; public inspection; |
| 16 | criminal and civil penalties.- |
| 17 | (8) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), any |
| 18 | board or commission of any state agency or authority or any |
| 19 | agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or |
| 20 | political subdivision, and the chief administrative or executive |
| 21 | officer of the governmental entity, and the risk manager and |
| 22 | division heads of the governmental entity identified by the |
| 23 | chief administrative or executive officer as being involved in |
| 24 | pending litigation may meet in private with the entity's |
| 25 | attorneys attorney to discuss pending litigation to which the |
| 26 | entity is presently a party before a court or administrative |
| 27 | agency, if provided that the following conditions are met: |
| 28 | (a) The entity gives reasonable public notice of the time |
| 29 | and date of the attorney-client session and the names of persons |
| 30 | who will be attending the session. |
| 31 | (b) The session commences as an open meeting at which the |
| 32 | person chairing the meeting announces the commencement and |
| 33 | estimated length of the attorney-client session and the names of |
| 34 | the persons attending. |
| 35 | (c) The entity's attorney advises shall advise the entity |
| 36 | at the a public meeting that he or she desires advice concerning |
| 37 | the litigation, which advisory announcement may be made |
| 38 | immediately before the attorney-client session begins. |
| 39 | (d)(b) The subject matter of the session is meeting shall |
| 40 | be confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions |
| 41 | relating related to litigation expenditures. |
| 42 | (e) A person who is an adverse party to the litigation is |
| 43 | not permitted to attend the attorney-client session. |
| 44 | (f)(c) The entire session is shall be recorded by a |
| 45 | certified court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of |
| 46 | commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and |
| 47 | proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and |
| 48 | the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session |
| 49 | shall be off the record. The court reporter's notes must shall |
| 50 | be fully transcribed and filed with the entity's clerk within a |
| 51 | reasonable time after the meeting. |
| 52 | (g)(d) The entity shall give reasonable public notice of |
| 53 | the time and date of the attorney-client session and the names |
| 54 | of persons who will be attending the session. The session shall |
| 55 | commence at an open meeting at which the persons chairing the |
| 56 | meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length of |
| 57 | the attorney-client session and the names of the persons |
| 58 | attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the |
| 59 | meeting is shall be reopened, and the person chairing the |
| 60 | meeting announces shall announce the termination of the |
| 61 | attorney-client session. |
| 62 | (h)(e) The transcript is shall be made part of the public |
| 63 | record upon conclusion of the litigation. |
| 64 | (i) A person in attendance at the attorney-client session |
| 65 | agrees not to disclose any part of the discussion that took |
| 66 | place during the session until the conclusion of the litigation |
| 67 | unless ordered by the court. |
| 68 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |
