CS/HB 405

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public meetings; amending s. 286.011,
3	F.S.; expanding the public meetings exemption for a
4	private meeting between a governmental entity and the
5	entity's attorneys to discuss pending litigation to which
6	the 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	for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption;
10	providing a statement of public necessity; providing an
11	effective date.
12
13	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15	Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 286.011, Florida
16	Statutes, is amended to read:
17	286.011 Public meetings and records; public inspection;
18	criminal and civil penalties.-
19	(8)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1),
20	any board or commission of any state agency or authority or any
21	agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or
22	political subdivision, and the chief administrative or executive
23	officer of the governmental entity, and the risk manager and
24	division heads of the governmental entity identified by the
25	chief administrative or executive officer as being involved in
26	pending litigation may meet in private with the entity's
27	attorneys attorney to discuss pending litigation to which the
28	entity is presently a party before a court or administrative
29	agency, if provided that the following conditions are met:
30	1. The entity gives reasonable public notice of the time
31	and date of the attorney-client session and the names of persons
32	who will be attending the session.
33	2. The session commences as an open meeting at which the
34	person chairing the meeting announces the commencement and
35	estimated length of the attorney-client session and the names of
36	the persons attending.
37	3.(a) The entity's attorney advises shall advise the
38	entity at the a public meeting that he or she desires advice
39	concerning the litigation, which advisory announcement may be
40	made immediately before the attorney-client session begins.
41	4.(b) The subject matter of the session is meeting shall
42	be confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions
43	relating related to litigation expenditures.
44	5. A person who is an adverse party to the litigation is
45	not permitted to attend the attorney-client session.
46	6.(c) The entire session is shall be recorded by a
47	certified court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of
48	commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and
49	proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and
50	the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session
51	shall be off the record. The court reporter's notes must shall
52	be fully transcribed and filed with the entity's clerk within a
53	reasonable time after the meeting.
54	7.(d) The entity shall give reasonable public notice of
55	the time and date of the attorney-client session and the names
56	of persons who will be attending the session. The session shall
57	commence at an open meeting at which the persons chairing the
58	meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length of
59	the attorney-client session and the names of the persons
60	attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the
61	meeting is shall be reopened, and the person chairing the
62	meeting announces shall announce the termination of the
63	attorney-client session.
64	8.(e) The transcript is shall be made part of the public
65	record upon conclusion of the litigation.
66	9. A person in attendance at the attorney-client session
67	agrees not to disclose any part of the discussion that took
68	place during the session until the conclusion of the litigation
69	unless ordered by the court.
70	(b) This subsection is subject to the Open Government
71	Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand
72	repealed on October 2, 2015, unless reviewed and saved from
73	repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
74	Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
75	necessity to expand the current exemption from public meeting
76	requirements for those meetings wherein any board or commission
77	of any state agency or authority or any agency or authority of
78	any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision, and
79	the chief administrative or executive officer of the
80	governmental entity meet in private with the entity's attorneys
81	to discuss pending litigation to which the entity is presently a
82	party before a court or administrative agency. The Legislature
83	also finds that it is a public necessity to exclude from those
84	attorney-client sessions any person who is an adverse party to
85	the litigation. If such person was authorized to attend the
86	closed attorney-client session, then that person would be privy
87	to attorney-client discussions that would provide that person
88	with an advantage in the litigation process. Allowing such
89	person to attend discussions regarding settlement negotiations
90	and litigation strategies places the public body at a
91	disadvantage in the judicial and administrative process.
92	Further, the Legislature finds that it is a public necessity to
93	prohibit a person from attending a closed attorney-client
94	session if that person does not agree to the nondisclosure
95	restriction provided in the act. If a person attending a closed
96	attorney-client session discloses any part of the discussion
97	that took place during the session prior to conclusion of the
98	litigation or unless ordered by the court, then that person
99	places the public body at a disadvantage with the adverse party
100	by revealing litigation strategies. Consequently, the
101	Legislature finds that in order to ensure the fair treatment of
102	a public body as part of the judicial and administrative process
103	it is a public necessity to prohibit a person who is an adverse
104	party to litigation from attending closed attorney-client
105	sessions and to prohibit a person from attending such sessions
106	if that person does not agree to the nondisclosure requirements
107	created by the act.
108	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.