Bill Text: FL S0138 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Public Meetings [EPSC]

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Community Affairs [S0138 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-S0138-Introduced.html

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Florida Senate - 2010                                     SB 138 
 
By Senator Rich 
34-00252-10                                            2010138__ 
1                        A bill to be entitled 
2         An act relating to public meetings; amending s. 
3         286.011, F.S.; adding the risk manager and certain 
4         division heads of a governmental entity to the persons 
5         who may attend a private meeting discussing pending 
6         litigation; authorizing the required public 
7         announcement of an attorney-client session to be made 
8         immediately before the session; prohibiting an adverse 
9         party from attending the attorney-client session; 
10         prohibiting a person who attends an attorney-client 
11         session from disclosing any part of the discussion 
12         until the conclusion of the litigation unless ordered 
13         by the court; providing an effective date. 
14 
15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
16 
17         Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 286.011, Florida 
18  Statutes, is amended to read: 
19         286.011 Public meetings and records; public inspection; 
20  criminal and civil penalties.— 
21         (8) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), any 
22  board or commission of any state agency or authority or any 
23  agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or 
24  political subdivision, and the chief administrative or executive 
25  officer of the governmental entity, the risk manager of the 
26  governmental entity, and the division heads of the governmental 
27  entity that is involved in pending litigation, as identified by 
28  the chief administrative or executive officer, may meet in 
29  private with the entity’s attorneys attorney to discuss pending 
30  litigation to which the entity is presently a party before a 
31  court or administrative agency, if provided that the following 
32  conditions are met: 
33         (a) The entity gives reasonable public notice of the time 
34  and date of the attorney-client session and the names of persons 
35  who will be attending the session. 
36         (b) The session commences as an open meeting at which the 
37  person chairing the meeting announces the commencement and 
38  estimated length of the attorney-client session and the names of 
39  the persons attending. 
40         (c) The entity’s attorney advises shall advise the entity 
41  at the a public meeting that he or she desires advice concerning 
42  the litigation, which advisory announcement may be made 
43  immediately before the attorney-client session begins. 
44         (d)(b) The subject matter of the session is meeting shall 
45  be confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions 
46  relating related to litigation expenditures. 
47         (e) A person who is an adverse party to the litigation is 
48  not permitted to attend the attorney-client session. 
49         (f)(c) The entire session is shall be recorded by a 
50  certified court reporter. The reporter shall record the times of 
51  commencement and termination of the session, all discussion and 
52  proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and 
53  the names of all persons speaking. No portion of the session 
54  shall be off the record. The court reporter’s notes must shall 
55  be fully transcribed and filed with the entity’s clerk within a 
56  reasonable time after the meeting. 
57         (g)(d) The entity shall give reasonable public notice of 
58  the time and date of the attorney-client session and the names 
59  of persons who will be attending the session. The session shall 
60  commence at an open meeting at which the persons chairing the 
61  meeting shall announce the commencement and estimated length of 
62  the attorney-client session and the names of the persons 
63  attending. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the 
64  meeting is shall be reopened, and the person chairing the 
65  meeting announces shall announce the termination of the 
66  attorney-client session. 
67         (h)(e) The transcript is shall be made part of the public 
68  record upon conclusion of the litigation. 
69         (i) A person in attendance at the attorney-client session 
70  agrees not to disclose any part of the discussion that took 
71  place during the session until the conclusion of the litigation 
72  unless ordered by the court. 
73         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.