Sunshine Law & Public Records

(1)

All meetings of any board or commission of any state agency or authority or of any agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution, at which official acts are to be taken are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times, and no resolution, rule, or formal action shall be considered binding except as taken or made at such meeting. The board or commission must provide reasonable notice of all such meetings.

(2)

The minutes of a meeting of any such board or commission of any such state agency or authority shall be promptly recorded, and such records shall be open to public inspection. The circuit courts of this state shall have jurisdiction to issue injunctions to enforce the purposes of this section upon application by any citizen of this state. 

(3)(a)

Any public officer who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a noncriminal infraction, punishable by fine not exceeding $500.

(b)

Any person who is a member of a board or commission or of any state agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision who knowingly violates the provisions of this section by attending a meeting not held in accordance with the provisions hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(c)

(4)

(5)

(6)

All persons subject to subsection (1) are prohibited from holding meetings at any facility or location which discriminates on the basis of sex, age, race, creed, color, origin, or economic status or which operates in such a manner as to unreasonably restrict public access to such a facility.

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a. Remedies
A person who has been denied the right to inspect and/or copy public records under the Public Records Act may bring a civil action against the agency to enforce the terms of Ch. 119, F.S. Before filing a lawsuit, the petitioner must have furnished a public records request to the agency. See, Mills v. State, 684 So. 2d 801 (Fla. 1996)

Section 119.11(1), F.S., mandates that actions brought under Ch. 119 are entitled to an immediate hearing and take priority over other pending cases. See, Salvador v. Fennelly, 593 So 2d 1091 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992) (the early hearings provision reflects a legislative recognition of the importance of time in public records cases; such hearings must be given priority over more routine matters, and a good faith effort must be made to accommodate the legislative desire that an immediate hearing be held).

Section 119.12(1), F.S., provides that if a civil action is filed against an agency to enforce the provisions of this chapter and the court determines that the agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record to be inspected, examined, or copied, the court shall assess and award against the agency responsible the reasonable costs of enforcement including reasonable attorney's fees. A successful pro se litigant is entitled to reasonable costs under this section.

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