GOVERNMENT IN THE SUNSHINE LAW
(Chapter 286, Florida Statutes)

Florida's "Government in the Sunshine Law" requires that all meetings for the transaction of official business by all public boards and agencies at all levels of government must be open to the public at all times in the absence of a specific statutory exemption. The law applies to all appointed and advisory boards as well as those that are elected. It applies to any meeting, including a "workshop session" or "briefing session" at which public business is discussed, so long as the meeting forms an integral part of the decision-making process.

The Sunshine Law is generally limited to collegial bodies whose members share equal authority and act through the concurrence of two or more members. However, it has been interpreted to apply to a single individual in certain limited circumstance in which the individual is performing a duty delegated by a board or commission which is subject to the Sunshine Law.

Reasonable notice must be given of a meeting which is subject to the Sunshine Law. What is reasonable depends upon all of the circumstances in a given situation. Minutes must be promptly recorded and opened for inspection to members of the public. All votes must be taken in the open and must be recorded and all members of the board or commission who are present must vote unless a declaration of conflict is made on the record.

The Government in the Sunshine Law may be enforced by any citizen of Florida by seeking injunctive relief in the circuit court. The person filing the lawsuit is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees if the court finds that the agency was in violation of the law. On the other hand, the agency is entitled to reasonable attorney's fee from the person filing the lawsuit if the court finds that it was filed in bad faith or that it was frivolous.

Any public officer who violates any provision of the Sunshine Law is guilty of a non-criminal infraction which is punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Any person who is a member of a board or commission, a state agency or authority, or a county, municipal corporation or political subdivision who knowingly violates the public meeting provisions of the Sunshine Law is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.