Pub. Rec. and Pub. Meetings/Attorney Meetings to Discuss Private Property Rights Claims

Florida property claim talks become private

Beginning July 1, 2026, Florida agencies or their chief officers can meet privately with agency lawyers about Bert Harris property-rights claims. This applies only during the claim’s 90-day notice period and only to settlement talks or strategy. The lawyer must first request advice about the claim at a public meeting. The agency must give reasonable public notice of the session’s date, time, and attendees. The chair must announce its start time and estimated length at an open meeting, then reopen the meeting and announce its end. A certified court reporter must record all discussion, proceedings, start and end times, and names of everyone present and speaking. Nothing can be off the record; a full transcript must reach the agency clerk within a reasonable time. Transcripts, recordings, minutes, and other session records are exempt from public-records disclosure. The transcript becomes public upon settlement, or when the claim’s filing deadline expires if no lawsuit or settlement occurs. The exemptions face open-government sunset review and end October 2, 2031, unless the Legislature reenacts them.