C4F-Ref- NCAC - Review Existing Policy On Public Testimony At Public MeetingsMIAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeochfl.gov
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission
Jose Smith, City Attorn~A.Af
Jimmy L. Morales, City~
Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk
DATE: October 16, 2013
SUBJECT: REFERRAL TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD/COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
TO REVIEW EXISTING POLICY ON PUBLIC TESTIMONY AT PUBLIC
MEETINGS
Senate Bill No. 50, which passed during the 2013 Legislative Session, and became effective
October 1, 2013, requires local governments to provide members of the public with a
reasonable opportunity to be heard on matters that come before it. Although Miami Beach
provides many opportunities for the public to be heard at public meetings, it is recommended
that the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee review the City's existing policy on
public testimony at public meetings to ensure compliance with SB 50.
Attachments:
A copy of Senate Bill No. 50.
A copy of an article printed in the May/June 2013 Quality Cities Magazine that further
explains the requirements of Senate Bill No. 50.
T:\AGENDA\2013\0ctober 16\Referral to Neighberhood-City Policies on Public Testimony at Public Meetings.doc
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Agenda Item C.(/ F
Date KJ-/6 ~13-
CHAPTER 2013-227
Committee Substitute for
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 50
An act relating to public meetings; creating s. 286.0114, F.S.; defining "board
or commission"; requiring that a member of the public be given a
reasonable opportunity to be heard by a board or commission before it
takes official action on a proposition; providing exceptions; establishing
requirements for rules or policies adopted by the board or commission;
providing that compliance with the requirements of this section is deemed
to have occurred under certain circumstances; providing that a circuit
court has jurisdiction to issue an injunction under certain circumstances;
authorizing a court to assess reasonable attorney fees in actions filed
against a board or commission; providing that an action taken by a board
or commission which is found in violation of this section is not void;
providing that the act fulfills an important state interest; providing an
effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
Section 1. Section 286.0114, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
286.0114 Public meetings: reasonable opportunity to be heard; attorney
fees.-
(1) For purposes of this section. ''board or commission" means a board or
commission of any state agency or authority or of any agency or authority of a
county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision.
(2) Members of the public shall be given a reasonable opportunity to be
heard on a proposition before a board or commission. The opportunity to be
heard need not occur at the same meeting at which the board or commission
takes official action on the proposition if the opportunity occurs at a meeting
that is during the decisionmaking process and is within reasonable proximity
in time before the meeting at which the board or commission takes the official
action. This section does not prohibit a board or commission from maintain-
ing orderly conduct or proper decorum in a public meeting. The opportunity
to be heard is subiect to rules or policies adopted by the board or commission.
as provided in subsection (4).
(3) The requirements in subsection (2) do not apply to:
(a) An official act that must be taken to deal with an emergency situation
affecting the public health, welfare. or safety. if compliance with the
requirements would cause an unreasonable delay in the ability of the
board or commission to act;
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Ch. 2013-227 LAWS OF FLORIDA Ch. 2013-227
(b) An official act involving no more than a ministerial act, including, but
not limited to, approval of minutes and ceremonial proclamations;
(c) A meeting that is exempt from s. 286.011; or
(d) A meeting during which the board or commission is acting in a quasi-
judicial capacity. This paragraph does not affect the right of a person to be
heard as otherwise provided by law.
(4) Rules or policies of a board or commission which govern the
opportunity to be heard are limited to those that:
(a) Provide guidelines regarding the amount of time an individual has to
address the board or commission;
(b) Prescribe procedures for allowing representatives of groups or
factions on a proposition to address the board or commission, rather than
all members of such groups or factions, at meetings in which a large number
of individuals wish to be heard;
(c) Prescribe procedures or forms for an individual to use in order to
inform the board or commission of a desire to be heard; to indicate his or her
support, opposition. or neutrality on a proposition: and to indicate his or her
designation of a representative to speak for him or her or his or her group on
a proposition if he or she so chooses: or
(d) Designate a specified period of time for public comment.
(5) If a board or commission adopts rules or policies in compliance with
this section and follows such rules or policies when providing an opportunity
for members of the public to be heard, the board or commission is deemed to
be acting in compliance with this section.
(6) A circuit court has jurisdiction to issue an injunction for the purpose of
enforcing this section upon the filing of an application for such injunction by a
citizen of this state.
(7)(a) Whenever an action is filed against a board or commission to
enforce this section. the court shall assess reasonable attorney fees against
such board or commission if the court determines that the defendant to such
action acted in violation of this section. The court may assess reasonable
attomey fees against the individual filing such an action if the court finds
that the action was filed in bad faith or was frivolous. This paragraph does
not apply to a state attorney or his or her duly authorized assistants or an
officer charged with enforcing this section.
(b) Whenever a board or commission appeals a court order that has found
the board or commission to have violated this section, and such order is
affirmed, the court shall assess reasonable attorney fees for the appeal
against such board or commission.
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Ch. 2013-227 LAWS OF FLORIDA Ch. 2013-227
(8) An action taken by a board or commission which is found to be in
violation of this section is not void as a result of that violation.
Section 2. The Legislature finds that a proper and legitimate state
purpose is served when members of the public have been given a reasonable
opportunity to be heard on a proposition before a board or commission of a
state agency or authority, or of an agency or authority of a county, municipal
corporation. or political subdivision. Therefore, the Legislature determines
and declares that this act fulfills an important state interest.
Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2013.
Approved by the Governor June 28, 2013.
Filed in Office Secretary of State June 28, 2013.
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163
Memorandum
TO: Key Officials
FROM:
FLC Board of Directors
Local & Regional Leagues
Kraig Conn, Legislative Counsel
SUBJECT: REMINDER: City Policies on Public Testimony at Public Meetings
DATE: September 18, 2013
Prior to October 1, 2013, each city should review existing (or consider adopting) policies on
public testimony at public meetings. Policies should be considered for meetings of the elected
body, as well as meetings of appointed bodies. This review should be performed to ensure
compliance with SB 50 from the 2013 Legislative Session, which becomes effective October
1, 2013. Attached is an article printed in the May/June 2013 Quality Cities magazine that
further explains the requirements from SB 50.
If you have any questions, please contact me at kconn@flcities.com.
301 South Bronaugh Street • Post Office Box 1757 • Tallahassee, FL 32302-1757
Telephone (850) 222-9684 • Fax (850) 222-3806 • Website:www.flcities.com
164
Bill Codifies Rules on Public Input
at Local Government Meetings
...
BY KRAIG CONN
FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES
CS/CS/SB 50 by Sen. Joe Negron, which passed during
the 2013 legislative session, requires local governments,
including appointed bodies, to provide members of the
public with a reasonable opportunity to be heard on
matters before the local government. Currently, the Florida
Constitution and Florida statutes are silent concerning
32 Florida League of Cities
whether the public has a right to be heard at a public
meeting.
To date, Florida courts have heard two cases directly
addressing whether a member of the public has a right to
be heard at a meeting when he or she is not a party to the
proceedings. Both cases held that while the public has a
PHOTO<eiS-TOCKPHOTO.COMNM
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right to attend a public meeting, there is no requirement
that the public be given an opportunity to speak or be
heard at a public meeting.
Most, if not all, cities likely provide opportunities for the
public to be heard at public meetings or on matters coming
before the city. If your elected city commission or other
appointed ciry boards or commissions do not already have
a policy on speaking at public meetings, you should consider
adopting one under the general guidelines within the bill.
The bill creates Section 286.0114, Florida Statutes, and
states that a board or commission must provide members
of the public with a reasonable opportunity to be heard on
a "proposition" before the board or commission. "Board
or commission" is broadly defined to include any agency
or authoriry of a county, municipal corporation or political
subdivision. The bill does not define "proposition," but
it is likely intended to be broadly applied to include all
matters coming before the board or commission.
While the bill requires that members of the public be
given a reasonable opportunity to be heard, the opportunity
does not have to occur at the same meeting where the board
or commission takes official action on an item, whether by
formal vote or other final action. However, the opportunity
to be heard must comply with the following provisions:
~ The opportunity must occur at a meeting that is
during the "decision making" process; and
~ The opportunity must be within reasonable
proximity in time before the meeting at which the
board or commission takes the official action.
The bill does not specifically state that the opportunity
to be heard must occur prior to the official action being
taken on an item, but it does imply that this timeframe
should apply.
The bill states that nothing in the new law prohibits a
board or commission from maintaining orderly conduct or
proper decorum in a public meeting. It also allows a board
or commission to establish rules or policies on providing
testimony. However, the rules or policies can only do the
following:
~ Provide guidelines regarding the amount of time an
individual has to address the board or commission;
~ Prescribe procedures allowing representatives
of groups or factions to address the board or
commission, rather than all of the members of the
groups or factions;
~ Prescribe procedures or forms for an individual to
use in order to inform the board or commission of a
desire to be heard; to indicate his or her position on
a proposition; or to indicate his or her designation
of a representative speaker; and
• Designate a specified period of time for public
comment.
The requirement to provide a reasonable opportunity to
be heard does not apply under the following circumstances:
~ When an official act must be taken to deal with
an emergency situation affecting the public health,
welfare or safery, if compliance with the speaking
requirements would cause an unreasonable delay
in the ability of the board or commission to act;
• For an official act involving no more than a ministe-
rial act, including, but not limited to, approval of
minutes and ceremonial proclamations;
• At a meeting during which the board or commission
is acting in a quasi-judicial capacity with respect to
the rights or interests of a person; and
• At a meeting that is exempt from the Sunshine or
Open Meetings Law (Section 286.011, Florida
Statutes).
The bill provides that if an action is filed against a
board or commission to enforce the opportunity to be
heard, a court is to assess reasonable attorney's fees against
the board or commission if it is determined that a violation
occurred. The court can assess reasonable attorney's fees
against an individual filing an action if the court finds that
the action was filed in bad faith or was frivolous. A court
can also issue an injunction for the purpose of enforcing
the opportunity to be heard.
CS/CS/SB 50 also provides that if a board or commission
adopts rules or policies and follows such rules or policies
when providing an opportunity for members of the
public to be heard, the board or commission is deemed
to be acting in compliance with the law. Significantly, the
bill also specifically provides that any action taken by a
board or commission that is found to be in violation of
the opportunity to be heard is not void as a result of the
violation.
Hopefully, CS/CS/SB 50 will not have a significant
effect on the current operations of elected city commissions
and city-appointed boards or commissions, as most of
these bodies Likely already provide opportunities for public
input. If your city has not already done so, you may want
to consider adopting rules or policies on public testimony
that are applicable to meetings of both the elected and
appointed entities. The bill is effective on October 1, 2013,
and cities should use the next several months to review,
and update if needed, current rules or policies on public
testimony before city boards or commissions.
Kraig Conn is legislative counsel for the Florida League of
Cities. •
Quality Cities-May/June 2013 33
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