Legislative Update Coming Soon . . .

There are a number of interesting bills working their way through the current session. I'll have an update on some of them posted soon.

Overlapping Board Membership and the Sunshine Law

In AGO 2007-13, the Attorney General addressed the recurring issue of overlapping board membership and the implications of the Sunshine Law. Here, two Washington County Commissioners served as board members of the West Florida Regional Planning Council. A concern was raised that discuss at a planning council meeting a matter that might later come before them at the County.

After discussing the applicable provisions of the Florida Regional Planning Council Act, including the provisions that expressly require members of the local general purpose governments to serve on such councils, the Attorney General concluded that the two County Commissioners could take part in the regional planning council meetings without violating the Sunshine Law.

If you're interested in this issue, you'll also want to read AGO 98-14.

City Emails Are Public Records . . . Even With a bcc

In AGO 2007-14, the City Attorney for the City of Indian Rocks Beach inquired about emails sent from City Commissioners that contained "undisclosed or blind recipients." The Attorney General properly concluded that such emails, as well as the email addresses of any "blind recipients," were public records under Chapter 119. No big surprise there, and not really sure why anybody would ever think otherwise. Maybe there's more to this story than meets the eye.
In any event, here's a gratuitous plug for my law school classmate Andy Salzman, the City Attorney for the City of Indian Rocks Beach (and some others).