CRC - 2017 P 81
By Commissioner Heuchan
heuchanb-00081A-17 201781__
1 A proposal to amend
2 Section 24 of Article I and Section 4 of Article III
3 of the State Constitution to require that all meetings
4 of the Legislature, the judicial branch, and any
5 commission or task force at which official acts are to
6 be taken or at which public business of such body is
7 to be transacted or discussed be open and noticed to
8 the public.
9
10 Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of
11 Florida:
12
13 Section 24 of Article I of the State Constitution is
14 amended to read:
15 ARTICLE I
16 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
17 SECTION 24. Access to public records and meetings.—
18 (a) Every person has the right to inspect or copy any
19 public record made or received in connection with the official
20 business of any public body, officer, or employee of the state,
21 or persons acting on their behalf, except with respect to
22 records exempted pursuant to this section or specifically made
23 confidential by this Constitution. This section specifically
24 includes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of
25 government and each agency or department created thereunder;
26 counties, municipalities, and districts; and each constitutional
27 officer, board, and commission, or entity created pursuant to
28 law or this Constitution.
29 (b) All meetings of the legislature; the judicial branch,
30 including meetings between judges and justices; any collegial
31 public body of the executive branch of state government; or of
32 any collegial public body of a county, municipality, school
33 district, or special district; or any commission or task force,
34 at which official acts are to be taken or at which public
35 business of such body is to be transacted or discussed, shall be
36 open and noticed to the public and meetings of the legislature
37 shall be open and noticed as provided in Article III, Section
38 4(e), except with respect to meetings exempted pursuant to this
39 section or specifically closed by this Constitution.
40 (c) This section shall be self-executing. The legislature,
41 however, may provide by general law passed by a two-thirds vote
42 of each house for the exemption of records from the requirements
43 of subsection (a) and the exemption of meetings from the
44 requirements of subsection (b), provided that such law shall
45 state with specificity the public necessity justifying the
46 exemption and shall be no broader than necessary to accomplish
47 the stated purpose of the law. The legislature shall enact laws
48 governing the enforcement of this section, including the
49 maintenance, control, destruction, disposal, and disposition of
50 records made public by this section, except that each house of
51 the legislature may adopt rules governing the enforcement of
52 this section in relation to records of the legislative branch.
53 Laws enacted pursuant to this subsection shall contain only
54 exemptions from the requirements of subsections (a) or (b) and
55 provisions governing the enforcement of this section, and shall
56 relate to one subject.
57 (d) All laws that are in effect on July 1, 1993 that limit
58 public access to records or meetings shall remain in force, and
59 such laws apply to records of the legislative and judicial
60 branches, until they are repealed. Rules of court that are in
61 effect on the date of adoption of this section that limit access
62 to records shall remain in effect until they are repealed.
63
64 Section 4 of Article III of the State Constitution is
65 amended to read:
66 ARTICLE III
67 LEGISLATURE
68 SECTION 4. Quorum and procedure.—
69 (a) A majority of the membership of each house shall
70 constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from day
71 to day and compel the presence of absent members in such manner
72 and under such penalties as it may prescribe. Each house shall
73 determine its rules of procedure.
74 (b) Sessions of each house shall be public; except sessions
75 of the senate when considering appointment to or removal from
76 public office may be closed.
77 (c) Each house shall keep and publish a journal of its
78 proceedings; and upon the request of five members present, the
79 vote of each member voting on any question shall be entered on
80 the journal. In any legislative committee or subcommittee, the
81 vote of each member voting on the final passage of any
82 legislation pending before the committee, and upon the request
83 of any two members of the committee or subcommittee, the vote of
84 each member on any other question, shall be recorded.
85 (d) Each house may punish a member for contempt or
86 disorderly conduct and, by a two-thirds vote of its membership,
87 may expel a member.
88 (e) The rules of procedure of each house shall provide that
89 all legislative committee and subcommittee meetings of each
90 house, and joint conference committee meetings, shall be open
91 and noticed to the public in accordance with Article I, section
92 24. The rules of procedure of each house shall further provide
93 that all prearranged gatherings, between more than two members
94 of the legislature, or between the governor, the president of
95 the senate, or the speaker of the house of representatives, the
96 purpose of which is to agree upon formal legislative action that
97 will be taken at a subsequent time, or at which formal
98 legislative action is taken, regarding pending legislation or
99 amendments, shall be reasonably open to the public. All open
100 meetings shall be subject to order and decorum. This section
101 shall be implemented and defined by the rules of each house, and
102 such rules shall control admission to the floor of each
103 legislative chamber and may, where reasonably necessary for
104 security purposes or to protect a witness appearing before a
105 committee, provide for the closure of committee meetings. Each
106 house shall be the sole judge for the interpretation,
107 implementation, and enforcement of this section.