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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to legal notices; amending s. 50.011, 2
F.S.; revising the requirements for newspapers 3
publishing legal notices; deleting an option for 4
publication on a newspaper's website; providing for 5
the publication of legal notices on certain publicly 6
accessible websites; amending ss. 50.021, 50.0211, and 7
50.031, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by 8
the act; creating s. 50.0311, F.S.; providing 9
definitions; authorizing a governmental agency to 10
publish legal notices on a publicly accessible webs ite 11
under certain circumstances; providing criteria for 12
website publication; authorizing a fiscally 13
constrained county to use a publicly accessible 14
website to publish legally required advertisements and 15
public notices only if certain requirements are met; 16
requiring a governmental agency to provide specified 17
notice to certain residents and property owners 18
relating to alternative methods of receiving legal 19
notices; authorizing a governmental agency to publish 20
certain public notices and advertisements on its 21
governmental access channels; providing a requirement 22
for public bid advertisements made by governmental 23
agencies on publicly accessible websites; amending s. 24
50.051, F.S.; revising a form for affidavits of 25
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publication; amending s. 50.061, F.S.; correcting a 26
cross-reference; amending s. 50.0711, F.S.; revising 27
provisions relating to the use of court docket funds; 28
amending ss. 11.02, 45.031, 90.902, 120.81, 121.055, 29
162.12, 189.015, 190.005, 200.065, 348.0308, 348.635, 30
348.7605, 849.38, and 932.704, F.S.; con forming 31
provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 32
effective date. 33
34
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 35
36
Section 1. Section 50.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to 37
read: 38
50.011 Publication of legal notices. —Whenever by statute 39
an official or legal advertisement or a publication , or notice 40
in a newspaper or on a governmental agency website has been or 41
is directed or permitted in the nature of or in lieu of process, 42
or for constructive service, or in initiating, assumi ng, 43
reviewing, exercising , or enforcing jurisdiction or power, or 44
for any purpose, including all legal notices and advertisements 45
of sheriffs and tax collectors, such legislation, whether 46
existing or repealed, means the contemporaneous and continuous 47
intent and meaning of such legislation all and singular, 48
existing or repealed, is and has been and is hereby declared to 49
be and to have been, and the rule of interpretation is and has 50
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been the following: 51
(1) A publication in a newspaper printed and published 52
periodically at least once a week, containing at least 25 53
percent of its words in the English language, entered or 54
qualified to be admitted and entered as periodical class mail at 55
a post office in the county where published, available to the 56
public generally for the publication of official or other 57
notices and customarily containing information of a public 58
character or of interest or of value to the residents or owners 59
of property in the county where published, or of interest or of 60
value to the general publ ic; or A publication in a newspaper 61
that meets all of the following: 62
(a) Is printed and published periodically at least once a 63
week. 64
(b) Contains at least 25 percent of its words in the 65
English language. 66
(c) Satisfies one of the following criteria: 67
1. Has an audience consisting of at least 10 percent of 68
the households in the county or municipality, as determined by 69
the most recent decennial census, where the legal or public 70
notice is being published or posted, by calculating the 71
combination of the t otal of the number of print copies 72
reflecting the day of highest print circulation, of which at 73
least 25 percent of such print copies must be delivered to 74
individuals' home or business addresses, as certified biennially 75
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by a certified independent third -party auditor, and the total 76
number of online unique monthly visitors to the newspaper's 77
website from within the state, as measured by industry -accepted 78
website analytics software. The newspaper must also be sold, or 79
otherwise available to the public, at no l ess than 10 publicly 80
accessible outlets. For legal and public notices published by 81
nongovernmental entities, the newspaper's audience in the county 82
or municipality where the project, property, or other primary 83
subject of the notice is located must meet the 10 percent 84
threshold. 85
2. Holds a periodicals permit as of March 1, 2021, and 86
accepts legal notices for publication as of that date. Any such 87
newspaper may continue to publish legal notices through December 88
31, 2023, so long as the newspaper continues to meet the 89
requirements set forth in s. 21, chapter 99 -2, Laws of Florida, 90
and continues to hold a periodicals permit. Beginning January 1, 91
2024, and thereafter, any such newspaper must meet the criteria 92
under subparagraph 1. 93
3. For newspapers publishing legal notices in a fiscally 94
constrained county, holds a periodicals permit and meets all 95
other requirements of this chapter. A newspaper qualified under 96
this subparagraph does not need to meet the criteria under 97
subparagraph 1. so long as the newspaper con tinues to hold a 98
periodicals permit. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 99
"fiscally constrained county" means a county within a rural area 100
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of opportunity designated by the Governor pursuant to s. 101
288.0656 or a county for which the value of a mill wi ll raise no 102
more than $5 million in revenue, based on the certified taxable 103
value certified pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1.a., from the 104
previous July 1. 105
(d) Is available to the public generally for the 106
publication of official or other notices with no more than 75 107
percent of its content dedicated toward advertising, as measured 108
in half of the newspaper's issues that are published during any 109
12-month period, and customarily containing information of a 110
public character or of interest or of value to the reside nts or 111
owners of property in the county where published, or of interest 112
or of value to the general public. 113
(e) Continually publishes in a prominent manner the name, 114
street address, phone number, website URL of the newspaper's 115
approved print auditor, the newspaper's most recent statement of 116
ownership, and a statement of the auditor certifying the 117
veracity of the newspaper's print distribution and the number of 118
the newspaper's website's monthly unique visitors, or the 119
newspaper's periodicals permit, if appl icable, within the first 120
five pages of the print edition and the bottom portion of the 121
homepage of the newspaper's website. 122
(2) A publication on a publicly accessible website under 123
s. 50.0311 Internet publication for governmental agency notices 124
under s. 50.0211(1)(b) on the website of any newspaper in the 125
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county to which the legal notice pertains and on the statewide 126
legal notice website as provided in s. 50.0211(5). A newspaper 127
is deemed to be a newspaper in the county to which the legal 128
notice pertains if it satisfies the criteria in subsection (1) . 129
Section 2. Section 50.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to 130
read: 131
50.021 Publication when no newspaper in county. —When any 132
law, or order or decree of court, directs advertisements to be 133
made in a county and there is no newspaper published in the 134
county, the advertisement may be published on a publicly 135
accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 made by publication 136
in any newspaper qualified under this chapter in an adjoining 137
county or on the website of any such newspaper for governmental 138
agency notices under s. 50.0211(1)(b), and on the statewide 139
legal notice website as provided in s. 50.0211(5) or made by 140
posting three copies thereof in three different places in the 141
county, one of which shall be at the front door of the 142
courthouse, and by publication in the nearest county in which a 143
newspaper qualified under this chapte r is published. 144
Section 3. Section 50.0211, Florida Statutes, is amended 145
to read: 146
50.0211 Internet website publication. — 147
(1) As used in this section, the term: 148
(a) "Governmental agency" means a county, a municipality, 149
a district school board, or any other unit of local government 150
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or political subdivision in this state. 151
(b) "Governmental agency notice" includes any of the 152
following notices required by law to be published in a 153
newspaper: 154
1. Notices related to special or legal legislation 155
pursuant to s. 11.02. 156
2. Educational unit notices pursuant to s. 120.81. 157
3. Retirement system notices pursuant to s. 121.0511. 158
4. Notices related to inclusion of positions in the Senior 159
Management Service Class of the Florida Retirement System 160
pursuant to s. 121.055. 161
5. Notices proposing the enactment of county ordinances 162
pursuant to s. 125.66. 163
6. Code enforcement notices published pursuant to s. 164
162.12. 165
7. Notices proposing the enactment of municipal ordinances 166
pursuant to s. 166.041. 167
8. Special district meeting notices pursuant to s. 168
189.015. 169
9. Establishment and termination notices for community 170
development districts pursuant to ss. 190.005 and 190.046, 171
respectively. 172
10. Disclosures of tax impact by value adjustment boards 173
pursuant to s. 194.03 7. 174
11. Advertisements of real or personal property with 175
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delinquent taxes pursuant to s. 197.402. 176
12. Advertisements of hearing notices, millage rates, and 177
budgets pursuant to s. 200.065. 178
13. Turnpike project notices pursuant to s. 338.223. 179
14. Public-private partnership notices pursuant to ss. 180
348.0308 and 348.7605. 181
15. Notices of prime recharge area designations for the 182
Floridan and Biscayne aquifers pursuant to s. 373.0397. 183
16. Water management district notices pursuant to s. 184
373.146. 185
17. Hazardous waste disposal notices pursuant to s. 186
403.722. 187
18. Forfeiture notices pursuant to ss. 849.38 and 932.704. 188
(1)(2) This section applies to legal notices that must be 189
published in accordance with this chapter unless otherwise 190
specified. 191
(2)(3) If a governmental agency publishes a legal notice 192
in the print edition of a newspaper, each legal notice must be 193
published posted on the newspaper's website on the same day that 194
the printed notice appears in the newspaper, at no additional 195
charge, in a separate web page titled "Legal Notices," "Legal 196
Advertising," or comparable identifying language. A link to the 197
legal notices web page shall be provided on the front page of 198
the newspaper's website that provides access to the legal 199
notices. If there is a specified size and placement required for 200
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a printed legal notice, the size and placement of the notice on 201
the newspaper's website must optimize its online visibility in 202
keeping with the print requirements. The newspaper's web pages 203
that contain legal notic es must present the legal notices as the 204
dominant and leading subject matter of those pages. The 205
newspaper's website must contain a search function to facilitate 206
searching the legal notices. A fee may not be charged, and 207
registration may not be required, f or viewing or searching legal 208
notices on a newspaper's website if the legal notice is 209
published in a newspaper. 210
(3)(a)(4)(a) If a legal notice is published in the print 211
edition of a newspaper or on a newspaper's website , the 212
newspaper publishing the noti ce shall place the notice on the 213
statewide website established and maintained as an initiative of 214
the Florida Press Association as a repository for such notices 215
located at the following address: www.floridapublicnotices.com. 216
(b) A legal notice placed on the statewide website created 217
under this subsection must be: 218
1. Accessible and searchable by party name and case 219
number. 220
2. Published Posted for a period of at least 90 221
consecutive days after the first day of publication posting. 222
(c) The statewide website created under this subsection 223
shall maintain a searchable archive of all legal notices 224
published posted on the publicly accessible website for 18 225
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months after the first day of publication posting. Such 226
searchable archive shall be provided and accessible to the 227
general public without charge. 228
(d) The Florida Press Association shall seek to ensure 229
that minority populations throughout the state have equitable 230
access to legal notices posted on the statewide legal notice 231
website located at: www.floridapublicnotices.com. The Florida 232
Press Association shall publish a report listing all newspapers 233
that have placed notices on www.floridapublicnotices.com in the 234
preceding calendar quarter. The report must specifically 235
identify which criteri a under s. 50.011(1)(c)1. -3. each 236
newspaper satisfied. Each quarterly report must also include the 237
number of unique visitors to the statewide legal notice website 238
during that quarter and the number of legal notices that were 239
published during that quarter b y Internet-only publication or by 240
publication in a print newspaper and on the statewide website. 241
At a minimum, the reports for the 4 preceding calendar quarters 242
shall be available on the website. 243
(5)(a) In lieu of publishing a legal notice in the print 244
edition of a newspaper of general circulation, a governmental 245
agency may opt for Internet -only publication of governmental 246
agency notices with any newspaper of general circulation within 247
the jurisdiction of the affected governmental agency so long as 248
the governmental agency, after a public hearing noticed in a 249
print edition of a newspaper in accordance with this chapter, 250
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makes a determination by a majority of the members of the 251
governing body of the governmental agency that the Internet 252
publication of such g overnmental agency notices is in the public 253
interest and that the residents within the jurisdiction of the 254
governmental agency have sufficient access to the Internet by 255
broadband service as defined in s. 364.02 or through other means 256
such that Internet-only publication of governmental agency 257
notices would not unreasonably restrict public access. Any such 258
Internet-only publication published in accordance with this 259
subsection must be placed in the legal notices section of the 260
newspaper's website and the state wide legal notice website 261
established under subsection (4). All requirements regarding the 262
format and accessibility of legal notices placed on the 263
newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice website in 264
subsections (3) and (4) also apply to Internet -only publication 265
of legal notices published in accordance with this subsection. A 266
newspaper is deemed to be a newspaper of general circulation 267
within the jurisdiction of the affected governmental agency if 268
it satisfies the criteria in s. 50.011(1). 269
(b) The legal notices section of the print edition of a 270
newspaper must include a disclaimer stating that additional 271
legal notices may be accessed on the newspaper's website and the 272
statewide legal notice website. The legal notices section of the 273
newspaper's website must also include a disclaimer stating that 274
legal notices are also published in the print edition of the 275
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newspaper and on the statewide legal notice website. 276
(c) A newspaper may charge for the publication of any 277
governmental agency notice that is pu blished only on the 278
newspaper's website, without rebate, commission, or refund; 279
however, the newspaper may not charge any higher rate for 280
publication than the amount that would be authorized under s. 281
50.061 if the governmental agency notice had been printe d in the 282
newspaper. The penalties prescribed in s. 50.061(7) for allowing 283
or accepting any rebate, commission, or refund in connection to 284
the amounts charged for publication also apply to any 285
governmental agency notices that are published only on the 286
Internet in accordance with this subsection. 287
(d) If a governmental agency exercises the option to 288
publish Internet-only governmental agency notices in accordance 289
with this subsection, such agency must provide notice at least 290
once per week in the print edition of a newspaper of general 291
circulation within the region in which the governmental agency 292
is located which states that legal notices pertaining to the 293
agency do not all appear in the print edition of the local 294
newspaper and that additional legal notices ma y be accessed on 295
the newspaper's website and that a full listing of any legal 296
notices may be accessed on the statewide legal notice website 297
located at www.floridapublicnotices.com. Additionally, any such 298
governmental agency must post a link on its website homepage to 299
a webpage that lists all of the newspapers in which the 300
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governmental agency publishes legal notices. A newspaper is 301
deemed to be a newspaper of general circulation within the 302
region in which the governmental agency is located if it 303
satisfies the criteria in s. 50.011(1). 304
(6) Newspapers that publish legal notices shall, upon 305
request, provide e-mail notification of new legal notices when 306
they are published in the newspaper or on the newspaper's 307
website. Such e-mail notification shall be provided without 308
charge, and notification for such an e -mail registry shall be 309
available on the front page of the legal notices section of the 310
newspaper's website. 311
(7) Notwithstanding the authorization of Internet -only 312
publication for certain governmental agency notices in 313
accordance with subsection (5), any other statute requiring the 314
publication of an official legal notice in the print edition of 315
a newspaper may not be construed to be superseded. 316
Section 4. Section 50.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to 317
read: 318
50.031 Newspapers in which legal notices and process may 319
be published.—If a governmental agency publishes a legal notice 320
in a newspaper, no notice or publication required to be 321
published in the print edition of a newspaper or on a 322
newspaper's website, if authorized, in the nature of or in lieu 323
of process of any kind, nature, character , or description 324
provided for under any law of the state, whether heretofore or 325
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hereafter enacted, and whether pertaining to constructive 326
service, or the initiating, assu ming, reviewing, exercising , or 327
enforcing jurisdiction or power, by any court in this state, or 328
any notice of sale of property, real or personal, for taxes, 329
state, county, or municipal, or sheriff's, guardian's , or 330
administrator's or any sale made pursuant to any judicial order, 331
decree, or statute or any other publication or notice pertaining 332
to any affairs of the state, or any county, municipality , or 333
other political subdivision thereof, shall be deemed to have 334
been published in accordance with the statute s providing for 335
such publication, unless the same shall have been published for 336
the prescribed period of time required for such publication, in 337
a newspaper or on a newspaper's website which at the time of 338
such publication shall have been in existence for 2 years and 339
meets the requirements set forth in s. 50.011, or in a newspaper 340
which is a direct successor of a newspaper which has been so 341
published; provided, however, that nothing herein contained 342
shall apply where in any county there shall be no newspaper in 343
existence which shall have been published for the length of time 344
above prescribed. No legal publication of any kind, nature , or 345
description, as herein defined, shall be valid or binding or 346
held to be in compliance with the statutes providing for such 347
publication unless the same shall have been published in 348
accordance with the provisions of this section or s. 50.0311 s. 349
50.0211(5). Proof of such publication shall be made by uniform 350
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affidavit. 351
Section 5. Section 50.0311, Florida Statutes, is created 352
to read: 353
50.0311 Publication of advertisements and public notices 354
on a publicly accessible website and governmental access 355
channels.— 356
(1) For purposes of this chapter, the term "governmental 357
agency" means a county, municipality, school board, or other 358
unit of local government or political subdivision in this state. 359
(2) For purposes of notices and advertisements required 360
under s. 50.011, the term "publicly accessible website" means a 361
county's official website or other private website designated by 362
the county for the publication of legal notices and 363
advertisements that is accessible via the Internet. All 364
advertisements and public notices published on a website as 365
provided in this chapter must be in searchable form and indicate 366
the date on which the adver tisement or public notice was first 367
published on the website. 368
(3) A governmental agency may use the publicly accessible 369
website of the county in which it lies to publish legally 370
required advertisements and public notices if the cost of 371
publishing advertisements and public notices on such website is 372
less than the cost of publishing advertisements and public 373
notices in a newspaper. 374
(4) A special district spanning the geographic boundaries 375
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of more than one county that satisfies the criteria for 376
publishing and chooses to publish legally required 377
advertisements and public notices on a publicly accessible 378
website must publish such advertisements and public notices on 379
the publicly accessible website of each county it spans. For 380
purposes of this subsection, the term "special district" has the 381
same meaning as in s. 189.012. 382
(5) A governmental agency that uses a publicly accessible 383
website to publish legally required advertisements and public 384
notices shall provide notice at least once per year in a 385
newspaper of general circulation or another publication that is 386
mailed or delivered to all residents and property owners 387
throughout the government's jurisdiction, indicating that 388
property owners and residents may receive legally required 389
advertisements and public notice s from the governmental agency 390
by first-class mail or e-mail upon registering their name and 391
address or e-mail address with the governmental agency. The 392
governmental agency shall maintain a registry of names, 393
addresses, and e-mail addresses of property own ers and residents 394
who have requested in writing that they receive legally required 395
advertisements and public notices from the governmental agency 396
by first-class mail or e-mail. 397
(6) A link to advertisements and public notices published 398
on a publicly accessible website shall be conspicuously placed: 399
(a) On the website's homepage or on a page accessible 400
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through a direct link from the homepage. 401
(b) On the homepage of the website of each governmental 402
agency publishing notices on the publicly accessible web site or 403
on a page accessible through a direct link from the homepage. 404
(7) A governmental agency that has a governmental access 405
channel authorized under s. 610.109 may also include on its 406
governmental access channel a summary of all advertisements and 407
public notices that are published on a publicly accessible 408
website. 409
(8) A public bid advertisement made by a governmental 410
agency on a publicly accessible website must include a method to 411
accept electronic bids. 412
Section 6. Section 50.051, Florida Statute s, is amended to 413
read: 414
50.051 Proof of publication; form of uniform affidavit. —415
The printed form upon which all such affidavits establishing 416
proof of publication are to be executed shall be substantially 417
as follows: 418
NAME OF COUNTY 419
STATE OF FLORIDA 420
COUNTY OF ....: 421
Before the undersigned authority personally appeared ...., 422
who on oath says that he or she is .... of the ...., a .... 423
newspaper published at .... in .... County, Florida; that the 424
attached copy of advertisement, being a .... in the matter of 425
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.... in the .... Court, was published on the publicly accessible 426
website of .... County, Florida, or in a said newspaper by print 427
in the issues of .... or by publication on the newspaper's 428
website, if authorized, on ...(date).... 429
Affiant further says that the website or newspaper complies 430
with all legal requirements for publication in chapter 50, 431
Florida Statutes. 432
Sworn to and subscribed before me this .... day of ...., 433
...(year)..., by ...., who is personally known to me or who has 434
produced (type of ident ification) as identification. 435
...(Signature of Notary Public)... 436
...(Print, Type, or Stamp Commissioned Name of Notary Public)... 437
...(Notary Public)... 438
Section 7. Subsection (5) of section 50.061, Florida 439
Statutes, is amended to read: 440
50.061 Amounts chargeable.— 441
(5) If the public notice is published in the print edition 442
of a newspaper, the publishing posting of the notice on the 443
newspaper's website pursuant to s. 50.0211(2) s. 50.0211(3) must 444
be done at no additional charge. 445
Section 8. Section 5 0.0711, Florida Statutes, is amended 446
to read: 447
50.0711 Court docket fund; service charges; publications. — 448
(1) The clerk of the court in each county may establish a 449
court docket fund for the purpose of paying the cost of 450
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publication of the fact of the fi ling of any civil case in the 451
circuit court of the county by the style and of the calendar 452
relating to such cases. This court docket fund shall be funded 453
by $1 mandatory court cost for all civil actions, suits, or 454
proceedings filed in the circuit court of the county. The clerk 455
shall maintain such funds separate and apart, and the proceeds 456
from this court cost shall not be diverted to any other fund or 457
for any purpose other than that established in this section. The 458
clerk of the court shall dispense the fund to the designated 459
publicly accessible website publisher or record newspaper in the 460
county on a quarterly basis. 461
(2) If a judicial circuit publishes legal notices in a 462
newspaper, a newspaper qualified under the terms of s. 50.011 463
shall be designated as t he record newspaper for such publication 464
by an order of the majority of the judges in the judicial 465
circuit in which such county is located, and such order shall be 466
filed and recorded with the clerk of the circuit court for such 467
county. The designated recor d newspaper may be changed at the 468
end of any fiscal year of the county by a majority vote of the 469
judges of the judicial circuit of the county ordering such 470
change 30 days prior to the end of the fiscal year, notice of 471
which order shall be given to the prev iously designated record 472
newspaper. 473
(3) The publicly accessible website publisher or 474
publishers of any designated record newspapers receiving payment 475
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from this court docket fund shall publish, without additional 476
charge, the fact of the filing of any civi l case, suit, or 477
action filed in such county in the circuit. Such publication 478
shall be in accordance with a schedule agreed upon between the 479
website publisher or record newspaper and the clerk of the court 480
in such county. 481
(4) The publicly accessible webs ite publisher or 482
publishers of any designated record newspapers receiving 483
revenues from the court docket fund established in subsection 484
(1) shall, without charge, accept legal advertisements for the 485
purpose of service of process by publication under s. 49. 011(4), 486
(10), and (11) when such publication is required of persons 487
authorized to proceed as indigent persons under s. 57.081. 488
Section 9. Section 11.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to 489
read: 490
11.02 Notice of special or local legislation or certain 491
relief acts.—The notice required to obtain special or local 492
legislation or any relief act specified in s. 11.065 shall be by 493
publishing the identical notice as provided in chapter 50 or 494
circulated throughout the county or counties where the matter or 495
thing to be affected by such legislation shall be situated one 496
time at least 30 days before introduction of the proposed law 497
into the Legislature or, if the notice is not published on a 498
publicly accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 made by 499
Internet publication as provided in s. 50.0211(5) and there is 500
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being no newspaper circulated throughout or published in the 501
county, by posting for at least 30 days at not fewer less than 502
three public places in the county or each of the counties, one 503
of which places shall be at the courthouse in the county or 504
counties where the matter or thing to be affected by such 505
legislation shall be situated. Notice of special or local 506
legislation shall state the substance of the contemplated law, 507
as required by s. 10, Art. III of the S tate Constitution. Notice 508
of any relief act specified in s. 11.065 shall state the name of 509
the claimant, the nature of the injury or loss for which the 510
claim is made, and the amount of the claim against the affected 511
municipality's revenue -sharing trust fund. 512
Section 10. Subsection (2) of section 45.031, Florida 513
Statutes, is amended to read: 514
45.031 Judicial sales procedure. —In any sale of real or 515
personal property under an order or judgment, the procedures 516
provided in this section and ss. 45.0315 -45.035 may be followed 517
as an alternative to any other sale procedure if so ordered by 518
the court. 519
(2) PUBLICATION OF SALE. —Notice of sale shall be published 520
on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 for 521
at least 2 consecutive weeks before the sale or once a week for 522
2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, as 523
provided defined in chapter 50, published in the county where 524
the sale is to be held. The second publication by newspaper 525
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shall be at least 5 days before the sale. The no tice shall 526
contain: 527
(a) A description of the property to be sold. 528
(b) The time and place of sale. 529
(c) A statement that the sale will be made pursuant to the 530
order or final judgment. 531
(d) The caption of the action. 532
(e) The name of the clerk making the sale. 533
(f) A statement that any person claiming an interest in 534
the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner 535
as of the date of the lis pendens must file a claim before the 536
clerk reports the surplus as unclaimed. 537
538
The court, in its discretion, may enlarge the time of the sale. 539
Notice of the changed time of sale shall be published as 540
provided herein. 541
Section 11. Subsection (12) of section 90.902, Florida 542
Statutes, is amended to read: 543
90.902 Self-authentication.—Extrinsic evidence of 544
authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not 545
required for: 546
(12) A legal notice published in accordance with the 547
requirements of chapter 50 in the print edition of a qualified 548
newspaper or on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 549
50.0311 the website of a qualified newspaper . 550
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Section 12. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 551
120.81, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 552
120.81 Exceptions and special requirements; general 553
areas.— 554
(1) EDUCATIONAL UNITS. — 555
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 556
educational units shall not be required to include the full text 557
of the rule or rule amendment in notices relating to rules and 558
need not publish these or other notices in the Florida 559
Administrative Register, but notice shall be made: 560
1. By publication in a newspaper qualified under chapter 561
50 in the affected area or on a publicly accessible website as 562
provided in s. 50.0311 ; 563
2. By mail to all persons who have made requests of the 564
educational unit for advance notice of its proceedings and to 565
organizations representing persons affected by the proposed 566
rule; and 567
3. By posting in appropriate places so that those 568
particular classes of persons to whom the intended action is 569
directed may be duly notified. 570
Section 13. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 571
121.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 572
121.055 Senior Management Service Class. —There is hereby 573
established a separate class of membership within the Florida 574
Retirement System to be known as the "Senior Management Service 575
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Class," which shall become effective February 1, 1987. 576
(1) 577
(b)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., effective 578
January 1, 1990, participation in the Senior Management Service 579
Class is compulsory for the president of each community college, 580
the manager of each participating municipality or county, and 581
all appointed district school superintendents. Effective January 582
1, 1994, additional positions may be designated for inclusion in 583
the Senior Management Service Class if: 584
a. Positions to be included in the class are designated by 585
the local agency employer. Notice of intent to designate 586
positions for inclusion in the class must be published for at 587
least 2 consecutive weeks if published on a publicly accessible 588
website as provided in s. 50.0311 by Internet publication as 589
provided in s. 50.0211(5) or, if published in print, once a week 590
for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper qualified under chapter 591
50 that is published in the county or counties affected. 592
b. Up to 10 nonelect ive full-time positions may be 593
designated for each local agency employer reporting to the 594
department; for local agencies with 100 or more regularly 595
established positions, additional nonelective full -time 596
positions may be designated, not to exceed 1 percent of the 597
regularly established positions within the agency. 598
c. Each position added to the class must be a managerial 599
or policymaking position filled by an employee who is not 600
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subject to continuing contract and serves at the pleasure of the 601
local agency employer without civil service protection, and who: 602
(I) Heads an organizational unit; or 603
(II) Has responsibility to effect or recommend personnel, 604
budget, expenditure, or policy decisions in his or her areas of 605
responsibility. 606
2. In lieu of participati on in the Senior Management 607
Service Class, members of the Senior Management Service Class, 608
pursuant to subparagraph 1., may withdraw from the Florida 609
Retirement System altogether. The decision to withdraw from the 610
system is irrevocable as long as the emplo yee holds the 611
position. Any service creditable under the Senior Management 612
Service Class shall be retained after the member withdraws from 613
the system; however, additional service credit in the Senior 614
Management Service Class may not be earned after such 615
withdrawal. Such members are not eligible to participate in the 616
Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program. 617
3. Effective January 1, 2006, through June 30, 2006, an 618
employee who has withdrawn from the Florida Retirement System 619
under subparagraph 2. has one opportunity to elect to 620
participate in the pension plan or the investment plan. 621
a. If the employee elects to participate in the investment 622
plan, membership shall be prospective, and the applicable 623
provisions of s. 121.4501(4) govern the election. 624
b. If the employee elects to participate in the pension 625
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plan, the employee shall, upon payment to the system trust fund 626
of the amount calculated under sub -sub-subparagraph (I), receive 627
service credit for prior service based upon the time during 628
which the employee had withdrawn from the system. 629
(I) The cost for such credit shall be an amount 630
representing the actuarial accrued liability for the affected 631
period of service. The cost shall be calculated using the 632
discount rate and other relevant actuarial a ssumptions that were 633
used to value the pension plan liabilities in the most recent 634
actuarial valuation. The calculation must include any service 635
already maintained under the pension plan in addition to the 636
period of withdrawal. The actuarial accrued liabil ity 637
attributable to any service already maintained under the pension 638
plan shall be applied as a credit to the total cost resulting 639
from the calculation. The division must ensure that the transfer 640
sum is prepared using a formula and methodology certified by an 641
actuary. 642
(II) The employee must transfer a sum representing the net 643
cost owed for the actuarial accrued liability in sub -sub-644
subparagraph (I) immediately following the time of such 645
movement, determined assuming that attained service equals the 646
sum of service in the pension plan and the period of withdrawal. 647
(h)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 3., effective 648
January 1, 1994, participation in the Senior Management Service 649
Class shall be compulsory for the State Courts Administrator and 650
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the Deputy State Courts Administrators, the Clerk of the Supreme 651
Court, the Marshal of the Supreme Court, the Executive Director 652
of the Justice Administrative Commission, the capital collateral 653
regional counsel, the clerks of the district courts of appeals, 654
the marshals of the district courts of appeals, and the trial 655
court administrator and the Chief Deputy Court Administrator in 656
each judicial circuit. Effective January 1, 1994, additional 657
positions in the offices of the state attorney and public 658
defender in each jud icial circuit may be designated for 659
inclusion in the Senior Management Service Class of the Florida 660
Retirement System, provided that: 661
a. Positions to be included in the class shall be 662
designated by the state attorney or public defender, as 663
appropriate. Notice of intent to designate positions for 664
inclusion in the class shall be published for at least 2 665
consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible website as provided 666
in s. 50.0311 by Internet publication as provided in s. 667
50.0211(5) or, if published in print, once a week for 2 668
consecutive weeks in a newspaper qualified under chapter 50 in 669
the county or counties affected. 670
b. One nonelective full -time position may be designated 671
for each state attorney and public defender reporting to the 672
Department of Managem ent Services; for agencies with 200 or more 673
regularly established positions under the state attorney or 674
public defender, additional nonelective full -time positions may 675
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be designated, not to exceed 0.5 percent of the regularly 676
established positions within t he agency. 677
c. Each position added to the class must be a managerial 678
or policymaking position filled by an employee who serves at the 679
pleasure of the state attorney or public defender without civil 680
service protection, and who: 681
(I) Heads an organizationa l unit; or 682
(II) Has responsibility to effect or recommend personnel, 683
budget, expenditure, or policy decisions in his or her areas of 684
responsibility. 685
2. Participation in this class shall be compulsory, except 686
as provided in subparagraph 3., for any judicial employee who 687
holds a position designated for coverage in the Senior 688
Management Service Class, and such participation shall continue 689
until the employee terminates employment in a covered position. 690
Effective January 1, 2001, participation in this class is 691
compulsory for assistant state attorneys, assistant statewide 692
prosecutors, assistant public defenders, and assistant capital 693
collateral regional coun sel. Effective January 1, 2002, 694
participation in this class is compulsory for assistant 695
attorneys general. 696
3. In lieu of participation in the Senior Management 697
Service Class, such members, excluding assistant state 698
attorneys, assistant public defenders, assistant statewide 699
prosecutors, assistant attorneys general, and assistant capital 700
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collateral regional counsel, may participate in the Senior 701
Management Service Optional Annuity Program as established in 702
subsection (6). 703
Section 14. Paragraph (a) of s ubsection (2) of section 704
162.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 705
162.12 Notices.— 706
(2) In addition to providing notice as set forth in 707
subsection (1), at the option of the code enforcement board or 708
the local government, notice may be served by pub lication or 709
posting, as follows: 710
(a)1. Such notice shall be published in print in a 711
newspaper or on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 712
50.0311 newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice 713
website as provided in s. 50.0211(5) for 4 consecutive weeks. If 714
published in print, the notice shall be published once during 715
each week for 4 consecutive weeks (four publications being 716
sufficient) in a newspaper in the county where the code 717
enforcement board is located. The newspaper shall meet such 718
requirements as are prescribed under chapter 50 for legal and 719
official advertisements. 720
2. Proof of publication shall be made as provided in ss. 721
50.041 and 50.051. 722
Section 15. Subsection (1) of section 189.015, Florida 723
Statutes, is amended to read: 724
189.015 Meetings; notice; required reports. — 725
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(1) The governing body of each special district shall file 726
quarterly, semiannually, or annually a schedule of its regular 727
meetings with the local governing authority or authorities. The 728
schedule shall include t he date, time, and location of each 729
scheduled meeting. The schedule shall be published quarterly, 730
semiannually, or annually in the manner required in this 731
subsection. The governing body of an independent special 732
district shall advertise the day, time, plac e, and purpose of 733
any meeting other than a regular meeting or any recessed and 734
reconvened meeting of the governing body, at least 7 days before 735
such meeting as provided in chapter 50 in the county or counties 736
in which the special district is located, unles s a bona fide 737
emergency situation exists, in which case a meeting to deal with 738
the emergency may be held as necessary, with reasonable notice, 739
so long as it is subsequently ratified by the governing body. No 740
approval of the annual budget shall be granted a t an emergency 741
meeting. The notice shall be posted as provided in chapter 50. 742
Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, and 743
except in the case of emergency meetings, water management 744
districts may provide reasonable notice of public meeti ngs held 745
to evaluate responses to solicitations issued by the water 746
management district, as provided in chapter 50 by publication on 747
a publicly accessible website Internet publication or by 748
publication in a newspaper in the county where the principal 749
office of the water management district is located, or in the 750
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county or counties where the public work will be performed, no 751
fewer less than 7 days before such meeting. 752
Section 16. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 753
190.005, Florida Statutes, is ame nded to read: 754
190.005 Establishment of district. — 755
(1) The exclusive and uniform method for the establishment 756
of a community development district with a size of 2,500 acres 757
or more shall be pursuant to a rule, adopted under chapter 120 758
by the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission, granting 759
a petition for the establishment of a community development 760
district. 761
(d) A local public hearing on the petition shall be 762
conducted by a hearing officer in conformance with the 763
applicable requirements and pr ocedures of the Administrative 764
Procedure Act. The hearing shall include oral and written 765
comments on the petition pertinent to the factors specified in 766
paragraph (e). The hearing shall be held at an accessible 767
location in the county in which the community development 768
district is to be located. The petitioner shall cause a notice 769
of the hearing to be published for 4 successive weeks on a 770
publicly accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 771
newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice website 772
provided in s. 50.0211(5) or, if published in print, in a 773
newspaper at least once a week for the 4 successive weeks 774
immediately prior to the hearing as provided in chapter 50. Such 775
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notice shall give the time and place for the hearing, a 776
description of the area to b e included in the district, which 777
description shall include a map showing clearly the area to be 778
covered by the district, and any other relevant information 779
which the establishing governing bodies may require. If 780
published in the print edition of a newspap er, the advertisement 781
may not be placed in the portion of the newspaper where legal 782
notices and classified advertisements appear. The advertisement 783
must be published in a newspaper in the county and of general 784
interest and readership in the community pursu ant to chapter 50. 785
Whenever possible, the advertisement shall appear in a newspaper 786
that is published at least weekly, unless the only newspaper in 787
the community is published less than weekly. If the notice is 788
published in the print edition of the newspape r, the map must 789
also be included in any online advertisement pursuant to s. 790
50.0211. All affected units of general -purpose local government 791
and the general public shall be given an opportunity to appear 792
at the hearing and present oral or written comments o n the 793
petition. 794
Section 17. Paragraph (h) of subsection (3) of section 795
200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 796
200.065 Method of fixing millage. — 797
(3) The advertisement shall be published as provided in 798
chapter 50. If the advertisement is pub lished in the print 799
edition of a newspaper, the advertisement must be no less than 800
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one-quarter page in size of a standard size or a tabloid size 801
newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in a 802
type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shall not be 803
placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and 804
classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall be 805
published in a newspaper in the county or in a geographically 806
limited insert of such newspaper. The geographic bounda ries in 807
which such insert is circulated shall include the geographic 808
boundaries of the taxing authority. It is the legislative intent 809
that, whenever possible, the advertisement appear in a newspaper 810
that is published at least weekly unless the only newspap er in 811
the county is published less than weekly, or that the 812
advertisement appear in a geographically limited insert of such 813
newspaper which insert is published throughout the taxing 814
authority's jurisdiction at least twice each week. It is further 815
the legislative intent that the newspaper selected be one of 816
general interest and readership in the community pursuant to 817
chapter 50. 818
(h) In no event shall any taxing authority add to or 819
delete from the language of the advertisements as specified 820
herein unless expressly authorized by law, except that, if an 821
increase in ad valorem tax rates will affect only a portion of 822
the jurisdiction of a taxing authority, advertisements may 823
include a map or geographical description of the area to be 824
affected and the proposed us e of the tax revenues under 825
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consideration. In addition, if published in the print edition of 826
the newspaper or only published on the Internet in accordance 827
with s. 50.0211(5), the map must be included in the online 828
advertisement required by s. 50.0211. The advertisements 829
required herein shall not be accompanied, preceded, or followed 830
by other advertising or notices which conflict with or modify 831
the substantive content prescribed herein. 832
Section 18. Subsection (3) of section 348.0308, Florida 833
Statutes, is amended to read: 834
348.0308 Public-private partnership. —The Legislature 835
declares that there is a public need for the rapid construction 836
of safe and efficient transportation facilities for traveling 837
within the state and that it is in the public's interest to 838
provide for public-private partnership agreements to effectuate 839
the construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 840
transportation facilities. 841
(3) The agency may request proposals for public -private 842
transportation projects or, if it receiv es an unsolicited 843
proposal, it must publish a notice in the Florida Administrative 844
Register and, as provided in chapter 50, on a publicly 845
accessible website by Internet publication or by print in a 846
newspaper qualified to publish legal notices in the county in 847
which the project is located at least once a week for 2 weeks 848
stating that it has received the proposal and will accept, for 849
60 days after the initial date of publication, other proposals 850
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for the same project purpose. A copy of the notice must be 851
mailed to each local government in the affected areas. After the 852
public notification period has expired, the agency shall rank 853
the proposals in order of preference. In ranking the proposals, 854
the agency shall consider professional qualifications, general 855
business terms, innovative engineering or cost -reduction terms, 856
finance plans, and the need for state funds to deliver the 857
proposal. If the agency is not satisfied with the results of the 858
negotiations, it may, at its sole discretion, terminate 859
negotiations with the proposer. If these negotiations are 860
unsuccessful, the agency may go to the second and lower -ranked 861
firms, in order, using the same procedure. If only one proposal 862
is received, the agency may negotiate in good faith, and if it 863
is not satisfied with the r esults, it may, at its sole 864
discretion, terminate negotiations with the proposer. The agency 865
may, at its discretion, reject all proposals at any point in the 866
process up to completion of a contract with the proposer. 867
Section 19. Subsection (3) of sectio n 348.635, Florida 868
Statutes, is amended to read: 869
348.635 Public-private partnership. —The Legislature 870
declares that there is a public need for the rapid construction 871
of safe and efficient transportation facilities for traveling 872
within the state and that i t is in the public's interest to 873
provide for public-private partnership agreements to effectuate 874
the construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 875
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transportation facilities. 876
(3) The authority may request proposals for public -private 877
transportation projects or, if it receives an unsolicited 878
proposal, it must publish a notice in the Florida Administrative 879
Register and, as provided in chapter 50, on a publicly 880
accessible website by either Internet publication or by print in 881
a newspaper in the c ounty in which the project is located at 882
least once a week for 2 weeks stating that it has received the 883
proposal and will accept, for 60 days after the initial date of 884
publication, other proposals for the same project purpose. A 885
copy of the notice must be mailed to each local government in 886
the affected areas. After the public notification period has 887
expired, the authority shall rank the proposals in order of 888
preference. In ranking the proposals, the authority shall 889
consider professional qualifications, gene ral business terms, 890
innovative engineering or cost -reduction terms, finance plans, 891
and the need for state funds to deliver the proposal. If the 892
authority is not satisfied with the results of the negotiations, 893
it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negot iations with the 894
proposer. If these negotiations are unsuccessful, the authority 895
may go to the second and lower -ranked firms, in order, using the 896
same procedure. If only one proposal is received, the authority 897
may negotiate in good faith, and if it is not satisfied with the 898
results, it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiations 899
with the proposer. The authority may, at its discretion, reject 900
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all proposals at any point in the process up to completion of a 901
contract with the proposer. 902
Section 20. Subsection (3) of section 348.7605, Florida 903
Statutes, is amended to read: 904
348.7605 Public-private partnership. —The Legislature 905
declares that there is a public need for the rapid construction 906
of safe and efficient transportation facilities for traveling 907
within the state and that it is in the public's interest to 908
provide for public-private partnership agreements to effectuate 909
the construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 910
transportation facilities. 911
(3) The authority may request proposals f or public-private 912
transportation projects or, if it receives an unsolicited 913
proposal, it must publish a notice in the Florida Administrative 914
Register and, as provided in chapter 50, on a publicly 915
accessible website by either Internet publication or by print in 916
a newspaper in the county in which the project is located at 917
least once a week for 2 weeks stating that it has received the 918
proposal and will accept, for 60 days after the initial date of 919
publication, other proposals for the same project purpose. A 920
copy of the notice must be mailed to each local government in 921
the affected areas. After the public notification period has 922
expired, the authority shall rank the proposals in order of 923
preference. In ranking the proposals, the authority shall 924
consider professional qualifications, general business terms, 925
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innovative engineering or cost -reduction terms, finance plans, 926
and the need for state funds to deliver the proposal. If the 927
authority is not satisfied with the results of the negotiations, 928
it may, at its sole di scretion, terminate negotiations with the 929
proposer. If these negotiations are unsuccessful, the authority 930
may go to the second and lower -ranked firms, in order, using the 931
same procedure. If only one proposal is received, the authority 932
may negotiate in good faith, and if it is not satisfied with the 933
results, it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiations 934
with the proposer. The authority may, at its discretion, reject 935
all proposals at any point in the process up to completion of a 936
contract with the pr oposer. 937
Section 21. Subsection (5) of section 849.38, Florida 938
Statutes, is amended to read: 939
849.38 Proceedings for forfeiture; notice of seizure and 940
order to show cause. — 941
(5) If the value of the property seized is shown by the 942
sheriff's return to have an appraised value of $1,000 or less, 943
the above citation shall be served by posting at three public 944
places in the county, one of which shall be the front door of 945
the courthouse; if the value of the property is shown by the 946
sheriff's return to have an approximate value of more than 947
$1,000, the citation shall be published by print or posted for 948
at least 2 consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible website as 949
provided in s. 50.03 11 newspaper's website and the statewide 950
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legal notice website in accordance with s. 50.0211(5) . If 951
published in print, the citation shall appear at least once each 952
week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper qualified to publish 953
legal notices under chapter 50 that is published in the county, 954
if there is such a newspaper published in the county. If there 955
is no such newspaper, the notice of such publication shall be 956
made by certificate of the clerk if publication is made by 957
posting, and by affidavit as provid ed in chapter 50, if made by 958
publication as provided in chapter 50, which affidavit or 959
certificate shall be filed and become a part of the record in 960
the cause. Failure of the record to show proof of such 961
publication shall not affect any judgment made in th e cause 962
unless it shall affirmatively appear that no such publication 963
was made. 964
Section 22. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section 965
932.704, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 966
932.704 Forfeiture proceedings. — 967
(6)(a) If the property is require d by law to be titled or 968
registered, or if the owner of the property is known in fact to 969
the seizing agency, or if the seized property is subject to a 970
perfected security interest in accordance with the Uniform 971
Commercial Code, chapter 679, the attorney for the seizing 972
agency shall serve the forfeiture complaint as an original 973
service of process under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 974
and other applicable law to each person having an ownership or 975
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security interest in the property. The seizing agency shall also 976
publish, in accordance with chapter 50, notice of the forfeiture 977
complaint for 2 consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible 978
website newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice 979
website in accordance with s. 50.0211(5) or, if published in 980
print, once each week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper 981
qualified to publish legal notices under chapter 50 in the 982
county where the seizure occurred. 983
Section 23. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023. 984