FL
Florida House Bill H7049

Florida 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H7049 Compare Versions

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1010 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
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14+A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to legal notices; amending s. 50.011, 2
1616 F.S.; revising the requirements for newspapers 3
1717 publishing legal notices; deleting an option for 4
1818 publication on a newspaper's website; providing for 5
1919 the publication of legal notices on certain publicly 6
2020 accessible websites; amending ss. 50.021, 50.0211, and 7
2121 50.031, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by 8
2222 the act; creating s. 50.0311, F.S.; providing 9
2323 definitions; authorizing a governmental agency to 10
2424 publish legal notices on a publicly accessible webs ite 11
2525 under certain circumstances; providing criteria for 12
2626 website publication; authorizing a governmental agency 13
2727 with a certain percentage of its population located 14
2828 within a county meeting a certain population threshold 15
2929 to use a publicly accessible website t o publish 16
3030 legally required advertisements and public notices 17
3131 only if certain requirements are met; requiring a 18
3232 governmental agency to provide specified notice to 19
3333 certain residents and property owners relating to 20
3434 alternative methods of receiving legal notic es; 21
3535 authorizing a governmental agency to publish certain 22
3636 public notices and advertisements on its governmental 23
3737 access channels; providing a requirement for public 24
3838 bid advertisements made by governmental agencies on 25
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4747 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
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5151 publicly accessible websites; amending s. 50.051, 26
5252 F.S.; revising a form for affidavits of publication; 27
5353 amending s. 50.061, F.S.; correcting a cross -28
5454 reference; amending s. 50.0711, F.S.; revising 29
5555 provisions relating to the use of court docket funds; 30
5656 amending ss. 11.02, 45.031, 90.902, 120.81, 121. 055, 31
5757 162.12, 189.015, 190.005, 200.065, 348.0308, 348.635, 32
5858 348.7605, 849.38, and 932.704, F.S.; conforming 33
5959 provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 34
6060 effective date. 35
6161 36
6262 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37
6363 38
6464 Section 1. Section 50.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to 39
6565 read: 40
6666 50.011 Publication of legal notices. —Whenever by statute 41
6767 an official or legal advertisement or a publication , or notice 42
6868 in a newspaper or on a governmental agency website has been or 43
6969 is directed or permitted in the nature of or in lieu of process, 44
7070 or for constructive service, or in initiating, assuming, 45
7171 reviewing, exercising , or enforcing jurisdiction or power, or 46
7272 for any purpose, including all legal notices and advertisements 47
7373 of sheriffs and tax collect ors, such legislation, whether 48
74-existing or repealed, means either of the contemporaneous and 49
75-continuous intent and meaning of such legislation all and 50
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75+intent and meaning of such legislation all and singular, 50
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8484 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
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88-singular, existing or repealed, is and has been and is hereby 51
89-declared to be and to have been, and the rule of interpretation 52
90-is and has been the following: 53
88+existing or repealed, is and has been and is hereby declared to 51
89+be and to have been, and the rule of inte rpretation is and has 52
90+been the following: 53
9191 (1) A publication in a newspaper printed and published 54
9292 periodically at least once a week, containing at least 25 55
93-percent of its words in the English language, available to the 56
94-public generally for the publication of official or other 57
95-notices and customarily containing information of a public 58
96-character or of interest or of value to the residents or ow ners 59
97-of property in the county where published, or of interest or of 60
98-value to the general public, which A publication in a newspaper 61
99-that meets all of the following : 62
100- (a) Is printed and published periodically at least once a 63
101-week. 64
102- (b) Contains at least 25 percent of its words in the 65
103-English language. 66
104- (c) Satisfies one of the following criteria: 67
105- (a)1. Has an audience consisting of at least 10 percent of 68
106-the households in the county or municipality, as determined by 69
107-the most recent decennial census, wh ere the legal or public 70
108-notice is being published or posted, by calculating the 71
109-combination of the total of the number of print copies 72
110-reflecting the day of highest print circulation, of which at 73
111-least 25 percent of such print copies must be delivered to 74
112-individuals' home or business addresses, as certified biennially 75
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93+percent of its words in the English language, entered or 56
94+qualified to be admitted and entered as pe riodical class mail at 57
95+a post office in the county where published, available to the 58
96+public generally for the publication of official or other 59
97+notices and customarily containing information of a public 60
98+character or of interest or of value to the residents or owners 61
99+of property in the county where published, or of interest or of 62
100+value to the general public; or A publication in a newspaper 63
101+that meets all of the following: 64
102+ (a) Is printed and published periodically at least once a 65
103+week. 66
104+ (b) Contains at leas t 25 percent of its words in the 67
105+English language. 68
106+ (c) Satisfies one of the following criteria: 69
107+ 1. Has an audience consisting of at least 10 percent of 70
108+the households in the county or municipality, as determined by 71
109+the most recent decennial census, whe re the legal or public 72
110+notice is being published or posted, by calculating the 73
111+combination of the total of the number of print copies 74
112+reflecting the day of highest print circulation, of which at 75
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121121 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
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125-by a certified independent third -party auditor, and the total 76
126-number of online unique monthly visitors to the newspaper's 77
127-website from within the state, as measured by industry -accepted 78
128-website analytics software. The newspaper must also be sold, or 79
129-otherwise available to the public, at no less than 10 publicly 80
130-accessible outlets. For legal and public notices published by 81
131-nongovernmental entities, the newspaper's audience in the county 82
132-or municipality where the project, property, or other primary 83
133-subject of the notice is located must meet the 10 percent 84
134-threshold; or. 85
135- (b)2. Is entered or qualified to be admitted and entered 86
136-as periodical class mail at a post office in the county where 87
137-published. Holds a periodicals permit as of March 1, 2021, and 88
125+least 25 percent of such print copies must be delivered to 76
126+individuals' home or business addresses, as certified biennially 77
127+by a certified independent third -party auditor, and the total 78
128+number of online unique monthly visitors to the newspaper's 79
129+website from within the state, as measured by industry -accepted 80
130+website analytics software. The newspaper must also be sold, or 81
131+otherwise available to the public, at no less than 10 publicly 82
132+accessible outlets. For legal and public notices published by 83
133+nongovernmental entities, the newspaper's audience in the county 84
134+or municipality where the project, property, or other primary 85
135+subject of the notice is located must meet the 10 percent 86
136+threshold. 87
137+ 2. Holds a periodicals permit as of March 1, 2021, and 88
138138 accepts legal notices for publication as of that date. Any such 89
139- newspaper may continue to publish legal notices through 90
140-December 31, 2023, so long as the newspaper continues to meet 91
141-the requirements set forth in s. 21, chapter 99 -2, Laws of 92
142-Florida, and continues to hold a periodicals permit. Beginning 93
143-January 1, 2024, and thereafter, any such newspaper must meet 94
144-the criteria under subparagraph 1. 95
139+newspaper may continue to publish legal notices through December 90
140+31, 2023, so long as the newspaper continues to meet the 91
141+requirements set forth in s. 21, chapter 99 -2, Laws of Florida, 92
142+and continues to hold a periodicals permit. Beginning January 1, 93
143+2024, and thereafter, any such newspaper must meet the criteria 94
144+under subparagraph 1. 95
145145 3. For newspapers publishing legal notices in a fiscally 96
146146 constrained county, holds a periodicals permit and meets all 97
147147 other requirements of this chapter. A newspaper qualified under 98
148148 this subparagraph does not need to meet the criteria under 99
149149 subparagraph 1. so long as the newspaper continues to hold a 100
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158158 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
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162162 periodicals permit. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 101
163163 "fiscally constrained county" means a county within a rural area 102
164164 of opportunity designated by the Governor pursuant to s. 103
165165 288.0656 or a county for which the value of a mill will raise no 104
166166 more than $5 million in revenue, based on the certified taxable 105
167167 value certified pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1.a., from the 106
168168 previous July 1. 107
169169 (d) Is available to the public generally for the 108
170170 publication of official or other notices with no more than 75 109
171171 percent of its content dedicated toward advertising, as measured 110
172172 in half of the newspaper's issues that are published during any 111
173173 12-month period, and customarily containing information of a 112
174174 public character or of interest or of value to the residents or 113
175175 owners of property in the county where published, or of interest 114
176176 or of value to the general public. 115
177177 (e) Continually publishes in a prominent manner the name, 116
178178 street address, phone number, website URL of the newspaper's 117
179179 approved print auditor, the newspaper's most recent statement of 118
180180 ownership, and a statement of the auditor certifying the 119
181181 veracity of the newspaper's print distribution and the number o f 120
182182 the newspaper's website's monthly unique visitors, or the 121
183183 newspaper's periodicals permit, if applicable, within the first 122
184184 five pages of the print edition and the bottom portion of the 123
185185 homepage of the newspaper's website. 124
186186 (2) A publication on a publicly accessible website under 125
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195195 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
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199199 s. 50.0311 Internet publication for governmental agency notices 126
200200 under s. 50.0211(1)(b) on the website of any newspaper in the 127
201201 county to which the legal notice pertains and on the statewide 128
202202 legal notice website as provided in s. 50 .0211(5). A newspaper 129
203203 is deemed to be a newspaper in the county to which the legal 130
204204 notice pertains if it satisfies the criteria in subsection (1) . 131
205205 Section 2. Section 50.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to 132
206206 read: 133
207207 50.021 Publication when no newspaper in county. —When any 134
208208 law, or order or decree of court, directs advertisements to be 135
209209 made in a county and there is no newspaper published in the 136
210210 county, the advertisement may be published on a publicly 137
211211 accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 made by publication 138
212212 in any newspaper qualified under this chapter in an adjoining 139
213213 county or on the website of any such newspaper for governmental 140
214214 agency notices under s. 50.0211(1)(b), and on the statewide 141
215215 legal notice website as provided in s. 50.0211(5) or made by 142
216216 posting three copies thereof in three different places in the 143
217217 county, one of which shall be at the front door of the 144
218218 courthouse, and by publication in the nearest county in which a 145
219219 newspaper qualified under this chapte r is published. 146
220220 Section 3. Section 50.0211, Florida Statutes, is amended 147
221221 to read: 148
222222 50.0211 Internet website publication. — 149
223223 (1) As used in this section, the term: 150
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232232 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
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236236 (a) "Governmental agency" means a county, a municipality, 151
237237 a district school board, or any other unit of local government 152
238238 or political subdivision in this state. 153
239239 (b) "Governmental agency notice" includes any of the 154
240240 following notices required by law to be published in a 155
241241 newspaper: 156
242242 1. Notices related to special or legal legislation 157
243243 pursuant to s. 11.02. 158
244244 2. Educational unit notices pursuant to s. 120.81. 159
245245 3. Retirement system notices pursuant to s. 121.0511. 160
246246 4. Notices related to inclusion of positions in the Senior 161
247247 Management Service Class of the Florida Retirement System 162
248248 pursuant to s. 121.055. 163
249249 5. Notices proposing the enactment of county ordinances 164
250250 pursuant to s. 125.66. 165
251251 6. Code enforcement notices published pursuant to s. 166
252252 162.12. 167
253253 7. Notices proposing the enactment of municipal ordinances 168
254254 pursuant to s. 166.041. 169
255255 8. Special district meeting notices pursuant to s. 170
256256 189.015. 171
257257 9. Establishment and termination notices for community 172
258258 development districts pursuant to ss. 190.005 and 190.046, 173
259259 respectively. 174
260260 10. Disclosures of tax impact by value adjustment boards 175
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269269 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
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273273 pursuant to s. 194.03 7. 176
274274 11. Advertisements of real or personal property with 177
275275 delinquent taxes pursuant to s. 197.402. 178
276276 12. Advertisements of hearing notices, millage rates, and 179
277277 budgets pursuant to s. 200.065. 180
278278 13. Turnpike project notices pursuant to s. 338.223. 181
279279 14. Public-private partnership notices pursuant to ss. 182
280280 348.0308 and 348.7605. 183
281281 15. Notices of prime recharge area designations for the 184
282282 Floridan and Biscayne aquifers pursuant to s. 373.0397. 185
283283 16. Water management district notices pursuant to s. 186
284284 373.146. 187
285285 17. Hazardous waste disposal notices pursuant to s. 188
286286 403.722. 189
287287 18. Forfeiture notices pursuant to ss. 849.38 and 932.704. 190
288288 (1)(2) This section applies to legal notices that must be 191
289289 published in accordance with this chapter unless otherwise 192
290290 specified. 193
291291 (2)(3) If a governmental agency publishes a legal notice 194
292292 in the print edition of a newspaper, each legal notice must be 195
293293 published posted on the newspaper's website on the same day that 196
294294 the printed notice appears in the newspaper, at no additional 197
295295 charge, in a separate web page titled "Legal Notices," "Legal 198
296296 Advertising," or comparable identifying language. A link to the 199
297297 legal notices web page shall be provided on the front page of 200
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306306 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
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310310 the newspaper's website that provides access to the legal 201
311311 notices. If there is a specified size and placement required for 202
312312 a printed legal notice, the size and placement of the notice on 203
313313 the newspaper's website must optimize its online visibility in 204
314314 keeping with the print requirements. The newspaper's web pages 205
315315 that contain legal notic es must present the legal notices as the 206
316316 dominant and leading subject matter of those pages. The 207
317317 newspaper's website must contain a search function to facilitate 208
318318 searching the legal notices. A fee may not be charged, and 209
319319 registration may not be required, f or viewing or searching legal 210
320320 notices on a newspaper's website if the legal notice is 211
321321 published in a newspaper. 212
322322 (3)(a)(4)(a) If a legal notice is published in the print 213
323323 edition of a newspaper or on a newspaper's website , the 214
324324 newspaper publishing the noti ce shall place the notice on the 215
325325 statewide website established and maintained as an initiative of 216
326326 the Florida Press Association as a repository for such notices 217
327327 located at the following address: www.floridapublicnotices.com. 218
328328 (b) A legal notice placed on the statewide website created 219
329329 under this subsection must be: 220
330330 1. Accessible and searchable by party name and case 221
331331 number. 222
332332 2. Published Posted for a period of at least 90 223
333333 consecutive days after the first day of publication posting. 224
334334 (c) The statewide website created under this subsection 225
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343343 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
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347347 shall maintain a searchable archive of all legal notices 226
348348 published posted on the publicly accessible website for 18 227
349349 months after the first day of publication posting. Such 228
350350 searchable archive shall be provided and accessible to the 229
351351 general public without charge. 230
352352 (d) The Florida Press Association shall seek to ensure 231
353353 that minority populations throughout the state have equitable 232
354354 access to legal notices posted on the statewide legal notice 233
355355 website located at: www.floridapublicnotices.com. The Florida 234
356356 Press Association shall publish a report listing all newspapers 235
357357 that have placed notices on www.floridapublicnotices.com in the 236
358358 preceding calendar quarter. The report must specifically 237
359359 identify which criteri a under s. 50.011(1)(c)1. -3. each 238
360360 newspaper satisfied. Each quarterly report must also include the 239
361361 number of unique visitors to the statewide legal notice website 240
362362 during that quarter and the number of legal notices that were 241
363363 published during that quarter b y Internet-only publication or by 242
364364 publication in a print newspaper and on the statewide website. 243
365365 At a minimum, the reports for the 4 preceding calendar quarters 244
366366 shall be available on the website. 245
367367 (5)(a) In lieu of publishing a legal notice in the print 246
368368 edition of a newspaper of general circulation, a governmental 247
369369 agency may opt for Internet -only publication of governmental 248
370370 agency notices with any newspaper of general circulation within 249
371371 the jurisdiction of the affected governmental agency so long as 250
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380380 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
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384384 the governmental agency, after a public hearing noticed in a 251
385385 print edition of a newspaper in accordance with this chapter, 252
386386 makes a determination by a majority of the members of the 253
387387 governing body of the governmental agency that the Internet 254
388388 publication of such g overnmental agency notices is in the public 255
389389 interest and that the residents within the jurisdiction of the 256
390390 governmental agency have sufficient access to the Internet by 257
391391 broadband service as defined in s. 364.02 or through other means 258
392392 such that Internet-only publication of governmental agency 259
393393 notices would not unreasonably restrict public access. Any such 260
394394 Internet-only publication published in accordance with this 261
395395 subsection must be placed in the legal notices section of the 262
396396 newspaper's website and the state wide legal notice website 263
397397 established under subsection (4). All requirements regarding the 264
398398 format and accessibility of legal notices placed on the 265
399399 newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice website in 266
400400 subsections (3) and (4) also apply to Internet -only publication 267
401401 of legal notices published in accordance with this subsection. A 268
402402 newspaper is deemed to be a newspaper of general circulation 269
403403 within the jurisdiction of the affected governmental agency if 270
404404 it satisfies the criteria in s. 50.011(1). 271
405405 (b) The legal notices section of the print edition of a 272
406406 newspaper must include a disclaimer stating that additional 273
407407 legal notices may be accessed on the newspaper's website and the 274
408408 statewide legal notice website. The legal notices section of the 275
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417417 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
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421421 newspaper's website must also include a disclaimer stating that 276
422422 legal notices are also published in the print edition of the 277
423423 newspaper and on the statewide legal notice website. 278
424424 (c) A newspaper may charge for the publication of any 279
425425 governmental agency notice that is pu blished only on the 280
426426 newspaper's website, without rebate, commission, or refund; 281
427427 however, the newspaper may not charge any higher rate for 282
428428 publication than the amount that would be authorized under s. 283
429429 50.061 if the governmental agency notice had been printe d in the 284
430430 newspaper. The penalties prescribed in s. 50.061(7) for allowing 285
431431 or accepting any rebate, commission, or refund in connection to 286
432432 the amounts charged for publication also apply to any 287
433433 governmental agency notices that are published only on the 288
434434 Internet in accordance with this subsection. 289
435435 (d) If a governmental agency exercises the option to 290
436436 publish Internet-only governmental agency notices in accordance 291
437437 with this subsection, such agency must provide notice at least 292
438438 once per week in the print edition of a newspaper of general 293
439439 circulation within the region in which the governmental agency 294
440440 is located which states that legal notices pertaining to the 295
441441 agency do not all appear in the print edition of the local 296
442442 newspaper and that additional legal notices ma y be accessed on 297
443443 the newspaper's website and that a full listing of any legal 298
444444 notices may be accessed on the statewide legal notice website 299
445445 located at www.floridapublicnotices.com. Additionally, any such 300
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454454 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
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458458 governmental agency must post a link on its website homepage to 301
459459 a webpage that lists all of the newspapers in which the 302
460460 governmental agency publishes legal notices. A newspaper is 303
461461 deemed to be a newspaper of general circulation within the 304
462462 region in which the governmental agency is located if it 305
463463 satisfies the criteria in s. 50.011(1). 306
464464 (6) Newspapers that publish legal notices shall, upon 307
465465 request, provide e-mail notification of new legal notices when 308
466466 they are published in the newspaper or on the newspaper's 309
467467 website. Such e-mail notification shall be provided without 310
468468 charge, and notification for such an e -mail registry shall be 311
469469 available on the front page of the legal notices section of the 312
470470 newspaper's website. 313
471471 (7) Notwithstanding the authorization of Internet -only 314
472472 publication for certain governmental agency notices in 315
473473 accordance with subsection (5), any other statute requiring the 316
474474 publication of an official legal notice in the print edition of 317
475475 a newspaper may not be construed to be superseded. 318
476476 Section 4. Section 50.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to 319
477477 read: 320
478478 50.031 Newspapers in which legal notices and process may 321
479479 be published.—If a governmental agency publishes a legal notice 322
480480 in a newspaper, no notice or publication required to be 323
481481 published in the print edition of a newspaper or on a 324
482482 newspaper's website, if authorized, in the nature of or in lieu 325
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491491 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
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495495 of process of any kind, nature, character , or description 326
496496 provided for under any law of the state, whether heretofore or 327
497497 hereafter enacted, and whether pertaining to constructive 328
498498 service, or the initiating, assu ming, reviewing, exercising , or 329
499499 enforcing jurisdiction or power, by any court in this state, or 330
500500 any notice of sale of property, real or personal, for taxes, 331
501501 state, county, or municipal, or sheriff's, guardian's , or 332
502502 administrator's or any sale made pursuant to any judicial order, 333
503503 decree, or statute or any other publication or notice pertaining 334
504504 to any affairs of the state, or any county, municipality , or 335
505505 other political subdivision thereof, shall be deemed to have 336
506506 been published in accordance with the statute s providing for 337
507507 such publication, unless the same shall have been published for 338
508508 the prescribed period of time required for such publication, in 339
509509 a newspaper or on a newspaper's website which at the time of 340
510510 such publication shall have been in existence for 2 years and 341
511511 meets the requirements set forth in s. 50.011, or in a newspaper 342
512512 which is a direct successor of a newspaper which has been so 343
513513 published; provided, however, that nothing herein contained 344
514514 shall apply where in any county there shall be no newspaper in 345
515515 existence which shall have been published for the length of time 346
516516 above prescribed. No legal publication of any kind, nature , or 347
517517 description, as herein defined, shall be valid or binding or 348
518518 held to be in compliance with the statutes providing for such 349
519519 publication unless the same shall have been published in 350
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528528 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
529529
530530
531531
532532 accordance with the provisions of this section or s. 50.0311 s. 351
533533 50.0211(5). Proof of such publication shall be made by uniform 352
534534 affidavit. 353
535535 Section 5. Section 50.0311, Florida Statutes, is created 354
536536 to read: 355
537537 50.0311 Publication of advertisements and public notices 356
538538 on a publicly accessible website and governmental access 357
539539 channels.— 358
540540 (1) For purposes of this chapter, the term "governmental 359
541541 agency" means a county, municipality, school board, or other 360
542542 unit of local government or political subdivision in this state. 361
543543 (2) For purposes of notices and advertisements required 362
544544 under s. 50.011, the term "publicly accessible website" means a 363
545545 county's official website or other private website designated by 364
546546 the county for the publication of legal notices and 365
547547 advertisements that is accessible via the Internet. All 366
548548 advertisements and public notices published on a website as 367
549549 provided in this chapter must be in searchable form and indicate 368
550550 the date on which the advert isement or public notice was first 369
551551 published on the website. 370
552552 (3) A governmental agency may use the publicly accessible 371
553553 website of the county in which it lies to publish legally 372
554554 required advertisements and public notices if the cost of 373
555555 publishing advertisements and public notices on such website is 374
556556 less than the cost of publishing advertisements and public 375
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565565 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
566566
567567
568568
569569 notices in a newspaper. 376
570570 (4) A governmental agency with at least 75 percent of its 377
571571 population located within a county with a population of fewer 378
572572 than 160,000 may use a publicly accessible website to publish 379
573573 legally required advertisements and public notices only if the 380
574574 governing body of the governmental agency, at a public hearing 381
575575 that has been noticed in a newspaper as provided in this 382
576576 chapter, determines that the residents of the governmental 383
577577 agency have sufficie nt access to the Internet by broadband 384
578578 service, as defined in s. 364.02, or by any other means, such 385
579579 that publishing advertisements and public notices on a publicly 386
580580 accessible website will not unreasonably restrict public access. 387
581581 (5) A special district s panning the geographic boundaries 388
582582 of more than one county that satisfies the criteria for 389
583583 publishing and chooses to publish legally required 390
584584 advertisements and public notices on a publicly accessible 391
585585 website must publish such advertisements and public noti ces on 392
586586 the publicly accessible website of each county it spans. For 393
587587 purposes of this subsection, the term "special district" has the 394
588588 same meaning as in s. 189.012. 395
589589 (6) A governmental agency that uses a publicly accessible 396
590590 website to publish legally requi red advertisements and public 397
591591 notices shall provide notice at least once per year in a 398
592592 newspaper of general circulation or another publication that is 399
593593 mailed or delivered to all residents and property owners 400
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602602 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
603603
604604
605605
606606 throughout the government's jurisdiction, indica ting that 401
607607 property owners and residents may receive legally required 402
608608 advertisements and public notices from the governmental agency 403
609609 by first-class mail or e-mail upon registering their name and 404
610610 address or e-mail address with the governmental agency. The 405
611611 governmental agency shall maintain a registry of names, 406
612612 addresses, and e-mail addresses of property owners and residents 407
613613 who have requested in writing that they receive legally required 408
614614 advertisements and public notices from the governmental agency 409
615615 by first-class mail or e-mail. 410
616616 (7) A link to advertisements and public notices published 411
617617 on a publicly accessible website shall be conspicuously placed: 412
618618 (a) On the website's homepage or on a page accessible 413
619619 through a direct link from the homepage. 414
620620 (b) On the homepage of the website of each governmental 415
621621 agency publishing notices on the publicly accessible website or 416
622622 on a page accessible through a direct link from the homepage. 417
623623 (8) A governmental agency that has a governmental access 418
624624 channel authorized under s . 610.109 may also include on its 419
625625 governmental access channel a summary of all advertisements and 420
626626 public notices that are published on a publicly accessible 421
627627 website. 422
628628 (9) A public bid advertisement made by a governmental 423
629629 agency on a publicly accessible we bsite must include a method to 424
630630 accept electronic bids. 425
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639639 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
640640
641641
642642
643643 Section 6. Section 50.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to 426
644644 read: 427
645645 50.051 Proof of publication; form of uniform affidavit. —428
646646 The printed form upon which all such affidavits establishing 429
647647 proof of publication are to be executed shall be substantially 430
648648 as follows: 431
649649 NAME OF COUNTY 432
650650 STATE OF FLORIDA 433
651651 COUNTY OF ....: 434
652652 Before the undersigned authority personally appeared ...., 435
653653 who on oath says that he or she is .... of the ...., a .... 436
654654 newspaper published at .... in .... County, Florida; that the 437
655655 attached copy of advertisement, being a .... in the matter of 438
656656 .... in the .... Court, was published on the publicly accessible 439
657657 website of .... County, Florida, or in a said newspaper by print 440
658658 in the issues of .... or by publication on the newspaper's 441
659659 website, if authorized, on ...(date).... 442
660660 Affiant further says that the website or newspaper complies 443
661661 with all legal requirements for publication in chapter 50, 444
662662 Florida Statutes. 445
663663 Sworn to and subscribed before me this .... day of ...., 446
664664 ...(year)..., by ...., who is personally known to me or who has 447
665665 produced (type of identification) as identification. 448
666666 ...(Signature of Notary Public)... 449
667667 ...(Print, Type, or Stamp Commissioned Name of Notary Public)... 450
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676676 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
677677
678678
679679
680680 ...(Notary Public)... 451
681681 Section 7. Subsection (5) of section 50.061, Florida 452
682682 Statutes, is amended to read: 453
683683 50.061 Amounts chargeable. — 454
684684 (5) If the public notice is published in the print edition 455
685685 of a newspaper, the publishing posting of the notice on the 456
686686 newspaper's website p ursuant to s. 50.0211(2) s. 50.0211(3) must 457
687687 be done at no additional charge. 458
688688 Section 8. Section 50.0711, Florida Statutes, is amended 459
689689 to read: 460
690690 50.0711 Court docket fund; service charges; publications. — 461
691691 (1) The clerk of the court in each county may establish a 462
692692 court docket fund for the purpose of paying the cost of 463
693693 publication of the fact of the filing of any civil case in the 464
694694 circuit court of the county by the style and of the calendar 465
695695 relating to such cases. This court docket fund shall be funded 466
696696 by $1 mandatory court cost for all civil actions, suits, or 467
697697 proceedings filed in the circuit court of the county. The clerk 468
698698 shall maintain such funds separate and apart, and the proceeds 469
699699 from this court cost shall not be diverted to any other fund or 470
700700 for any purpose other than that established in this section. The 471
701701 clerk of the court shall dispense the fund to the designated 472
702702 publicly accessible website publisher or record newspaper in the 473
703703 county on a quarterly basis. 474
704704 (2) If a judicial circuit publishes lega l notices in a 475
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713713 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
714714
715715
716716
717717 newspaper, a newspaper qualified under the terms of s. 50.011 476
718718 shall be designated as the record newspaper for such publication 477
719719 by an order of the majority of the judges in the judicial 478
720720 circuit in which such county is located, and such order shall be 479
721721 filed and recorded with the clerk of the circuit court for such 480
722722 county. The designated record newspaper may be changed at the 481
723723 end of any fiscal year of the county by a majority vote of the 482
724724 judges of the judicial circuit of the county ordering such 483
725725 change 30 days prior to the end of the fiscal year, notice of 484
726726 which order shall be given to the previously designated record 485
727727 newspaper. 486
728728 (3) The publicly accessible website publisher or 487
729729 publishers of any designated record newspapers receiving payment 488
730730 from this court docket fund shall publish, without additional 489
731731 charge, the fact of the filing of any civil case, suit, or 490
732732 action filed in such county in the circuit. Such publication 491
733733 shall be in accordance with a schedule agreed upon between the 492
734734 website publisher or record newspaper and the clerk of the court 493
735735 in such county. 494
736736 (4) The publicly accessible website publisher or 495
737737 publishers of any designated record newspapers receiving 496
738738 revenues from the court docket fund established in subsection 497
739739 (1) shall, without charge, accept legal advertisements for the 498
740740 purpose of service of process by publication under s. 49.011(4), 499
741741 (10), and (11) when such publication is required of persons 500
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750750 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
751751
752752
753753
754754 authorized to proceed as indigent persons under s. 57.081. 501
755755 Section 9. Section 11.02 , Florida Statutes, is amended to 502
756756 read: 503
757757 11.02 Notice of special or local legislation or certain 504
758758 relief acts.—The notice required to obtain special or local 505
759759 legislation or any relief act specified in s. 11.065 shall be by 506
760760 publishing the identical notice a s provided in chapter 50 or 507
761761 circulated throughout the county or counties where the matter or 508
762762 thing to be affected by such legislation shall be situated one 509
763763 time at least 30 days before introduction of the proposed law 510
764764 into the Legislature or, if the notice is not published on a 511
765765 publicly accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 made by 512
766766 Internet publication as provided in s. 50.0211(5) and there is 513
767767 being no newspaper circulated throughout or published in the 514
768768 county, by posting for at least 30 days at not fewer less than 515
769769 three public places in the county or each of the counties, one 516
770770 of which places shall be at the courthouse in the county or 517
771771 counties where the matter or thing to be affected by such 518
772772 legislation shall be situated. Notice of special or local 519
773773 legislation shall state the substance of the contemplated law, 520
774774 as required by s. 10, Art. III of the State Constitution. Notice 521
775775 of any relief act specified in s. 11.065 shall state the name of 522
776776 the claimant, the nature of the injury or loss for which the 523
777777 claim is made, and the amount of the claim against the affected 524
778778 municipality's revenue -sharing trust fund. 525
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787787 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
788788
789789
790790
791791 Section 10. Subsection (2) of section 45.031, Florida 526
792792 Statutes, is amended to read: 527
793793 45.031 Judicial sales procedure. —In any sale of real or 528
794794 personal property under an order or judgment, the procedures 529
795795 provided in this section and ss. 45.0315 -45.035 may be followed 530
796796 as an alternative to any other sale procedure if so ordered by 531
797797 the court. 532
798798 (2) PUBLICATION OF SALE. —Notice of sale shall be published 533
799799 on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 for 534
800800 at least 2 consecutive weeks before the sale or once a week for 535
801801 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, as 536
802802 provided defined in chapter 50, published in the county where 537
803803 the sale is to be held. The second publication by newspaper 538
804804 shall be at least 5 days before the sale. The notice shall 539
805805 contain: 540
806806 (a) A description of the property to be sold. 541
807807 (b) The time and place of sale. 542
808808 (c) A statement that the sale will be made pursuant to the 543
809809 order or final judgment. 544
810810 (d) The caption of the action. 545
811811 (e) The name of the clerk making the sale. 546
812812 (f) A statement that any person claiming an interest in 547
813813 the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner 548
814814 as of the date of the lis pendens must file a claim before the 549
815815 clerk reports the surplus as unclaimed. 550
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824824 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
825825
826826
827827
828828 551
829829 The court, in its discretion, may enlarge the time of the sale. 552
830830 Notice of the changed time of sale shall be published as 553
831831 provided herein. 554
832832 Section 11. Subsection (12) of section 90.902, Florida 555
833833 Statutes, is amended to read: 556
834834 90.902 Self-authentication.—Extrinsic evidence of 557
835835 authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not 558
836836 required for: 559
837837 (12) A legal notice published in accordance with the 560
838838 requirements of chapter 50 in the print edition of a qualified 561
839839 newspaper or on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 562
840840 50.0311 the website of a qualified newspaper . 563
841841 Section 12. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 564
842842 120.81, Florida Statutes, is amended to rea d: 565
843843 120.81 Exceptions and special requirements; general 566
844844 areas.— 567
845845 (1) EDUCATIONAL UNITS. — 568
846846 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 569
847847 educational units shall not be required to include the full text 570
848848 of the rule or rule amendment in notices relating to rules and 571
849849 need not publish these or other notices in the Florida 572
850850 Administrative Register, but notice shall be made: 573
851851 1. By publication in a newspaper qualified under chapter 574
852852 50 in the affected area or on a publicly accessible website as 575
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861861 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
862862
863863
864864
865865 provided in s. 50.0311; 576
866866 2. By mail to all persons who have made requests of the 577
867867 educational unit for advance notice of its proceedings and to 578
868868 organizations representing persons affected by the proposed 579
869869 rule; and 580
870870 3. By posting in appropriate places so that those 581
871871 particular classes of persons to whom the intended action is 582
872872 directed may be duly notified. 583
873873 Section 13. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 584
874874 121.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 585
875875 121.055 Senior Management Service Class. —There is hereby 586
876876 established a separate class of membership within the Florida 587
877877 Retirement System to be known as the "Senior Management Service 588
878878 Class," which shall become effective February 1, 1987. 589
879879 (1) 590
880880 (b)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., effective 591
881881 January 1, 1990, participation in the Senior Management Service 592
882882 Class is compulsory for the president of each community college, 593
883883 the manager of each participating municipality or county, and 594
884884 all appointed district school superintendents. Effective January 595
885885 1, 1994, additional positions may be designated for inclusion in 596
886886 the Senior Management Service Class if: 597
887887 a. Positions to be included in the class are designated by 598
888888 the local agency employer. Notice of intent to designate 599
889889 positions for inclusion in the class mu st be published for at 600
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898898 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
899899
900900
901901
902902 least 2 consecutive weeks if published on a publicly accessible 601
903903 website as provided in s. 50.0311 by Internet publication as 602
904904 provided in s. 50.0211(5) or, if published in print, once a week 603
905905 for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper qual ified under chapter 604
906906 50 that is published in the county or counties affected. 605
907907 b. Up to 10 nonelective full -time positions may be 606
908908 designated for each local agency employer reporting to the 607
909909 department; for local agencies with 100 or more regularly 608
910910 established positions, additional nonelective full -time 609
911911 positions may be designated, not to exceed 1 percent of the 610
912912 regularly established positions within the agency. 611
913913 c. Each position added to the class must be a managerial 612
914914 or policymaking position filled by an e mployee who is not 613
915915 subject to continuing contract and serves at the pleasure of the 614
916916 local agency employer without civil service protection, and who: 615
917917 (I) Heads an organizational unit; or 616
918918 (II) Has responsibility to effect or recommend personnel, 617
919919 budget, expenditure, or policy decisions in his or her areas of 618
920920 responsibility. 619
921921 2. In lieu of participation in the Senior Management 620
922922 Service Class, members of the Senior Management Service Class, 621
923923 pursuant to subparagraph 1., may withdraw from the Florida 622
924924 Retirement System altogether. The decision to withdraw from the 623
925925 system is irrevocable as long as the employee holds the 624
926926 position. Any service creditable under the Senior Management 625
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935935 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
936936
937937
938938
939939 Service Class shall be retained after the member withdraws from 626
940940 the system; however, additional service credit in the Senior 627
941941 Management Service Class may not be earned after such 628
942942 withdrawal. Such members are not eligible to participate in the 629
943943 Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program. 630
944944 3. Effective January 1, 2006, through Jun e 30, 2006, an 631
945945 employee who has withdrawn from the Florida Retirement System 632
946946 under subparagraph 2. has one opportunity to elect to 633
947947 participate in the pension plan or the investment plan. 634
948948 a. If the employee elects to participate in the investment 635
949949 plan, membership shall be prospective, and the applicable 636
950950 provisions of s. 121.4501(4) govern the election. 637
951951 b. If the employee elects to participate in the pension 638
952952 plan, the employee shall, upon payment to the system trust fund 639
953953 of the amount calculated under sub -sub-subparagraph (I), receive 640
954954 service credit for prior service based upon the time during 641
955955 which the employee had withdrawn from the system. 642
956956 (I) The cost for such credit shall be an amount 643
957957 representing the actuarial accrued liability for the affected 644
958958 period of service. The cost shall be calculated using the 645
959959 discount rate and other relevant actuarial assumptions that were 646
960960 used to value the pension plan liabilities in the most recent 647
961961 actuarial valuation. The calculation must include any service 648
962962 already maintained under the pension plan in addition to the 649
963963 period of withdrawal. The actuarial accrued liability 650
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972972 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
973973
974974
975975
976976 attributable to any service already maintained under the pension 651
977977 plan shall be applied as a credit to the total cost resulting 652
978978 from the calculation. The division must ensure that the transfer 653
979979 sum is prepared using a formula and methodology certified by an 654
980980 actuary. 655
981981 (II) The employee must transfer a sum representing the net 656
982982 cost owed for the actuarial accrued liability in sub -sub-657
983983 subparagraph (I) immediate ly following the time of such 658
984984 movement, determined assuming that attained service equals the 659
985985 sum of service in the pension plan and the period of withdrawal. 660
986986 (h)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 3., effective 661
987987 January 1, 1994, participation in the Sen ior Management Service 662
988988 Class shall be compulsory for the State Courts Administrator and 663
989989 the Deputy State Courts Administrators, the Clerk of the Supreme 664
990990 Court, the Marshal of the Supreme Court, the Executive Director 665
991991 of the Justice Administrative Commissio n, the capital collateral 666
992992 regional counsel, the clerks of the district courts of appeals, 667
993993 the marshals of the district courts of appeals, and the trial 668
994994 court administrator and the Chief Deputy Court Administrator in 669
995995 each judicial circuit. Effective January 1, 1994, additional 670
996996 positions in the offices of the state attorney and public 671
997997 defender in each judicial circuit may be designated for 672
998998 inclusion in the Senior Management Service Class of the Florida 673
999999 Retirement System, provided that: 674
10001000 a. Positions to be in cluded in the class shall be 675
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10091009 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
10101010
10111011
10121012
10131013 designated by the state attorney or public defender, as 676
10141014 appropriate. Notice of intent to designate positions for 677
10151015 inclusion in the class shall be published for at least 2 678
10161016 consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible website as pro vided 679
10171017 in s. 50.0311 by Internet publication as provided in s. 680
10181018 50.0211(5) or, if published in print, once a week for 2 681
10191019 consecutive weeks in a newspaper qualified under chapter 50 in 682
10201020 the county or counties affected. 683
10211021 b. One nonelective full -time position may be designated 684
10221022 for each state attorney and public defender reporting to the 685
10231023 Department of Management Services; for agencies with 200 or more 686
10241024 regularly established positions under the state attorney or 687
10251025 public defender, additional nonelective full -time positions may 688
10261026 be designated, not to exceed 0.5 percent of the regularly 689
10271027 established positions within the agency. 690
10281028 c. Each position added to the class must be a managerial 691
10291029 or policymaking position filled by an employee who serves at the 692
10301030 pleasure of the state attorney or public defender without civil 693
10311031 service protection, and who: 694
10321032 (I) Heads an organizational unit; or 695
10331033 (II) Has responsibility to effect or recommend personnel, 696
10341034 budget, expenditure, or policy decisions in his or her areas of 697
10351035 responsibility. 698
10361036 2. Participation in this class shall be compulsory, except 699
10371037 as provided in subparagraph 3., for any judicial employee who 700
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10461046 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
10471047
10481048
10491049
10501050 holds a position designated for coverage in the Senior 701
10511051 Management Service Class, and such participation shall continue 702
10521052 until the employee t erminates employment in a covered position. 703
10531053 Effective January 1, 2001, participation in this class is 704
10541054 compulsory for assistant state attorneys, assistant statewide 705
10551055 prosecutors, assistant public defenders, and assistant capital 706
10561056 collateral regional counsel. Effective January 1, 2002, 707
10571057 participation in this class is compulsory for assistant 708
10581058 attorneys general. 709
10591059 3. In lieu of participation in the Senior Management 710
10601060 Service Class, such members, excluding assistant state 711
10611061 attorneys, assistant public defenders, assi stant statewide 712
10621062 prosecutors, assistant attorneys general, and assistant capital 713
10631063 collateral regional counsel, may participate in the Senior 714
10641064 Management Service Optional Annuity Program as established in 715
10651065 subsection (6). 716
10661066 Section 14. Paragraph (a) of subsec tion (2) of section 717
10671067 162.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 718
10681068 162.12 Notices.— 719
10691069 (2) In addition to providing notice as set forth in 720
10701070 subsection (1), at the option of the code enforcement board or 721
10711071 the local government, notice may be served by publicat ion or 722
10721072 posting, as follows: 723
10731073 (a)1. Such notice shall be published in print in a 724
10741074 newspaper or on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 725
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10831083 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
10841084
10851085
10861086
10871087 50.0311 newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice 726
10881088 website as provided in s. 50.0211(5) for 4 consecutive weeks. If 727
10891089 published in print, the notice shall be published once during 728
10901090 each week for 4 consecutive weeks (four publications being 729
10911091 sufficient) in a newspaper in the county where the code 730
10921092 enforcement board is located. The newspaper shall meet such 731
10931093 requirements as are prescribed under chapter 50 for legal and 732
10941094 official advertisements. 733
10951095 2. Proof of publication shall be made as provided in ss. 734
10961096 50.041 and 50.051. 735
10971097 Section 15. Subsection (1) of section 189.015, Florida 736
10981098 Statutes, is amended to read: 737
10991099 189.015 Meetings; notice; required reports. — 738
11001100 (1) The governing body of each special district shall file 739
11011101 quarterly, semiannually, or annually a schedule of its regular 740
11021102 meetings with the local governing authority or authorities. The 741
11031103 schedule shall include the da te, time, and location of each 742
11041104 scheduled meeting. The schedule shall be published quarterly, 743
11051105 semiannually, or annually in the manner required in this 744
11061106 subsection. The governing body of an independent special 745
11071107 district shall advertise the day, time, place, an d purpose of 746
11081108 any meeting other than a regular meeting or any recessed and 747
11091109 reconvened meeting of the governing body, at least 7 days before 748
11101110 such meeting as provided in chapter 50 in the county or counties 749
11111111 in which the special district is located, unless a b ona fide 750
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11201120 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
11211121
11221122
11231123
11241124 emergency situation exists, in which case a meeting to deal with 751
11251125 the emergency may be held as necessary, with reasonable notice, 752
11261126 so long as it is subsequently ratified by the governing body. No 753
11271127 approval of the annual budget shall be granted at an emergency 754
11281128 meeting. The notice shall be posted as provided in chapter 50. 755
11291129 Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, and 756
11301130 except in the case of emergency meetings, water management 757
11311131 districts may provide reasonable notice of public meetings h eld 758
11321132 to evaluate responses to solicitations issued by the water 759
11331133 management district, as provided in chapter 50 by publication on 760
11341134 a publicly accessible website Internet publication or by 761
11351135 publication in a newspaper in the county where the principal 762
11361136 office of the water management district is located, or in the 763
11371137 county or counties where the public work will be performed, no 764
11381138 fewer less than 7 days before such meeting. 765
11391139 Section 16. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 766
11401140 190.005, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 767
11411141 190.005 Establishment of district. — 768
11421142 (1) The exclusive and uniform method for the establishment 769
11431143 of a community development district with a size of 2,500 acres 770
11441144 or more shall be pursuant to a rule, adopted under chapter 120 771
11451145 by the Florida Land an d Water Adjudicatory Commission, granting 772
11461146 a petition for the establishment of a community development 773
11471147 district. 774
11481148 (d) A local public hearing on the petition shall be 775
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11571157 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
11581158
11591159
11601160
11611161 conducted by a hearing officer in conformance with the 776
11621162 applicable requirements and procedu res of the Administrative 777
11631163 Procedure Act. The hearing shall include oral and written 778
11641164 comments on the petition pertinent to the factors specified in 779
11651165 paragraph (e). The hearing shall be held at an accessible 780
11661166 location in the county in which the community devel opment 781
11671167 district is to be located. The petitioner shall cause a notice 782
11681168 of the hearing to be published for 4 successive weeks on a 783
11691169 publicly accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 784
11701170 newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice website 785
11711171 provided in s. 50.0211(5) or, if published in print, in a 786
11721172 newspaper at least once a week for the 4 successive weeks 787
11731173 immediately prior to the hearing as provided in chapter 50. Such 788
11741174 notice shall give the time and place for the hearing, a 789
11751175 description of the area to be inc luded in the district, which 790
11761176 description shall include a map showing clearly the area to be 791
11771177 covered by the district, and any other relevant information 792
11781178 which the establishing governing bodies may require. If 793
11791179 published in the print edition of a newspaper, t he advertisement 794
11801180 may not be placed in the portion of the newspaper where legal 795
11811181 notices and classified advertisements appear. The advertisement 796
11821182 must be published in a newspaper in the county and of general 797
11831183 interest and readership in the community pursuant t o chapter 50. 798
11841184 Whenever possible, the advertisement shall appear in a newspaper 799
11851185 that is published at least weekly, unless the only newspaper in 800
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11941194 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
11951195
11961196
11971197
11981198 the community is published less than weekly. If the notice is 801
11991199 published in the print edition of the newspaper, th e map must 802
12001200 also be included in any online advertisement pursuant to s. 803
12011201 50.0211. All affected units of general -purpose local government 804
12021202 and the general public shall be given an opportunity to appear 805
12031203 at the hearing and present oral or written comments on the 806
12041204 petition. 807
12051205 Section 17. Paragraph (h) of subsection (3) of section 808
12061206 200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 809
12071207 200.065 Method of fixing millage. — 810
12081208 (3) The advertisement shall be published as provided in 811
12091209 chapter 50. If the advertisement is publishe d in the print 812
12101210 edition of a newspaper, the advertisement must be no less than 813
12111211 one-quarter page in size of a standard size or a tabloid size 814
12121212 newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in a 815
12131213 type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shal l not be 816
12141214 placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and 817
12151215 classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall be 818
12161216 published in a newspaper in the county or in a geographically 819
12171217 limited insert of such newspaper. The geographic boundaries in 820
12181218 which such insert is circulated shall include the geographic 821
12191219 boundaries of the taxing authority. It is the legislative intent 822
12201220 that, whenever possible, the advertisement appear in a newspaper 823
12211221 that is published at least weekly unless the only newspaper in 824
12221222 the county is published less than weekly, or that the 825
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12311231 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
12321232
12331233
12341234
12351235 advertisement appear in a geographically limited insert of such 826
12361236 newspaper which insert is published throughout the taxing 827
12371237 authority's jurisdiction at least twice each week. It is further 828
12381238 the legislative intent that the newspaper selected be one of 829
12391239 general interest and readership in the community pursuant to 830
12401240 chapter 50. 831
12411241 (h) In no event shall any taxing authority add to or 832
12421242 delete from the language of the advertisements as specified 833
12431243 herein unless express ly authorized by law, except that, if an 834
12441244 increase in ad valorem tax rates will affect only a portion of 835
12451245 the jurisdiction of a taxing authority, advertisements may 836
12461246 include a map or geographical description of the area to be 837
12471247 affected and the proposed use of the tax revenues under 838
12481248 consideration. In addition, if published in the print edition of 839
12491249 the newspaper or only published on the Internet in accordance 840
12501250 with s. 50.0211(5), the map must be included in the online 841
12511251 advertisement required by s. 50.0211. The adver tisements 842
12521252 required herein shall not be accompanied, preceded, or followed 843
12531253 by other advertising or notices which conflict with or modify 844
12541254 the substantive content prescribed herein. 845
12551255 Section 18. Subsection (3) of section 348.0308, Florida 846
12561256 Statutes, is amended to read: 847
12571257 348.0308 Public-private partnership. —The Legislature 848
12581258 declares that there is a public need for the rapid construction 849
12591259 of safe and efficient transportation facilities for traveling 850
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12681268 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
12691269
12701270
12711271
12721272 within the state and that it is in the public's interest to 851
12731273 provide for public-private partnership agreements to effectuate 852
12741274 the construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 853
12751275 transportation facilities. 854
12761276 (3) The agency may request proposals for public -private 855
12771277 transportation projects or, if it receives an unsolicited 856
12781278 proposal, it must publish a notice in the Florida Administrative 857
12791279 Register and, as provided in chapter 50, on a publicly 858
12801280 accessible website by Internet publication or by print in a 859
12811281 newspaper qualified to publish legal notices in the county in 860
12821282 which the project is located at least once a week for 2 weeks 861
12831283 stating that it has received the proposal and will accept, for 862
12841284 60 days after the initial date of publication, other proposals 863
12851285 for the same project purpose. A copy of the notice must be 864
12861286 mailed to each local government in the affected areas. After the 865
12871287 public notification period has expired, the agency shall rank 866
12881288 the proposals in order of preference. In ranking the proposals, 867
12891289 the agency shall consider professional qualifications, general 868
12901290 business terms, innovative engineering or cost -reduction terms, 869
12911291 finance plans, and the need for state funds to deliver the 870
12921292 proposal. If the agency is not satisfied with the results of the 871
12931293 negotiations, it may, at its sole discretion, terminate 872
12941294 negotiations with the pr oposer. If these negotiations are 873
12951295 unsuccessful, the agency may go to the second and lower -ranked 874
12961296 firms, in order, using the same procedure. If only one proposal 875
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13051305 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
13061306
13071307
13081308
13091309 is received, the agency may negotiate in good faith, and if it 876
13101310 is not satisfied with the result s, it may, at its sole 877
13111311 discretion, terminate negotiations with the proposer. The agency 878
13121312 may, at its discretion, reject all proposals at any point in the 879
13131313 process up to completion of a contract with the proposer. 880
13141314 Section 19. Subsection (3) of section 348 .635, Florida 881
13151315 Statutes, is amended to read: 882
13161316 348.635 Public-private partnership. —The Legislature 883
13171317 declares that there is a public need for the rapid construction 884
13181318 of safe and efficient transportation facilities for traveling 885
13191319 within the state and that it is in the public's interest to 886
13201320 provide for public-private partnership agreements to effectuate 887
13211321 the construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 888
13221322 transportation facilities. 889
13231323 (3) The authority may request proposals for public -private 890
13241324 transportation projects or, if it receives an unsolicited 891
13251325 proposal, it must publish a notice in the Florida Administrative 892
13261326 Register and, as provided in chapter 50, on a publicly 893
13271327 accessible website by either Internet publication or by print in 894
13281328 a newspaper in the county in which the project is located at 895
13291329 least once a week for 2 weeks stating that it has received the 896
13301330 proposal and will accept, for 60 days after the initial date of 897
13311331 publication, other proposals for the same project purpose. A 898
13321332 copy of the notice must be maile d to each local government in 899
13331333 the affected areas. After the public notification period has 900
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13421342 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
13431343
13441344
13451345
13461346 expired, the authority shall rank the proposals in order of 901
13471347 preference. In ranking the proposals, the authority shall 902
13481348 consider professional qualifications, general b usiness terms, 903
13491349 innovative engineering or cost -reduction terms, finance plans, 904
13501350 and the need for state funds to deliver the proposal. If the 905
13511351 authority is not satisfied with the results of the negotiations, 906
13521352 it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiatio ns with the 907
13531353 proposer. If these negotiations are unsuccessful, the authority 908
13541354 may go to the second and lower -ranked firms, in order, using the 909
13551355 same procedure. If only one proposal is received, the authority 910
13561356 may negotiate in good faith, and if it is not satis fied with the 911
13571357 results, it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiations 912
13581358 with the proposer. The authority may, at its discretion, reject 913
13591359 all proposals at any point in the process up to completion of a 914
13601360 contract with the proposer. 915
13611361 Section 20. Subsection (3) of section 348.7605, Florida 916
13621362 Statutes, is amended to read: 917
13631363 348.7605 Public-private partnership. —The Legislature 918
13641364 declares that there is a public need for the rapid construction 919
13651365 of safe and efficient transportation facilities for traveling 920
13661366 within the state and that it is in the public's interest to 921
13671367 provide for public-private partnership agreements to effectuate 922
13681368 the construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 923
13691369 transportation facilities. 924
13701370 (3) The authority may request proposals for public -private 925
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13791379 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
13801380
13811381
13821382
13831383 transportation projects or, if it receives an unsolicited 926
13841384 proposal, it must publish a notice in the Florida Administrative 927
13851385 Register and, as provided in chapter 50, on a publicly 928
13861386 accessible website by either Internet publication or by print in 929
13871387 a newspaper in the county in which the project is located at 930
13881388 least once a week for 2 weeks stating that it has received the 931
13891389 proposal and will accept, for 60 days after the initial date of 932
13901390 publication, other pr oposals for the same project purpose. A 933
13911391 copy of the notice must be mailed to each local government in 934
13921392 the affected areas. After the public notification period has 935
13931393 expired, the authority shall rank the proposals in order of 936
13941394 preference. In ranking the propos als, the authority shall 937
13951395 consider professional qualifications, general business terms, 938
13961396 innovative engineering or cost -reduction terms, finance plans, 939
13971397 and the need for state funds to deliver the proposal. If the 940
13981398 authority is not satisfied with the results o f the negotiations, 941
13991399 it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiations with the 942
14001400 proposer. If these negotiations are unsuccessful, the authority 943
14011401 may go to the second and lower -ranked firms, in order, using the 944
14021402 same procedure. If only one proposal is rec eived, the authority 945
14031403 may negotiate in good faith, and if it is not satisfied with the 946
14041404 results, it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiations 947
14051405 with the proposer. The authority may, at its discretion, reject 948
14061406 all proposals at any point in the process up to completion of a 949
14071407 contract with the proposer. 950
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14161416 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
14171417
14181418
14191419
14201420 Section 21. Subsection (5) of section 849.38, Florida 951
14211421 Statutes, is amended to read: 952
14221422 849.38 Proceedings for forfeiture; notice of seizure and 953
14231423 order to show cause. — 954
14241424 (5) If the value of the property se ized is shown by the 955
14251425 sheriff's return to have an appraised value of $1,000 or less, 956
14261426 the above citation shall be served by posting at three public 957
14271427 places in the county, one of which shall be the front door of 958
14281428 the courthouse; if the value of the property is shown by the 959
14291429 sheriff's return to have an approximate value of more than 960
14301430 $1,000, the citation shall be published by print or posted for 961
14311431 at least 2 consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible website as 962
14321432 provided in s. 50.0311 newspaper's website and the state wide 963
14331433 legal notice website in accordance with s. 50.0211(5) . If 964
14341434 published in print, the citation shall appear at least once each 965
14351435 week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper qualified to publish 966
14361436 legal notices under chapter 50 that is published in the county, 967
14371437 if there is such a newspaper published in the county. If there 968
14381438 is no such newspaper, the notice of such publication shall be 969
14391439 made by certificate of the clerk if publication is made by 970
14401440 posting, and by affidavit as provided in chapter 50, if made by 971
14411441 publication as provided in chapter 50, which affidavit or 972
14421442 certificate shall be filed and become a part of the record in 973
14431443 the cause. Failure of the record to show proof of such 974
14441444 publication shall not affect any judgment made in the cause 975
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14531453 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
14541454
14551455
14561456
14571457 unless it shall affirmativel y appear that no such publication 976
14581458 was made. 977
14591459 Section 22. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section 978
14601460 932.704, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 979
14611461 932.704 Forfeiture proceedings. — 980
14621462 (6)(a) If the property is required by law to be titled or 981
14631463 registered, or if the owner of the property is known in fact to 982
14641464 the seizing agency, or if the seized property is subject to a 983
14651465 perfected security interest in accordance with the Uniform 984
14661466 Commercial Code, chapter 679, the attorney for the seizing 985
14671467 agency shall serve the forfeiture complaint as an original 986
14681468 service of process under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 987
14691469 and other applicable law to each person having an ownership or 988
14701470 security interest in the property. The seizing agency shall also 989
14711471 publish, in accordance with ch apter 50, notice of the forfeiture 990
14721472 complaint for 2 consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible 991
14731473 website newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice 992
14741474 website in accordance with s. 50.0211(5) or, if published in 993
14751475 print, once each week for 2 consecutive we eks in a newspaper 994
14761476 qualified to publish legal notices under chapter 50 in the 995
14771477 county where the seizure occurred. 996
14781478 Section 23. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023. 997