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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
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.; provi ding 9
definitions; authorizing a governmental agency to 10
publish legal notices on a publicly accessible website 11
under certain circumstances; providing criteria for 12
website publication; authorizing a governmental agency 13
with a certain percentage of its popula tion located 14
within a county meeting a certain population threshold 15
to use a publicly accessible website to publish 16
legally required advertisements and public notices 17
only if certain requirements are met; requiring a 18
governmental agency to provide specifie d notice to 19
certain residents and property owners relating to 20
alternative methods of receiving legal notices; 21
authorizing a governmental agency to publish certain 22
public notices and advertisements on its governmental 23
access channels; providing a requiremen t for public 24
bid advertisements made by governmental agencies on 25
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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
publicly accessible websites; amending s. 50.051, 26
F.S.; revising a form for affidavits of publication; 27
amending s. 50.061, F.S.; correcting a cross -28
reference; amending s. 50.0711, F.S.; revis ing 29
provisions relating to the use of court docket funds; 30
amending ss. 11.02, 45.031, 90.902, 120.81, 121.055, 31
162.12, 189.015, 190.005, 200.065, 348.0308, 348.635, 32
348.7605, 849.38, and 932.704, F.S.; conforming 33
provisions to changes made by the act; prov iding an 34
effective date. 35
36
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37
38
Section 1. Section 50.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to 39
read: 40
50.011 Publication of legal notices. —Whenever by statute 41
an official or legal advertisement or a publication, or notice 42
in a newspaper or on a governmental agency website has been or 43
is directed or permitted in the nature of or in lieu of process, 44
or for constructive service, or in initiating, assuming, 45
reviewing, exercising , or enforcing jurisdictio n or power, or 46
for any purpose, including all legal notices and advertisements 47
of sheriffs and tax collectors, such legislation, whether 48
existing or repealed, means either of the contemporaneous and 49
continuous intent and meaning of such legislation all and 50
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singular, existing or repealed, is and has been and is hereby 51
declared to be and to have been, and the rule of interpretation 52
is and has been the following: 53
(1) A publication in a newspaper printed and published 54
periodically at least once a week, contai ning at least 25 55
percent of its words in the English language, 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 ow ners 59
of property in the county where published, or of interest or of 60
value to the general public, which 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
(a)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, wh ere the legal or public 70
notice is being published or posted, by calculating the 71
combination of the total 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 less 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; or. 85
(b)2. Is entered or qualified to be admitted and entered 86
as periodical class mail at a post office in the county where 87
published. Holds a periodicals permit as of March 1, 2021, and 88
accepts legal notices for publication as of that date. Any such 89
newspaper may continue to publish legal notices through 90
December 31, 2023, so long as the newspaper continues to meet 91
the requirements set forth in s. 21, chapter 99 -2, Laws of 92
Florida, and continues to hold a periodicals permit. Beginning 93
January 1, 2024, and thereafter, any such newspaper must meet 94
the criteria under subparagraph 1. 95
3. For newspapers publishing legal notices in a fisca lly 96
constrained county, holds a periodicals permit and meets all 97
other requirements of this chapter. A newspaper qualified under 98
this subparagraph does not need to meet the criteria under 99
subparagraph 1. so long as the newspaper continues to hold a 100
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periodicals permit. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 101
"fiscally constrained county" means a county within a rural area 102
of opportunity designated by the Governor pursuant to s. 103
288.0656 or a county for which the value of a mill will raise no 104
more than $5 million in revenue, based on the certified taxable 105
value certified pursuant to s. 1011.62(4)(a)1.a., from the 106
previous July 1. 107
(d) Is available to the public generally for the 108
publication of official or other notices with no more than 75 109
percent of its content dedicated toward advertising, as measured 110
in half of the newspaper's issues that are published during any 111
12-month period, and customarily containing information of a 112
public character or of interest or of value to the residents or 113
owners of property in the county where published, or of interest 114
or of value to the general public. 115
(e) Continually publishes in a prominent manner the name, 116
street address, phone number, website URL of the newspaper's 117
approved print auditor, the newspaper's most recent statement of 118
ownership, and a statement of the auditor certifying the 119
veracity of the newspaper's print distribution and the number of 120
the newspaper's website's monthly unique visitors, or the 121
newspaper's periodicals permit, if applicable, within the first 122
five pages of the print edition and the bottom portion of the 123
homepage of the newspaper's website. 124
(2) A publication on a publicly accessible website under 125
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s. 50.0311 Internet publication for governmental agency notices 126
under s. 50.0211(1)(b) on the website of any newspaper in the 127
county to which the legal notice pertains and on the statewide 128
legal notice website as provided in s. 50.0211(5). A newspaper 129
is deemed to be a newspaper in the county to which the legal 130
notice pertains if it satisfies the criteria in subsection (1) . 131
Section 2. Section 50.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to 132
read: 133
50.021 Publication when no newspaper in county. —When any 134
law, or order or decree of court, directs advertisements to be 135
made in a county and there is no newspaper published in the 136
county, the advertisement may be published on a publicly 137
accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 made by publication 138
in any newspaper qualified under this chapter in an adjoining 139
county or on the web site of any such newspaper for governmental 140
agency notices under s. 50.0211(1)(b), and on the statewide 141
legal notice website as provided in s. 50.0211(5) or made by 142
posting three copies thereof in three different places in the 143
county, one of which shall be at the front door of the 144
courthouse, and by publication in the nearest county in which a 145
newspaper qualified under this chapter is published. 146
Section 3. Section 50.0211, Florida Statutes, is amended 147
to read: 148
50.0211 Internet website publication. — 149
(1) As used in this section, the term: 150
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(a) "Governmental agency" means a county, a municipality, 151
a district school board, or any other unit of local government 152
or political subdivision in this state. 153
(b) "Governmental agency notice" includes any of the 154
following notices required by law to be published in a 155
newspaper: 156
1. Notices related to special or legal legislation 157
pursuant to s. 11.02. 158
2. Educational unit notices pursuant to s. 120.81. 159
3. Retirement system notices pursuant to s. 121.0511. 160
4. Notices related to inclusion of positions in the Senior 161
Management Service Class of the Florida Retirement System 162
pursuant to s. 121.055. 163
5. Notices proposing the enactment of county ordinances 164
pursuant to s. 125.66. 165
6. Code enforcement notices pub lished pursuant to s. 166
162.12. 167
7. Notices proposing the enactment of municipal ordinances 168
pursuant to s. 166.041. 169
8. Special district meeting notices pursuant to s. 170
189.015. 171
9. Establishment and termination notices for community 172
development districts pursuant to ss. 190.005 and 190.046, 173
respectively. 174
10. Disclosures of tax impact by value adjustment boards 175
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pursuant to s. 194.037. 176
11. Advertisements of real or personal property with 177
delinquent taxes pursuant to s. 197.402. 178
12. Advertisements of he aring notices, millage rates, and 179
budgets pursuant to s. 200.065. 180
13. Turnpike project notices pursuant to s. 338.223. 181
14. Public-private partnership notices pursuant to ss. 182
348.0308 and 348.7605. 183
15. Notices of prime recharge area designations for t he 184
Floridan and Biscayne aquifers pursuant to s. 373.0397. 185
16. Water management district notices pursuant to s. 186
373.146. 187
17. Hazardous waste disposal notices pursuant to s. 188
403.722. 189
18. Forfeiture notices pursuant to ss. 849.38 and 932.704. 190
(1)(2) This section applies to legal notices that must be 191
published in accordance with this chapter unless otherwise 192
specified. 193
(2)(3) If a governmental agency publishes a legal notice 194
in the print edition of a newspaper, each legal notice must be 195
published posted on the newspaper's website on the same day that 196
the printed notice appears in the newspaper, at no additional 197
charge, in a separate web page titled "Legal Notices," "Legal 198
Advertising," or comparable identifying language. A link to the 199
legal notices web page shall be provided on the front page of 200
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the newspaper's website that provides access to the legal 201
notices. If there is a specified size and placement required for 202
a printed legal notice, the size and placement of the notice on 203
the newspaper's website must optimize its online visibility in 204
keeping with the print requirements. The newspaper's web pages 205
that contain legal notices must present the legal notices as the 206
dominant and leading subject matter of those pages. The 207
newspaper's website must contain a search function to facilitate 208
searching the legal notices. A fee may not be charged, and 209
registration may not be required, for viewing or searching legal 210
notices on a newspaper's website if the legal notice is 211
published in a newspaper. 212
(3)(a)(4)(a) If a legal notice is published in the print 213
edition of a newspaper or on a newspaper's website , the 214
newspaper publishing the notice shall place the notice on the 215
statewide website established and maintained as an initiative of 216
the Florida Press Association a s a repository for such notices 217
located at the following address: www.floridapublicnotices.com. 218
(b) A legal notice placed on the statewide website created 219
under this subsection must be: 220
1. Accessible and searchable by party name and case 221
number. 222
2. Published Posted for a period of at least 90 223
consecutive days after the first day of publication posting. 224
(c) The statewide website created under this subsection 225
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shall maintain a searchable archive of all legal notices 226
published posted on the publicly accessible website for 18 227
months after the first day of publication posting. Such 228
searchable archive shall be provided and accessible to the 229
general public without charge. 230
(d) The Florida Press Association shall seek to ensure 231
that minority populations thr oughout the state have equitable 232
access to legal notices posted on the statewide legal notice 233
website located at: www.floridapublicnotices.com. The Florida 234
Press Association shall publish a report listing all newspapers 235
that have placed notices on www.flor idapublicnotices.com in the 236
preceding calendar quarter. The report must specifically 237
identify which criteria under s. 50.011(1)(c)1. -3. each 238
newspaper satisfied. Each quarterly report must also include the 239
number of unique visitors to the statewide legal n otice website 240
during that quarter and the number of legal notices that were 241
published during that quarter by Internet -only publication or by 242
publication in a print newspaper and on the statewide website. 243
At a minimum, the reports for the 4 preceding calend ar quarters 244
shall be available on the website. 245
(5)(a) In lieu of publishing a legal notice in the print 246
edition of a newspaper of general circulation, a governmental 247
agency may opt for Internet -only publication of governmental 248
agency notices with any new spaper of general circulation within 249
the jurisdiction of the affected governmental agency so long as 250
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the governmental agency, after a public hearing noticed in a 251
print edition of a newspaper in accordance with this chapter, 252
makes a determination by a major ity of the members of the 253
governing body of the governmental agency that the Internet 254
publication of such governmental agency notices is in the public 255
interest and that the residents within the jurisdiction of the 256
governmental agency have sufficient access to the Internet by 257
broadband service as defined in s. 364.02 or through other means 258
such that Internet-only publication of governmental agency 259
notices would not unreasonably restrict public access. Any such 260
Internet-only publication published in accordanc e with this 261
subsection must be placed in the legal notices section of the 262
newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice website 263
established under subsection (4). All requirements regarding the 264
format and accessibility of legal notices placed on the 265
newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice website in 266
subsections (3) and (4) also apply to Internet -only publication 267
of legal notices published in accordance with this subsection. A 268
newspaper is deemed to be a newspaper of general circulation 269
within the jurisdiction of the affected governmental agency if 270
it satisfies the criteria in s. 50.011(1). 271
(b) The legal notices section of the print edition of a 272
newspaper must include a disclaimer stating that additional 273
legal notices may be accessed on the n ewspaper's website and the 274
statewide legal notice website. The legal notices section of the 275
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newspaper's website must also include a disclaimer stating that 276
legal notices are also published in the print edition of the 277
newspaper and on the statewide legal no tice website. 278
(c) A newspaper may charge for the publication of any 279
governmental agency notice that is published only on the 280
newspaper's website, without rebate, commission, or refund; 281
however, the newspaper may not charge any higher rate for 282
publication than the amount that would be authorized under s. 283
50.061 if the governmental agency notice had been printed in the 284
newspaper. The penalties prescribed in s. 50.061(7) for allowing 285
or accepting any rebate, commission, or refund in connection to 286
the amounts charged for publication also apply to any 287
governmental agency notices that are published only on the 288
Internet in accordance with this subsection. 289
(d) If a governmental agency exercises the option to 290
publish Internet-only governmental agency notices in a ccordance 291
with this subsection, such agency must provide notice at least 292
once per week in the print edition of a newspaper of general 293
circulation within the region in which the governmental agency 294
is located which states that legal notices pertaining to th e 295
agency do not all appear in the print edition of the local 296
newspaper and that additional legal notices may be accessed on 297
the newspaper's website and that a full listing of any legal 298
notices may be accessed on the statewide legal notice website 299
located at www.floridapublicnotices.com. Additionally, any such 300
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governmental agency must post a link on its website homepage to 301
a webpage that lists all of the newspapers in which the 302
governmental agency publishes legal notices. A newspaper is 303
deemed to be a newspa per of general circulation within the 304
region in which the governmental agency is located if it 305
satisfies the criteria in s. 50.011(1). 306
(6) Newspapers that publish legal notices shall, upon 307
request, provide e-mail notification of new legal notices when 308
they are published in the newspaper or on the newspaper's 309
website. Such e-mail notification shall be provided without 310
charge, and notification for such an e -mail registry shall be 311
available on the front page of the legal notices section of the 312
newspaper's website. 313
(7) Notwithstanding the authorization of Internet -only 314
publication for certain governmental agency notices in 315
accordance with subsection (5), any other statute requiring the 316
publication of an official legal notice in the print edition of 317
a newspaper may not be construed to be superseded. 318
Section 4. Section 50.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to 319
read: 320
50.031 Newspapers in which legal notices and process may 321
be published.—If a governmental agency publishes a legal notice 322
in a newspaper, no notice or publication required to be 323
published in the print edition of a newspaper or on a 324
newspaper's website, if authorized, in the nature of or in lieu 325
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of process of any kind, nature, character , or description 326
provided for under any law of the state, whether heretofore or 327
hereafter enacted, and whether pertaining to constructive 328
service, or the initiating, assuming, reviewing, exercising , or 329
enforcing jurisdiction or power, by any court in this state, or 330
any notice of sale of property, real or personal, for taxes, 331
state, county, or municipal, or sheriff's, guardian's , or 332
administrator's or any sale made pursuant to any judicial order, 333
decree, or statute or any other publication or notice pertaining 334
to any affairs of the state, or any county, municipality , or 335
other political subdivision thereof, shall be deemed to have 336
been published in accordance with the statutes providing for 337
such publication, unless the same shall have been published for 338
the prescribed period o f time required for such publication, in 339
a newspaper or on a newspaper's website which at the time of 340
such publication shall have been in existence for 2 years and 341
meets the requirements set forth in s. 50.011, or in a newspaper 342
which is a direct successor of a newspaper which has been so 343
published; provided, however, that nothing herein contained 344
shall apply where in any county there shall be no newspaper in 345
existence which shall have been published for the length of time 346
above prescribed. No legal publica tion of any kind, nature , or 347
description, as herein defined, shall be valid or binding or 348
held to be in compliance with the statutes providing for such 349
publication unless the same shall have been published in 350
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accordance with the provisions of this section or s. 50.0311 s. 351
50.0211(5). Proof of such publication shall be made by uniform 352
affidavit. 353
Section 5. Section 50.0311, Florida Statutes, is created 354
to read: 355
50.0311 Publication of advertisements and public notices 356
on a publicly accessible website and governmental access 357
channels.— 358
(1) For purposes of this chapter, the term "governmental 359
agency" means a county, municipality, school board, or other 360
unit of local government or political subdivision in this state. 361
(2) For purposes of notices and adver tisements required 362
under s. 50.011, the term "publicly accessible website" means a 363
county's official website or other private website designated by 364
the county for the publication of legal notices and 365
advertisements that is accessible via the Internet. All 366
advertisements and public notices published on a website as 367
provided in this chapter must be in searchable form and indicate 368
the date on which the advertisement or public notice was first 369
published on the website. 370
(3) A governmental agency may use the pu blicly accessible 371
website of the county in which it lies to publish legally 372
required advertisements and public notices if the cost of 373
publishing advertisements and public notices on such website is 374
less than the cost of publishing advertisements and public 375
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notices in a newspaper. 376
(4) A governmental agency with at least 75 percent of its 377
population located within a county with a population of fewer 378
than 160,000 may use a publicly accessible website to publish 379
legally required advertisements and public noti ces only if the 380
governing body of the governmental agency, at a public hearing 381
that has been noticed in a newspaper as provided in this 382
chapter, determines that the residents of the governmental 383
agency have sufficient access to the Internet by broadband 384
service, as defined in s. 364.02, or by any other means, such 385
that publishing advertisements and public notices on a publicly 386
accessible website will not unreasonably restrict public access. 387
(5) A special district spanning the geographic boundaries 388
of more than one county that satisfies the criteria for 389
publishing and chooses to publish legally required 390
advertisements and public notices on a publicly accessible 391
website must publish such advertisements and public notices on 392
the publicly accessible website of each county it spans. For 393
purposes of this subsection, the term "special district" has the 394
same meaning as in s. 189.012. 395
(6) A governmental agency that uses a publicly accessible 396
website to publish legally required advertisements and public 397
notices shall provide notice at least once per year in a 398
newspaper of general circulation or another publication that is 399
mailed or delivered to all residents and property owners 400
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throughout the government's jurisdiction, indicating that 401
property owners and residents m ay receive legally required 402
advertisements and public notices from the governmental agency 403
by first-class mail or e-mail upon registering their name and 404
address or e-mail address with the governmental agency. The 405
governmental agency shall maintain a regist ry of names, 406
addresses, and e-mail addresses of property owners and residents 407
who have requested in writing that they receive legally required 408
advertisements and public notices from the governmental agency 409
by first-class mail or e-mail. 410
(7) A link to advertisements and public notices published 411
on a publicly accessible website shall be conspicuously placed: 412
(a) On the website's homepage or on a page accessible 413
through a direct link from the homepage. 414
(b) On the homepage of the website of each governmen tal 415
agency publishing notices on the publicly accessible website or 416
on a page accessible through a direct link from the homepage. 417
(8) A governmental agency that has a governmental access 418
channel authorized under s. 610.109 may also include on its 419
governmental access channel a summary of all advertisements and 420
public notices that are published on a publicly accessible 421
website. 422
(9) A public bid advertisement made by a governmental 423
agency on a publicly accessible website must include a method to 424
accept electronic bids. 425
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Section 6. Section 50.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to 426
read: 427
50.051 Proof of publication; form of uniform affidavit. —428
The printed form upon which all such affidavits establishing 429
proof of publication are to be executed shall be subst antially 430
as follows: 431
NAME OF COUNTY 432
STATE OF FLORIDA 433
COUNTY OF ....: 434
Before the undersigned authority personally appeared ...., 435
who on oath says that he or she is .... of the ...., a .... 436
newspaper published at .... in .... County, Florida; that the 437
attached copy of advertisement, being a .... in the matter of 438
.... in the .... Court, was published on the publicly accessible 439
website of .... County, Florida, or in a said newspaper by print 440
in the issues of .... or by publication on the newspaper's 441
website, if authorized, on ...(date).... 442
Affiant further says that the website or newspaper complies 443
with all legal requirements for publication in chapter 50, 444
Florida Statutes. 445
Sworn to and subscribed before me this .... day of ...., 446
...(year)..., by ...., wh o is personally known to me or who has 447
produced (type of identification) as identification. 448
...(Signature of Notary Public)... 449
...(Print, Type, or Stamp Commissioned Name of Notary Public)... 450
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...(Notary Public)... 451
Section 7. Subsection (5) of section 5 0.061, Florida 452
Statutes, is amended to read: 453
50.061 Amounts chargeable. — 454
(5) If the public notice is published in the print edition 455
of a newspaper, the publishing posting of the notice on the 456
newspaper's website pursuant to s. 50.0211(2) s. 50.0211(3) must 457
be done at no additional charge. 458
Section 8. Section 50.0711, Florida Statutes, is amended 459
to read: 460
50.0711 Court docket fund; service charges; publications. — 461
(1) The clerk of the court in each county may establish a 462
court docket fund for the p urpose of paying the cost of 463
publication of the fact of the filing of any civil case in the 464
circuit court of the county by the style and of the calendar 465
relating to such cases. This court docket fund shall be funded 466
by $1 mandatory court cost for all civil actions, suits, or 467
proceedings filed in the circuit court of the county. The clerk 468
shall maintain such funds separate and apart, and the proceeds 469
from this court cost shall not be diverted to any other fund or 470
for any purpose other than that established i n this section. The 471
clerk of the court shall dispense the fund to the designated 472
publicly accessible website publisher or record newspaper in the 473
county on a quarterly basis. 474
(2) If a judicial circuit publishes legal notices in a 475
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newspaper, a newspaper qualified under the terms of s. 50.011 476
shall be designated as the record newspaper for such publication 477
by an order of the majority of the judges in the judicial 478
circuit in which such county is located, and such order shall be 479
filed and recorded with the cl erk of the circuit court for such 480
county. The designated record newspaper may be changed at the 481
end of any fiscal year of the county by a majority vote of the 482
judges of the judicial circuit of the county ordering such 483
change 30 days prior to the end of the fiscal year, notice of 484
which order shall be given to the previously designated record 485
newspaper. 486
(3) The publicly accessible website publisher or 487
publishers of any designated record newspapers receiving payment 488
from this court docket fund shall publish, without additional 489
charge, the fact of the filing of any civil case, suit, or 490
action filed in such county in the circuit. Such publication 491
shall be in accordance with a schedule agreed upon between the 492
website publisher or record newspaper and the clerk o f the court 493
in such county. 494
(4) The publicly accessible website publisher or 495
publishers of any designated record newspapers receiving 496
revenues from the court docket fund established in subsection 497
(1) shall, without charge, accept legal advertisements for the 498
purpose of service of process by publication under s. 49.011(4), 499
(10), and (11) when such publication is required of persons 500
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authorized to proceed as indigent persons under s. 57.081. 501
Section 9. Section 11.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to 502
read: 503
11.02 Notice of special or local legislation or certain 504
relief acts.—The notice required to obtain special or local 505
legislation or any relief act specified in s. 11.065 shall be by 506
publishing the identical notice as provided in chapter 50 or 507
circulated throughout the county or counties where the matter or 508
thing to be affected by such legislation shall be situated one 509
time at least 30 days before introduction of the proposed law 510
into the Legislature or, if the notice is not published on a 511
publicly accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 made by 512
Internet publication as provided in s. 50.0211(5) and there is 513
being no newspaper circulated throughout or published in the 514
county, by posting for at le ast 30 days at not fewer less than 515
three public places in the county or each of the counties, one 516
of which places shall be at the courthouse in the county or 517
counties where the matter or thing to be affected by such 518
legislation shall be situated. Notice of special or local 519
legislation shall state the substance of the contemplated law, 520
as required by s. 10, Art. III of the State Constitution. Notice 521
of any relief act specified in s. 11.065 shall state the name of 522
the claimant, the nature of the injury or los s for which the 523
claim is made, and the amount of the claim against the affected 524
municipality's revenue -sharing trust fund. 525
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Section 10. Subsection (2) of section 45.031, Florida 526
Statutes, is amended to read: 527
45.031 Judicial sales procedure. —In any sale of real or 528
personal property under an order or judgment, the procedures 529
provided in this section and ss. 45.0315 -45.035 may be followed 530
as an alternative to any other sale procedure if so ordered by 531
the court. 532
(2) PUBLICATION OF SALE. —Notice of sale shall be published 533
on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 for 534
at least 2 consecutive weeks before the sale or once a week for 535
2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, as 536
provided defined in chapter 50, published in the c ounty where 537
the sale is to be held. The second publication by newspaper 538
shall be at least 5 days before the sale. The notice shall 539
contain: 540
(a) A description of the property to be sold. 541
(b) The time and place of sale. 542
(c) A statement that the sale wi ll be made pursuant to the 543
order or final judgment. 544
(d) The caption of the action. 545
(e) The name of the clerk making the sale. 546
(f) A statement that any person claiming an interest in 547
the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner 548
as of the date of the lis pendens must file a claim before the 549
clerk reports the surplus as unclaimed. 550
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551
The court, in its discretion, may enlarge the time of the sale. 552
Notice of the changed time of sale shall be published as 553
provided herein. 554
Section 11. Subsection (12) of section 90.902, Florida 555
Statutes, is amended to read: 556
90.902 Self-authentication.—Extrinsic evidence of 557
authenticity as a condition precedent to admissibility is not 558
required for: 559
(12) A legal notice published in accordance with th e 560
requirements of chapter 50 in the print edition of a qualified 561
newspaper or on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 562
50.0311 the website of a qualified newspaper . 563
Section 12. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 564
120.81, Florida Statut es, is amended to read: 565
120.81 Exceptions and special requirements; general 566
areas.— 567
(1) EDUCATIONAL UNITS. — 568
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 569
educational units shall not be required to include the full text 570
of the rule or rule amendment in notices relating to rules and 571
need not publish these or other notices in the Florida 572
Administrative Register, but notice shall be made: 573
1. By publication in a newspaper qualified under chapter 574
50 in the affected area or on a publicly accessi ble website as 575
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provided in s. 50.0311 ; 576
2. By mail to all persons who have made requests of the 577
educational unit for advance notice of its proceedings and to 578
organizations representing persons affected by the proposed 579
rule; and 580
3. By posting in appropri ate places so that those 581
particular classes of persons to whom the intended action is 582
directed may be duly notified. 583
Section 13. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 584
121.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 585
121.055 Senior Management Servi ce Class.—There is hereby 586
established a separate class of membership within the Florida 587
Retirement System to be known as the "Senior Management Service 588
Class," which shall become effective February 1, 1987. 589
(1) 590
(b)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2 ., effective 591
January 1, 1990, participation in the Senior Management Service 592
Class is compulsory for the president of each community college, 593
the manager of each participating municipality or county, and 594
all appointed district school superintendents. Effec tive January 595
1, 1994, additional positions may be designated for inclusion in 596
the Senior Management Service Class if: 597
a. Positions to be included in the class are designated by 598
the local agency employer. Notice of intent to designate 599
positions for inclus ion in the class must be published for at 600
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least 2 consecutive weeks if published on a publicly accessible 601
website as provided in s. 50.0311 by Internet publication as 602
provided in s. 50.0211(5) or, if published in print, once a week 603
for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper qualified under chapter 604
50 that is published in the county or counties affected. 605
b. Up to 10 nonelective full -time positions may be 606
designated for each local agency employer reporting to the 607
department; for local agencies with 100 or more regularly 608
established positions, additional nonelective full -time 609
positions may be designated, not to exceed 1 percent of the 610
regularly established positions within the agency. 611
c. Each position added to the class must be a managerial 612
or policymaking posi tion filled by an employee who is not 613
subject to continuing contract and serves at the pleasure of the 614
local agency employer without civil service protection, and who: 615
(I) Heads an organizational unit; or 616
(II) Has responsibility to effect or recommend personnel, 617
budget, expenditure, or policy decisions in his or her areas of 618
responsibility. 619
2. In lieu of participation in the Senior Management 620
Service Class, members of the Senior Management Service Class, 621
pursuant to subparagraph 1., may withdraw from the Florida 622
Retirement System altogether. The decision to withdraw from the 623
system is irrevocable as long as the employee holds the 624
position. Any service creditable under the Senior Management 625
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Service Class shall be retained after the member withdraws from 626
the system; however, additional service credit in the Senior 627
Management Service Class may not be earned after such 628
withdrawal. Such members are not eligible to participate in the 629
Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program. 630
3. Effective January 1 , 2006, through June 30, 2006, an 631
employee who has withdrawn from the Florida Retirement System 632
under subparagraph 2. has one opportunity to elect to 633
participate in the pension plan or the investment plan. 634
a. If the employee elects to participate in the investment 635
plan, membership shall be prospective, and the applicable 636
provisions of s. 121.4501(4) govern the election. 637
b. If the employee elects to participate in the pension 638
plan, the employee shall, upon payment to the system trust fund 639
of the amount calculated under sub-sub-subparagraph (I), receive 640
service credit for prior service based upon the time during 641
which the employee had withdrawn from the system. 642
(I) The cost for such credit shall be an amount 643
representing the actuarial accrued liability f or the affected 644
period of service. The cost shall be calculated using the 645
discount rate and other relevant actuarial assumptions that were 646
used to value the pension plan liabilities in the most recent 647
actuarial valuation. The calculation must include any s ervice 648
already maintained under the pension plan in addition to the 649
period of withdrawal. The actuarial accrued liability 650
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attributable to any service already maintained under the pension 651
plan shall be applied as a credit to the total cost resulting 652
from the calculation. The division must ensure that the transfer 653
sum is prepared using a formula and methodology certified by an 654
actuary. 655
(II) The employee must transfer a sum representing the net 656
cost owed for the actuarial accrued liability in sub -sub-657
subparagraph (I) immediately following the time of such 658
movement, determined assuming that attained service equals the 659
sum of service in the pension plan and the period of withdrawal. 660
(h)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 3., effective 661
January 1, 1994, parti cipation in the Senior Management Service 662
Class shall be compulsory for the State Courts Administrator and 663
the Deputy State Courts Administrators, the Clerk of the Supreme 664
Court, the Marshal of the Supreme Court, the Executive Director 665
of the Justice Admin istrative Commission, the capital collateral 666
regional counsel, the clerks of the district courts of appeals, 667
the marshals of the district courts of appeals, and the trial 668
court administrator and the Chief Deputy Court Administrator in 669
each judicial circuit . Effective January 1, 1994, additional 670
positions in the offices of the state attorney and public 671
defender in each judicial circuit may be designated for 672
inclusion in the Senior Management Service Class of the Florida 673
Retirement System, provided that: 674
a. Positions to be included in the class shall be 675
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designated by the state attorney or public defender, as 676
appropriate. Notice of intent to designate positions for 677
inclusion in the class shall be published for at least 2 678
consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible website as provided 679
in s. 50.0311 by Internet publication as provided in s. 680
50.0211(5) or, if published in print, once a week for 2 681
consecutive weeks in a newspaper qualified under chapter 50 in 682
the county or counties affected. 683
b. One nonelective full-time position may be designated 684
for each state attorney and public defender reporting to the 685
Department of Management Services; for agencies with 200 or more 686
regularly established positions under the state attorney or 687
public defender, additional non elective full-time positions may 688
be designated, not to exceed 0.5 percent of the regularly 689
established positions within the agency. 690
c. Each position added to the class must be a managerial 691
or policymaking position filled by an employee who serves at the 692
pleasure of the state attorney or public defender without civil 693
service protection, and who: 694
(I) Heads an organizational unit; or 695
(II) Has responsibility to effect or recommend personnel, 696
budget, expenditure, or policy decisions in his or her areas of 697
responsibility. 698
2. Participation in this class shall be compulsory, except 699
as provided in subparagraph 3., for any judicial employee who 700
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holds a position designated for coverage in the Senior 701
Management Service Class, and such participation shall continu e 702
until the employee terminates employment in a covered position. 703
Effective January 1, 2001, participation in this class is 704
compulsory for assistant state attorneys, assistant statewide 705
prosecutors, assistant public defenders, and assistant capital 706
collateral regional counsel. Effective January 1, 2002, 707
participation in this class is compulsory for assistant 708
attorneys general. 709
3. In lieu of participation in the Senior Management 710
Service Class, such members, excluding assistant state 711
attorneys, assistant public defenders, assistant statewide 712
prosecutors, assistant attorneys general, and assistant capital 713
collateral regional counsel, may participate in the Senior 714
Management Service Optional Annuity Program as established in 715
subsection (6). 716
Section 14. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 717
162.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 718
162.12 Notices.— 719
(2) In addition to providing notice as set forth in 720
subsection (1), at the option of the code enforcement board or 721
the local government, notice may be served by publication or 722
posting, as follows: 723
(a)1. Such notice shall be published in print in a 724
newspaper or on a publicly accessible website as provided in s. 725
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50.0311 newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice 726
website as provided in s. 50.0 211(5) for 4 consecutive weeks. If 727
published in print, the notice shall be published once during 728
each week for 4 consecutive weeks (four publications being 729
sufficient) in a newspaper in the county where the code 730
enforcement board is located. The newspaper shall meet such 731
requirements as are prescribed under chapter 50 for legal and 732
official advertisements. 733
2. Proof of publication shall be made as provided in ss. 734
50.041 and 50.051. 735
Section 15. Subsection (1) of section 189.015, Florida 736
Statutes, is amended to read: 737
189.015 Meetings; notice; required reports. — 738
(1) The governing body of each special district shall file 739
quarterly, semiannually, or annually a schedule of its regular 740
meetings with the local governing authority or authorities. The 741
schedule shall include the date, time, and location of each 742
scheduled meeting. The schedule shall be published quarterly, 743
semiannually, or annually in the manner required in this 744
subsection. The governing body of an independent special 745
district shall advertise th e day, time, place, and purpose of 746
any meeting other than a regular meeting or any recessed and 747
reconvened meeting of the governing body, at least 7 days before 748
such meeting as provided in chapter 50 in the county or counties 749
in which the special district is located, unless a bona fide 750
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emergency situation exists, in which case a meeting to deal with 751
the emergency may be held as necessary, with reasonable notice, 752
so long as it is subsequently ratified by the governing body. No 753
approval of the annual budget s hall be granted at an emergency 754
meeting. The notice shall be posted as provided in chapter 50. 755
Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, and 756
except in the case of emergency meetings, water management 757
districts may provide reasonable notic e of public meetings held 758
to evaluate responses to solicitations issued by the water 759
management district, as provided in chapter 50 by publication on 760
a publicly accessible website Internet publication or by 761
publication in a newspaper in the county where th e principal 762
office of the water management district is located, or in the 763
county or counties where the public work will be performed, no 764
fewer less than 7 days before such meeting. 765
Section 16. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 766
190.005, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 767
190.005 Establishment of district. — 768
(1) The exclusive and uniform method for the establishment 769
of a community development district with a size of 2,500 acres 770
or more shall be pursuant to a rule, adopted under chapter 120 771
by the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission, granting 772
a petition for the establishment of a community development 773
district. 774
(d) A local public hearing on the petition shall be 775
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conducted by a hearing officer in conformance with the 776
applicable requirements and procedures of the Administrative 777
Procedure Act. The hearing shall include oral and written 778
comments on the petition pertinent to the factors specified in 779
paragraph (e). The hearing shall be held at an accessible 780
location in the county in whi ch the community development 781
district is to be located. The petitioner shall cause a notice 782
of the hearing to be published for 4 successive weeks on a 783
publicly accessible website as provided in s. 50.0311 784
newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice website 785
provided in s. 50.0211(5) or, if published in print, in a 786
newspaper at least once a week for the 4 successive weeks 787
immediately prior to the hearing as provided in chapter 50. Such 788
notice shall give the time and place for the hearing, a 789
description of the area to be included in the district, which 790
description shall include a map showing clearly the area to be 791
covered by the district, and any other relevant information 792
which the establishing governing bodies may require. If 793
published in the print edi tion of a newspaper, the advertisement 794
may not be placed in the portion of the newspaper where legal 795
notices and classified advertisements appear. The advertisement 796
must be published in a newspaper in the county and of general 797
interest and readership in th e community pursuant to chapter 50. 798
Whenever possible, the advertisement shall appear in a newspaper 799
that is published at least weekly, unless the only newspaper in 800
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the community is published less than weekly. If the notice is 801
published in the print editio n of the newspaper, the map must 802
also be included in any online advertisement pursuant to s. 803
50.0211. All affected units of general -purpose local government 804
and the general public shall be given an opportunity to appear 805
at the hearing and present oral or w ritten comments on the 806
petition. 807
Section 17. Paragraph (h) of subsection (3) of section 808
200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 809
200.065 Method of fixing millage. — 810
(3) The advertisement shall be published as provided in 811
chapter 50. If the adv ertisement is published in the print 812
edition of a newspaper, the advertisement must be no less than 813
one-quarter page in size of a standard size or a tabloid size 814
newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in a 815
type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shall not be 816
placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and 817
classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall be 818
published in a newspaper in the county or in a geographically 819
limited insert of such newspaper. The geographic boundaries in 820
which such insert is circulated shall include the geographic 821
boundaries of the taxing authority. It is the legislative intent 822
that, whenever possible, the advertisement appear in a newspaper 823
that is published at least weekly unless the only newspaper in 824
the county is published less than weekly, or that the 825
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advertisement appear in a geographically limited insert of such 826
newspaper which insert is published throughout the taxing 827
authority's jurisdiction at least twice each week. It is further 828
the legislative intent that the newspaper selected be one of 829
general interest and readership in the community pursuant to 830
chapter 50. 831
(h) In no event shall any taxing authority add to or 832
delete from the language of the advertisements as specified 833
herein unless expressly authorized by law, except that, if an 834
increase in ad valorem tax rates will affect only a portion of 835
the jurisdiction of a taxing authority, advertisements may 836
include a map or geographical description of the area to be 837
affected and the proposed use of the tax revenues under 838
consideration. In addition, if published in the print edition of 839
the newspaper or only published on the Internet in accordance 840
with s. 50.0211(5), the map must be included in the online 841
advertisement required by s. 50.0211. The advertisements 842
required herein shall not be accompanied, preceded, or followed 843
by other advertising or notices which conflict with or modify 844
the substantive content prescribed herein. 845
Section 18. Subsection (3) of section 348.0308, Flo rida 846
Statutes, is amended to read: 847
348.0308 Public-private partnership. —The Legislature 848
declares that there is a public need for the rapid construction 849
of safe and efficient transportation facilities for traveling 850
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within the state and that it is in the p ublic's interest to 851
provide for public-private partnership agreements to effectuate 852
the construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 853
transportation facilities. 854
(3) The agency may request proposals for public -private 855
transportation projects or, if it receives an unsolicited 856
proposal, it must publish a notice in the Florida Administrative 857
Register and, as provided in chapter 50, on a publicly 858
accessible website by Internet publication or by print in a 859
newspaper qualified to publish legal noti ces in the county in 860
which the project is located at least once a week for 2 weeks 861
stating that it has received the proposal and will accept, for 862
60 days after the initial date of publication, other proposals 863
for the same project purpose. A copy of the not ice must be 864
mailed to each local government in the affected areas. After the 865
public notification period has expired, the agency shall rank 866
the proposals in order of preference. In ranking the proposals, 867
the agency shall consider professional qualifications , general 868
business terms, innovative engineering or cost -reduction terms, 869
finance plans, and the need for state funds to deliver the 870
proposal. If the agency is not satisfied with the results of the 871
negotiations, it may, at its sole discretion, terminate 872
negotiations with the proposer. If these negotiations are 873
unsuccessful, the agency may go to the second and lower -ranked 874
firms, in order, using the same procedure. If only one proposal 875
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is received, the agency may negotiate in good faith, and if it 876
is not satisfied with the results, it may, at its sole 877
discretion, terminate negotiations with the proposer. The agency 878
may, at its discretion, reject all proposals at any point in the 879
process up to completion of a contract with the proposer. 880
Section 19. Subsection (3) of section 348.635, Florida 881
Statutes, is amended to read: 882
348.635 Public-private partnership. —The Legislature 883
declares that there is a public need for the rapid construction 884
of safe and efficient transportation facilities for traveling 885
within the state and that it is in the public's interest to 886
provide for public-private partnership agreements to effectuate 887
the construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 888
transportation facilities. 889
(3) The authority may request proposals for public -private 890
transportation projects or, if it receives an unsolicited 891
proposal, it must publish a notice in the Florida Administrative 892
Register and, as provided in chapter 50, on a publicly 893
accessible website by either Internet publicatio n or by print in 894
a newspaper in the county in which the project is located at 895
least once a week for 2 weeks stating that it has received the 896
proposal and will accept, for 60 days after the initial date of 897
publication, other proposals for the same project p urpose. A 898
copy of the notice must be mailed to each local government in 899
the affected areas. After the public notification period has 900
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expired, the authority shall rank the proposals in order of 901
preference. In ranking the proposals, the authority shall 902
consider professional qualifications, general business terms, 903
innovative engineering or cost -reduction terms, finance plans, 904
and the need for state funds to deliver the proposal. If the 905
authority is not satisfied with the results of the negotiations, 906
it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiations with the 907
proposer. If these negotiations are unsuccessful, the authority 908
may go to the second and lower -ranked firms, in order, using the 909
same procedure. If only one proposal is received, the authority 910
may negotiate in good faith, and if it is not satisfied with the 911
results, it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiations 912
with the proposer. The authority may, at its discretion, reject 913
all proposals at any point in the process up to completion of a 914
contract with the proposer. 915
Section 20. Subsection (3) of section 348.7605, Florida 916
Statutes, is amended to read: 917
348.7605 Public-private partnership. —The Legislature 918
declares that there is a public need for the rapid construction 919
of safe and efficient transportation facilities for traveling 920
within the state and that it is in the public's interest to 921
provide for public-private partnership agreements to effectuate 922
the construction of additional safe, convenient, and economical 923
transportation facilities. 924
(3) The authority may request proposals for public -private 925
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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
transportation projects or, if it receives an unsolicited 926
proposal, it must publish a notice in the Florida Administrative 927
Register and, as provided in chapter 50, on a publicly 928
accessible website by either Internet publication or by print in 929
a newspaper in the county in which the project is located at 930
least once a week for 2 weeks stating that it has received the 931
proposal and will accept, for 60 days after the initial date of 932
publication, other proposals for the same project purpose. A 933
copy of the notice must be mailed to each local government in 934
the affected areas. After the public notification period has 935
expired, the authority shall rank the proposals in order of 936
preference. In ranking the proposals, the authority shall 937
consider professional qualifications, general business terms, 938
innovative engineering or cost -reduction terms, finance plans, 939
and the need for state funds to deliver the proposal. If the 940
authority is not satisf ied with the results of the negotiations, 941
it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiations with the 942
proposer. If these negotiations are unsuccessful, the authority 943
may go to the second and lower -ranked firms, in order, using the 944
same procedure. If on ly one proposal is received, the authority 945
may negotiate in good faith, and if it is not satisfied with the 946
results, it may, at its sole discretion, terminate negotiations 947
with the proposer. The authority may, at its discretion, reject 948
all proposals at any point in the process up to completion of a 949
contract with the proposer. 950
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Section 21. Subsection (5) of section 849.38, Florida 951
Statutes, is amended to read: 952
849.38 Proceedings for forfeiture; notice of seizure and 953
order to show cause. — 954
(5) If the value of the property seized is shown by the 955
sheriff's return to have an appraised value of $1,000 or less, 956
the above citation shall be served by posting at three public 957
places in the county, one of which shall be the front door of 958
the courthouse; if the val ue of the property is shown by the 959
sheriff's return to have an approximate value of more than 960
$1,000, the citation shall be published by print or posted for 961
at least 2 consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible website as 962
provided in s. 50.0311 newspaper's website and the statewide 963
legal notice website in accordance with s. 50.0211(5) . If 964
published in print, the citation shall appear at least once each 965
week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper qualified to publish 966
legal notices under chapter 50 that is pu blished in the county, 967
if there is such a newspaper published in the county. If there 968
is no such newspaper, the notice of such publication shall be 969
made by certificate of the clerk if publication is made by 970
posting, and by affidavit as provided in chapter 50, if made by 971
publication as provided in chapter 50, which affidavit or 972
certificate shall be filed and become a part of the record in 973
the cause. Failure of the record to show proof of such 974
publication shall not affect any judgment made in the cause 975
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unless it shall affirmatively appear that no such publication 976
was made. 977
Section 22. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section 978
932.704, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 979
932.704 Forfeiture proceedings. — 980
(6)(a) If the property is required by law to be titled or 981
registered, or if the owner of the property is known in fact to 982
the seizing agency, or if the seized property is subject to a 983
perfected security interest in accordance with the Uniform 984
Commercial Code, chapter 679, the attorney for the seizing 985
agency shall serve the forfeiture complaint as an original 986
service of process under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 987
and other applicable law to each person having an ownership or 988
security interest in the property. The seizing agency shall also 989
publish, in accordance with chapter 50, notice of the forfeiture 990
complaint for 2 consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible 991
website newspaper's website and the statewide legal notice 992
website in accordance with s. 50.0211(5) or, if published in 993
print, once each wee k for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper 994
qualified to publish legal notices under chapter 50 in the 995
county where the seizure occurred. 996
Section 23. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023. 997