The News Service of Florida
May 24, 2017
Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday signed 16 bills into law, including a measure stemming from a debate about legal fees in public-records cases and a measure aimed at increasing boater safety. Scott signed a bill (SB 80) that is an attempted compromise in a long-running debate about attorney fees in public-records lawsuits. State law requires judges to award attorney fees to people who successfully file lawsuits against government agencies that have improperly withheld public records. But local governments have contended in recent years that the law is being abused by people who inundate government agencies with public-records requests as a strategy to file lawsuits and receive attorney fees or settlements. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, keeps in place the requirement that agencies pay attorney fees if they improperly withhold records. But it also includes changes, such as requiring that notice be given at least five days before lawsuits are filed, that could help agencies avoid potential litigation. Also Tuesday, Scott signed a bill (HB 711) that will expand a discount on registration fees for recreational boat owners who have locator beacons. The issue stems from the July 2015 disappearance of Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, two 14-year-olds from Tequesta who went missing after steering a 19-foot boat out of the Jupiter Inlet into the Atlantic Ocean. [READ MORE]