02/24/16 – State Capital Briefs
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to take up an appeal by a Jacksonville municipal pension fund in a dispute about whether the state’s Sunshine Law was violated during closed-door meetings about negotiating changes in the pension system. As is common, the Supreme Court did not give its reasons for turning down the appeal from the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund Board of Trustees. The 1st District Court of Appeal last year sided with Florida Times-Union Editor Frank Denton, who contended in a lawsuit that mediation sessions amounted to collective-bargaining meetings, which were required to be open to the public. The pension fund then asked the Supreme Court to take up the dispute.