Florida Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Florida, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can a Florida university presidential search committee use a search firm to anonymously survey its members and rank candidates outside of a public meeting?
No. Florida's Sunshine Law applies to university presidential search committees, and using an outside firm to anonymously rank candidates is an 'evasive device' that circumvents public deliberation. A…
If a Florida county mayor personally appoints a constituent advisory group, does the Sunshine Law require the group to meet in public?
It depends on what the group does, not who appointed it. The Florida AG concluded in 2019 that an advisory group formed by Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen would be subject to the Sunshine Law if it ma…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law apply to an unopposed candidate for a community development district before election day?
No. The AG's office confirmed that AGO 98-60 still applied: an unopposed candidate for a Florida community development district board was not a 'member-elect' subject to the Government in the Sunshine…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law apply to the board of a private trust fund administering municipal employees' insurance benefits?
Yes. A private trust fund created by a city and a public-employee union to administer insurance benefits with public dollars is performing a governmental function, so its board is subject to Florida's…
Can a Florida public board meet or approve its minutes electronically without a physical quorum under the Sunshine Law?
The AG's office advised that electronic media may be used at workshops where no formal action will be taken, but a quorum must be physically present to conduct official business. Approving the minutes…
Can a Florida mayor who is also personally sued still attend closed 'shade meetings' about the city's lawsuit?
Section 286.011(8) does not bar a mayor who is a voting member of the city council from attending closed 'shade meetings' with the council's attorney about settlement and litigation strategy, even whe…
Can a Florida public pension board travel out of state to interview consultants without violating the Sunshine Law?
A local public pension board cannot travel to other states to interview investment consultants and satisfy the Government in the Sunshine Law just by providing a live audio-video feed back home. The f…
Does leaking what was said in a closed shade meeting violate Florida's Sunshine Law?
Not the Sunshine Law itself. The AG advised that a council member who spoke publicly about strategy from a closed attorney-client shade meeting under section 286.011(8) did not violate the Sunshine La…
Can a Florida public hospital keep its sale-or-lease evaluation secret as a strategic plan?
No. The AG advised that the evaluation a public hospital board must perform under section 155.40(5) before selling or leasing the hospital is not a 'strategic plan' under section 395.3035. The board c…
Is a video recording of a Florida school board meeting a public record?
Likely yes. The AG advised that a video of a school board meeting, made at a board member's direction and intended to perpetuate the discussion, appears to be a public record under Chapter 119, especi…
Does Florida law require a local board to let the public speak before it votes on something?
The AG gave informal comments rather than a formal opinion, finding the statute clear on its face. Section 286.0114 requires that members of the public get a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a pr…
Can a Florida city release transcripts of closed attorney-client 'shade' meetings before the lawsuit ends?
Yes. The AG concluded that a governing body may release the transcripts of section 286.011(8) attorney-client litigation meetings before the conclusion of litigation. Doing so is not a Sunshine Law vi…
Can a Florida city commission meet privately with its attorney to discuss a binding arbitration if no lawsuit has been filed?
No. The AG concluded that the section 286.011(8) attorney-client 'shade' meeting exemption applies only to pending litigation before a court or administrative agency. Mandatory, binding arbitration wi…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law require a city commission to approve the final written employment contract at a public meeting if the terms were already approved publicly?
No. The AG concluded that the Sunshine Law does not require a town commission to present, consider, and re-approve a final drafted employment contract at a public meeting when the terms were already a…
After a Florida lawsuit ends in a dismissal with prejudice, can a public board keep its closed-meeting transcripts secret because a related derivative claim was filed?
No. The AG concluded that a dismissal with prejudice is the conclusion of the litigation, so under section 286.011(8)(e) the transcripts of the board's closed strategy meetings become public record. T…
Does a Florida public board have to meet in public when it handles confidential whistle-blower complaints?
The AG concluded that the Hillsborough Transit Authority board could be designated to receive whistle-blower complaints, but as a collegial public body it had to act at open meetings under section 286…
Can an individual Florida school board member hold a town hall meeting on school property, and does it break the Sunshine Law if other members attend?
In an informal advisory letter, the Attorney General's Office declined to resolve the intra-district dispute but offered general guidance: a school board's powers are exercised 'as a board,' not by in…
If a sheriff and state attorney appoint substitutes to an advisory board, does the Sunshine Law cover their private conversations?
No, not on that basis. When the sheriff and state attorney each appoint someone else to sit on the Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission in their place, the two officers are no longer commissi…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law cover a private nonprofit that runs a county program, like a county-backed energy loan fund?
Yes. The Solar and Energy Loan Fund of St. Lucie County, a private nonprofit, has to follow Florida's open meetings law because the county delegated its energy-financing program to the fund. When a co…
Are a Florida county inspector general's investigation records and meetings confidential under the Sunshine and Public Records laws?
Partly. The 2010 public-records and open-meeting exemption (Chapter 2010-130) covered the Palm Beach County Inspector General only when investigating ethics-code complaints. Investigations of waste, i…
Are the meetings of a private economic-development council's committees open to the public under Florida's Sunshine Law?
Yes. The AG concluded that the subcommittees of the Lake County Economic Development Advisory Council, though run by a private nonprofit, had to follow the Government in the Sunshine Law. The county h…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law apply to a fact-finding committee that only gathers information for a city council?
It depends on what the committee actually does. The Attorney General's office advised that a body created and used strictly for fact-finding, gathering and reporting information with no decision-makin…
Can a Florida regional workforce development board take votes by proxy?
Probably not. The office gave informal comments because a majority of the board had not joined the request. It noted that special districts have only the powers expressly granted or necessarily implie…
Do Florida's open-meeting laws apply to special magistrates who hear property tax appeals for a value adjustment board?
Yes. The Florida AG concluded that when special magistrates exercise the value adjustment board's delegated authority (taking testimony and making recommendations the board can adopt without a further…
Can a Florida school board close a meeting to the public when it will discuss confidential student records?
No. The AG concluded that section 1002.22(2)(d), Florida Statutes, does not create an exemption to the Government in the Sunshine Law. A school board meeting to consider a discrimination complaint sta…
Can a Florida public board count members joining by phone or video toward its quorum?
No. The AG concluded that the City of Coral Gables retirement board could not adopt a rule treating a member's electronic participation as physical presence for a quorum. A quorum, by its nature, requ…
Who can attend a Florida public board's closed attorney-client settlement meeting under the Sunshine Law?
No. The AG concluded that the closed-meeting exception in section 286.011(8), Florida Statutes, applies only to a board that is a party to litigation meeting with its own attorney. The Monroe County S…
Can Florida city commissioners submit written questions to staff before a meeting without breaking the Sunshine Law?
The office did not flatly prohibit the plan but flagged two problems. Routing commissioners' questions through the city manager and back to all commissioners risks becoming a de facto meeting if staff…
Can members of a Florida public board hash out business by passing letters around instead of meeting in public?
In an informal opinion, the Attorney General's office concluded that the Florida State Fair Authority, as a legislatively created state board, is subject to the Government in the Sunshine Law. Circula…
Can a Florida city hold a closed meeting to discuss settling a Bert J. Harris Act claim before any lawsuit is filed?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that a town council that has received a pre-suit notice letter under the Bert J. Harris Act is not a party to pending litigation, so it may not hold a closed a…
Can a Florida board member share a written report with other members before a public meeting without violating the Sunshine Law?
In an informal letter, Assistant Attorney General Joslyn Wilson noted that this office could only issue a formal opinion if a majority of the board requested it. As general guidance, the letter explai…
Can a Florida city hold a closed Sunshine Law attorney-client session about a lawsuit where the named defendant is a city employee, not the city itself?
The AG concluded the city could, but only because it was the real party in interest. Pembroke Pines fully indemnified and paid for the defense of an employee who was the named defendant, which made th…
Can a Florida city council meet in closed session to discuss intergovernmental conflict-resolution settlement terms?
No. The AG concluded that the Sunshine Law's narrow 'shade meeting' exemption in section 286.011(8) covers only settlement negotiations or litigation-expenditure strategy in pending litigation. It doe…
What are the open-meeting rules for a Florida state college board of trustees?
An informal AG letter warned the trustees of Northwest Florida State College that holding a board meeting in Tallahassee, far from campus, was very questionable under the Sunshine Law. The letter rest…
Can a Florida city council member post how they plan to vote on a blog or in the newspaper?
The Hallandale Beach City Attorney asked whether a council member could publish his planned vote on a blog or in the newspaper, and whether the city could ban that. The AG explained that simply postin…
If a Florida council member hosts a public forum other members attend, must it be noticed under the Sunshine Law?
The Hallandale Beach City Attorney asked whether a public forum hosted by one city council member, which other members might attend and join in discussing city business, had to be publicly noticed. Th…
Can a Florida city advisory board hold online bulletin-board workshop meetings under the Sunshine Law?
Delray Beach asked whether a city advisory task force could hold its workshop meetings on an online bulletin board without violating the Sunshine Law. The AG concluded it can, with conditions. The boa…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law require county orientation sessions for value adjustment board special magistrates to be open to the public?
The AG concluded that section 286.011, the Sunshine Law, did not apply to orientation sessions that counties hold for the special magistrates who hear value adjustment board petitions, because those s…
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Attorney general opinions in Florida are written by the Florida Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.