HomeMy Public PortalAboutPRR 14-1029Your orieinal request, dated June 22, 2014, is reproduced in the space below: IQ
From: freddy farnsworth ( mailto :frederick.freddy.farnsworth @gmail.com] 29
Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2014 8:05 PM
To: Bill Thrasher
Subject: record of ag opinion
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST attorney general
Pursuant to Article 1, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution and Chapter 119.07 of the Florida Statutes I
wish to make a public records request of your agency for the following records:
Any opinion written by a Florida Attorney General and located in the Town's public records.
If you contend that any of the records I am seeking, or any portion thereof, are exempt from inspection
or disclosure please cite the specific exemption as required by §119.07(1)(e) of the Florida Statutes and
state in writing and with particularity the basis for your conclusions as required by §119.07(1)(f) of the
Florida Statutes.
Please take note of §119.07(c) Florida Statues and your affirmative obligation to (1) promptly
acknowledge receipt of this public records request and (2) make a good faith effort which "includes
making reasonable efforts to determine from other officers or employees within the agency whether
such a record exists and, if so, the location at which the record can be accessed." I am, therefore,
requesting that you notify every individual in possession of records that may be responsive to this public
records request to preserve all such records on an immediate basis.
If any records are readily available, please produce those records first without waiting for all responsive
records to be available. Produce the less readily available records as soon as they are available.
If the public records being sought are maintained by your agency in an electronic format please produce
the records in the original electronic format in which they were created or received. See §119.01(2)(f),
Florida Statutes.
If you anticipate the production of any of these public records to exceed $1.00 please notify me in
advance of their production with a written estimate of the total cost. Please be sure to itemize any
estimates so as to indicate the total number of pages and /or records, as well as to distinguish the cost of
labor and materials. If any records may be produced for less than $1.00, please produce those records
first while waiting to obtain authorization from me to produce more costly records. Do not incur any
costs that you expect me to pay which are greater than $1.00 until first obtaining my authorization to do
so.
All responses to this public records request should be made in writing to the following email address:
frederick.freddy.farnsworth(@Rmail.com
TOWN OF GULF STREAM
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
Delivered via e-mail
October 28, 2014
freddy farnsworth [mail to: frederick .freddy.famsworth @gmail.com]
Re: GS #1029 (record of ag opinion)
Any opinion written by a Florida Attorney General and located in the Town's public records.
Dear freddy farnsworth [mail to: frederick .freddv.famsworthna,email.coml,
The Town of Gulf Stream received your public records requests on June 22, 2014. You should be
able to view this request at the following link: httv://www2.gulf-
stream. orQ/ WebLink8 /0 /doc /18186/Pagel.asnx. If your request was verbal, then the description
of your public records request is set forth in the italics above. In future correspondence, please
refer to this public records request by the above referenced number.
The Town may incur expenses for the production of documents. You are responsible for the
costs of duplication, as allowed by Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, and you may also incur a
special service charge for the labor needed to respond to this request.
To produce the documents for that you have requested, since there is no time frame associated
with the request, the Town of Gulf Stream estimates the need for 4 hours of administrative
support at $39.23 per hour, and Access Computers estimates the need for 1 hour of IT support at
$120.00 per hour, the labor cost of the personnel providing the service, per Fla. Stat. §
I I9.07(4)(d). If the costs of producing these documents will exceed your deposit, the Town will
provide you with an initial production of responsive records and an estimate for the production
of any additional responsive records. If the costs of production are less than the deposit, the
Town will provide you with the responsive records and a refund. If you would like to narrow the
scope of your request, for example, by identifying a particular document type or date range, the
Town may be able to provide these records at a lower cost.
(4 hours @ 39.23 = 156.92) - (.25 hour @ 39.23= 9.81) + (1 hours @ $120.00 = 120.00) _
Deposit Due: $267.11 in cash or check.
The Town of Gulf Stream is currently working on a large number of incoming public records
requests. Upon receipt of your deposit, the Town will use its very best efforts to further respond
to your public records request in a reasonable amount of time.
Sincerely, Town Clerk
TOWN OF GULF STREAM
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
Delivered via e-mail
June 25, 2014
Freddy farnsworth [mailto: frederick.freddy.famsworth@gmail.com]
Re: record of ag opinion
Any opinion written by a Florida Attorney General and located in the Town's public records.
Dear Freddy farnsworth [mailto: frederick.freddy.farnsworth@gmail.com],
The Town of Gulf Stream has received your public records request dated June 22, 2014. If your
request was received in writing, then the first page of that request is attached to this cover letter.
If your request was verbal, then the description of your public records request is set forth in the
space below.
The Town of Gulf Stream is currently working on a large number of incoming public records
requests. The Town will use its very best efforts to respond to you in a reasonable amount of time
with the appropriate response or an estimated cost to respond.
Sincerely,
Town Clerk
Custodian of the Records
Advisory Legal Opinion - Public Records -- Contracts -- Public Agencies
Florida Attorney General
Advisory Legal Opinion
Number: AGO 2014-06
Date: June 18, 2014
Subject: Public Records -- Contracts -- Public Agencies
The Honorable Wilton Simpson
Senator, District 18
322 Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100
Dear Senator Simpson:
Page 1 of 4
As Senator for the Eighteenth District of Florida and in anticipation of
filing amendatory legislation clarifying this matter, you have requested my
opinion on substantially the following question:
Does the language of section 119.0701(1)(a), Florida Statutes, ". . . and
is acting on behalf of the public agency . . . ", result in the nature of
the services provided being the determining factor as to the applicability
of Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, to a contractor; or does a contract for
services with a public agency, regardless of the nature of the services,
automatically result in that private contractor being subject to the
requirements of the Public Records Law?
In sum:
The requirements of section 119.0701, Florida Statutes, apply to
"contractor[s]" who contract with public agencies and are acting on behalf
of the public agency in providing those services. Thus, based on the terms
of section 119.0701(1)(a), Florida Statutes, the nature and scope of the
services provided by a private contractor determine whether he or she is
acting on behalf of an agency and would be subject to the requirements of
the statute.
Section 119.0701, Florida Statutes, was created by the Legislature during
the 2013 Legislative Session as a component of a bill relating to
governmental accountability.[l] Section 1 of CS/CS/HB 1309, which became
section 119.0701, Florida Statutes (2013), "requires public agency
contracts for services performed on behalf of the agency to contain
contract provisions clarifying the public record responsibilities of the
contractor."[2] The language about which you inquire is found in section
119.0701(1)(a), Florida Statutes, defining a "contractor" for purposes of
the statute:
"'Contractor' means an individual, partnership, corporation, or business
Advisory Legal Opinion - Public Records -- Contracts -- Public Agencies
Page 2 of 4
entity that enters into a contract for services with a public agency and is
acting on behalf of the public agency as provided under s. 119.011
(2)." (e.s.) [3)
Thus, for those contractors who are subject to its provisions, the statute
treats the private contractor as one taking the place of or standing in the
shoes of the public agency, that is "acting on behalf of" the public
agency, and requires that the private entity comply with the same public
records requirements as the public agency.[4]
While I am aware that section 119.0701(2), Florida Statutes, provides that
"each public agency contract for services must include" the provisions set
forth in the statute, these requirements are imposed on contracts entered
into by public agencies with certain "contractors." "Contractors" coming
within the scope of the statute are defined as those "enter[ing] into a
contract for services with a public agency and . . . acting on behalf of
the public agency . . . ."[5] Thus, the statutory requirements for
contractual provisions relating to Florida's Public Records Law apply to
"contractor[s]" coming within the scope of the statute, that is, those who
not only enter into a contract for services with a public agency, but are
"acting on behalf of the public agency" in providing those services.[6]
This conclusion is supported by case law construing the language of section
119.011(2), Florida Statutes, addressing the definition of the term
"agency" for purposes of the Public Records Law. The statute includes
public or private agencies or persons "acting on behalf of any public
agency" within the definition of an "agency." As the court in Parsons 6
Whittemore, Inc. v. Metropolitan Dade County noted:
"We are unaware of any authority which supports the proposition that merely
by contracting with a governmental agency a corporation acts 'on behalf of
the agency."[7]
Thus, for example, a private entity, the Salvation Army,[8] which had
contracted with a county to provide all of the county's probation services
for misdemeanants was held by the court to have taken the place of the
county as the provider of probation services. The Salvation Army was acting
on behalf of the county and the private entity's records "which would be
public if the county were providing the . . . services" were public records
when the Salvation Army performed these tasks. The courts will look to
whether a private entity has been delegated that which would otherwise be
an agency responsibility in order to determine whether the private entity
is "acting on behalf of" the public agency within the scope of the statute.
[9]
In sum, it is my opinion that the requirements of section 119.0701, Florida
Statutes, apply to "contractor[s]" who contract with public agencies and
are acting on behalf of the public agency in providing those services.
Thus, based on the terms of section 119.0701(1)(a), Florida Statutes, the
nature and scope of the services provided by a private contractor determine
whether he or she is "acting on behalf of" an agency and thus, would be
subject to the requirements of the statute.
Advisory Legal Opinion - Public Records -- Contracts -- Public Agencies Page 3 of 4
Sincerely,
Pam Bondi
Attorney General
PB/tgh
[1] See CS/CS/HB 1309, Florida House of Representatives, 2013 Legislative
Session, and the title of the act.
[2] See Summary Analysis, House of Representatives Final Bill Analysis for
CS/CS/HB 1309, dated June 10, 2013.
[3] Compare the definition of the term "contractor" in ss. 119.0701(1)(a)
and 119.011(2), Fla. Stat., with the definition of "contractor" in s.
287.012(7), Fla. Stat.: "Contractor" means a person who contracts to sell
commodities or contractual services to an agency."
[4] See Letter from Senator Don Gaetz to Attorney General Bondi dated June
13, 2013, discussing the crafting of the language of s. 119.0701(2), Fla.
Stat., by the Senate and the inclusion of the language in HE 1309.
[5] The definition provides that the contractor is "acting on behalf of the
public agency as provided under s. 119.011(2)." Section 119.011(2), Fla.
Stat., is a definitional section and provides the definition of "[a]gency"
as follows:
"'Agency' means any state, county, district, authority, or municipal
officer, department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other separate
unit of government created or established by law including, for the
purposes of this chapter, the Commission on Ethics, the Public Service
Commission, and the office of Public Counsel, and any other public or
private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting
on behalf of any public agency." (e.s.)
[6] When the language of the statute is clear and unequivocal, the
legislative intent may be gleaned from the words used without applying
incidental rules of construction. See M.W. v. Davis, 756 So. 2d 90 (Fla.
2000); McLaughlin v. State, 721 So. 2d 1170 (Fla. 1998); Tallahassee
Memorial Regional Medical Center, Inc. v. Tallahassee Medical Center, Inc.
681 So. 2d 826 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996); Ops. Att'y Gen. Fla. 00-46 (2000), 99-
44 (1999), and 97-81 (1997).
[7] 429 So. 2d 343, at 346 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983). And see News and Sun -
Sentinel Co. v. Schwab, Twitty, Hanser Architectural Group, Inc., 596 So.
2d 1029, 1031 (Fla. 1992).
[8] Stanfield v. Salvation Army, 695 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997).
[9] See News and Sun -Sentinel Company, supra n.8. And see Booksmart v.
Barnes 6 Noble, 718 So. 2d 227, 229 n.4 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998) (privately owned
on -campus bookstore, which kept university instructors' course book list
Advisory Legal Opinion - Public Records -- Contracts -- Public Agencies
Page 4 of 4
forms, was custodian of public records and agent of university and could
not deny access to forms to others); Sarasota Herald - Tribune Co. v.
Community Health Corp., Inc., 582 So.2d 730 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991) (separate
corporation created by county public hospital board was subject to Public
Records Act as business entity acting on behalf of county board, in at
least some of the corporation's functions).