Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine-Law, commonly referred to as the Sunshine Law, provides a right of access to governmental proceedings at both the state and local levels. The law is applicable to the South Florida Water Management District's Governing Board and groups delegated the responsibility to make recommendations on matters which will be acted upon. The law is applied to any gathering of two or more members subject to the Sunshine requirements to discuss some matter which will foreseeably come before the governing board for action. There are three basic requirements of s.286.011, F.S.:
(1) meetings of public boards or commissions must be open to the public;
(2) reasonable notice of such meetings must be given; and
(3) minutes of the meetings must be taken
II. What types of communications are covered by the Sunshine Law?
A. Personal or telephone conversations, written communications, and use of computers for communications
Sunshine Law applies to deliberations and discussions between two or more members of the peer review panel when those two members are discussing some matter which will foreseeably come before the SFWMD for action on the minimum flow and level for action. The use of a telephone or a computer to conduct such discussions does not remove the conversation from the requirements of the Sunshine Law. Similarly, panel members may not utilize or "go-between" to learn of the views of another panel member outside the Sunshine.
Therefore, members of the peer review panel seeking to discuss such business should ensure that the requirements of the Sunshine Law have been satisfied by only utilizing the computer website designated by the South Florida Water Management District to communicate regarding the minimum flow and level peer review process. In order to avoid any potential for violation of this requirement, peer review panel members should discourage any contact outside of the computer website.
III. Consequences of Failure to Comply with Sunshine Law Requirements
It is significant to recognize that failure to comply with the provisions of Florida's Sunshine Law (section 286.011, F.S.) can result in civil penalties up to $500 against each participating public officer. Criminal penalties are specified against any board member or other public officer participating on a public committee who knowingly attends such a meeting in violation of the statute. No resolution, rule, or formal action shall be considered binding except as taken or made at a duly noticed meeting.
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