Laserfiche WebLink
A TRUE COPY <br />CERTIFICATION ON LAST PAGE <br />J.R. SMITH, CLERK <br />access also includes timely and reasonable access to the Recipient's personnel for the purpose of <br />interview and discussion related to such documents. For the purposes of this section, the term "Recipient" <br />includes employees or agents, including all subcontractors or consultants to be paid from funds provided <br />under this Agreement. <br />b. The Recipient shall maintain all records related to this Agreement for the period of <br />time specified in the appropriate retention schedule published by the Florida Department of State. <br />Information regarding retention schedules can be obtained at: http://dos.mvflorida.com/librarv- <br />archives/records-management/general-records-schedules/. <br />c. Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law (Section 286.011, Florida Statutes) <br />provides the citizens of Florida with a right of access to governmental proceedings and mandates three <br />(3) basic requirements: (1) all meetings of public boards or commissions must be open to the public; (2) <br />reasonable notice of such meetings must be given; and, (3) minutes of the meetings must be taken and <br />promptly recorded. The mere receipt of public funds by a private entity, standing alone, is insufficient to <br />bring that entity within the ambit of the open government requirements. However, the Government in the <br />Sunshine Law applies to private entities that provide services to governmental agencies and that act on <br />behalf of those agencies in the agencies' performance of their public duties. If a public agency delegates <br />the performance of its public purpose to a private entity, then, to the extent that private entity is <br />performing that public purpose, the Government in the Sunshine Law applies. For example, if a volunteer <br />fire department provides firefighting services to a governmental entity and uses facilities and equipment <br />purchased with public funds, then the Government in the Sunshine Law applies to the board of directors <br />for that volunteer fire department. Thus, to the extent that the Government in the Sunshine Law applies to <br />the Recipient based upon the funds provided under this Agreement, the meetings of the Recipient's <br />governing board or the meetings of any subcommittee making recommendations to the governing board <br />may be subject to open government requirements. These meetings shall be publicly noticed, open to the <br />public, and the minutes of all the meetings shall be public records, available to the public in accordance <br />with Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. <br />d. Florida's Public Records Law provides a right of access to the records of the State <br />and local governments as well as to private entities acting on their behalf. Unless specifically exempted <br />from disclosure by the Legislature, all materials made or received by a governmental agency (or a private <br />entity acting on behalf of such an agency) in conjunction with official business which are used to <br />perpetuate, communicate, or formalize knowledge qualify as public records subject to public inspection. <br />The mere receipt of public funds by a private entity, standing alone, is insufficient to bring that entity <br />within the ambit of the public record requirements. However, when a public entity delegates a public <br />function to a private entity, the records generated by the private entity's performance of that duty become <br />public records. Thus, the nature and scope of the services provided by a private entity determine whether <br />that entity is acting on behalf of a public agency and is therefore subject to the requirements of Florida's <br />Public Records Law. <br />4 <br />