From the Legal Hotline (1-877-NEWS-LAW)
Q. If a reporter asks city council members separately how they are going to vote on an upcoming issue that will be brought up for a vote, and the reporter writes what those responses are, could that muddy the waters of the Sunshine Law? I think I’m in need of a refresher on the Sunshine Law, ha!!
A. There is an AG opinion that basically says that the fact that a city council member has expressed his or her views or voting intent on an upcoming matter to a news reporter prior to the scheduled public meeting does not violate the Sunshine Law so long as the reporter is not being used by the member as an intermediary in order to circumvent the SL (I’m sure that is not the intent of the reporter but he or she should be aware so they don’t unknowingly become such an intermediary).
Q. My publisher wanted me to ask a question about a magazine we publish. Members of the advisory board are invited to write a monthly column for the magazine. Some do, others don’t. For those that do, should we have some kind of contract set up with them? They aren’t paid for the submissions.
A. Are you worried that the good column writers might later claim the columns are their work product, not the paper’s? If so, I suppose a short understanding might be useful just to make that clear—I have language if you need it.
Q. We have more fun brewing at our city council. An ethics complaint has been filed with the state against the mayor. We have asked for a copy of the complaint but have not received even an email back saying they can’t provide it for whatever reason. Other than a follow up email, do you have other suggestions?
A. In general, complaints and records relating to preliminary ethics investigations are confidential and exempt until the complaint is dismissed as legally insufficient, the alleged violator requests in writing that the records be made public, or until the agency determines whether probable cause exists to believe that a violation has occurred. Section 112.324(2)(a) and (e), F.S. You could send another email to the agency (or mayor’s office—I guess they would have it, too) or more formally a letter via overnight courier. I have language you could add to beef it up. Note that if your public records request is ultimately denied, the agency is required to provide you with the specific statutory authorization for the denial
Q. What is the disclaimer language that must appear on political ads circulated prior to a Florida election?
A. Section 106.143, F.S., states-
(c) Any other political advertisement published, displayed, or circulated before, or on the day of, any election must prominently:
1. Be marked “paid political advertisement” or with the abbreviation “pd. pol. adv.”
2. State the name and address of the persons paying for the advertisement.
3. State whether the advertisement and the cost of production is paid for or provided in kind by or at the expense of the entity publishing, displaying, broadcasting, or circulating the political advertisement.
Q. Our newspaper is publishing the tax rolls for the county this year. My question is: since we’ve been in business the pricing has been $0.70 per square inch. I’ve looked online in the statutes, and it still says $0.70 per square inch. Has there been an increase in price that we can charge? With the cost of printing – paper, ink, & postage increases, wouldn’t there be an adjustment on how much we can charge to offset the increases?
A. If there was a procured rate arrived from a bid you submitted to the county, that rate would be used. If not, you can use your “regular established minimum commercial rate” on your rate card. The dated cents per square inch rate is usually not used.
Q. What is the current requirement for the “statement of ownership” placed in the newspaper?
A. In 2021, the legislature passed a law (HB 35) that included the following language regarding the statement–
(e) Continually publishes in a prominent manner the name, street address, phone number, website URL of the newspaper’s approved print auditor, the newspaper’s most recent statement of ownership, and a statement of the auditor certifying the veracity of the newspaper’s print distribution and the number of the newspaper’s website’s monthly unique visitors, or the newspaper’s periodicals permit, if applicable, within the first five pages of the
print edition and the bottom portion of the homepage of the newspaper’s website.
However, the above highlighted language was deleted the next year by the legislature. So, there is currently no requirement about placement of a statement of ownership under Florida law. You can just delete your statement of ownership ad and do what you used to do in the masthead. Note–The USPS manual has a statement of ownership form https://about.usps.com/forms/ps3526.pdf but I don’t think that was your question.