JACKSONVILLE SUNSHINE LAW COMPLIANCE ACT

Jacksonville Ordinance Code tit. II, ch. 15

in effect

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 15.101 Statement of purpose.

Sec. 15.101. - Statement of purpose. The purpose of the Jacksonville Sunshine Law Compliance Act is to ensure compliance with the Sunshine Law, F.S. Ch. 286, and to create procedures, methods, best practices and education that will enhance compliance with open meeting laws, and enhance and maintain public confidence and transparency in the legislative practices of the City Council. (Ord. 2007-733-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 15.102 Applicability; Public Meeting, Location defined.

Sec. 15.102. - Applicability; Public Meeting, Location defined. (a) The Jacksonville Sunshine Law Compliance Act shall apply to the Jacksonville City Council and those public meetings of the Council that are contemplated by F.S. Ch. 286, including meetings of the Council and Council committees, and meetings between and amongst Council Members. These meetings shall hereinafter be identified in this Chapter as "Council Public Meetings". Since other agencies are already obligated to comply with Florida's Sunshine Law, Ch. 286, F.S., even if Council Members serve thereon or attend, the Jacksonville Sunshine Law Compliance Act shall not be applicable to the noticed meetings of the various other commissions and agencies established by law, ordinance or executive order. (b) Public location shall mean any government owned building. (Ord. 2007-733-E, § 1; Ord. 2010-135-E, § 1; Ord. 2013-285-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 15.103 Notice of Council Public Meetings; posting and timing.

Sec. 15.103. - Notice of Council Public Meetings; posting and timing. (a) All council public meetings shall be publicly noticed in a timely manner. The notices required shall include at a minimum (i) the date and time of the meeting noticed, (ii) the date and time the notices are posted, (iii) the location of the meeting, and (iv) the general subject matter of the meeting, and (v) the Council Member calling the meeting and any other Council Members who, at the time of notice, are expected to be in attendance. (b) Council Public Meeting notices shall be provided on the Council's internet website, which utilizes modern technology and provides swift public notice to all of Jacksonville. In addition to the internet, posting of notices shall be made at such locations at City Hall where public meetings are generally noticed, and by such other methods as may be appropriate or required by particular circumstances. (c) Notice of Council Public Meetings shall be posted for at least 24 hours prior to the meeting, not including weekends and holidays. (d) Notwithstanding subsection (c) above, notice of Council Public Meetings may be posted for a period of less than 24 hours, only in the event of an emergency, and when approved in writing by the Council President and with notice to the City's Ethics Director. (e) A copy of the notices of all Council Public Meetings shall be provided to and maintained in a retrievable format and filing system developed by the Legislative Services Division. (f) The Director/Council Secretary shall develop and implement standardized policy and procedures for City Council sunshine meeting notices and uniform calendaring practices. (Ord. 2007-733-E, § 1; Ord. 2008-329-E, § 1; Ord. 2013-285-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 15.104 Public Meetings location.

Sec. 15.104. - Public Meetings location. (a) All Council Public Meetings shall be conducted in such places as will assure open, reasonable, and convenient access to the public. (b) The locations for Council Public Meetings include the Council Chambers and public conference, meeting, or committee rooms. Public meetings shall not be held in the individual offices of Council Members, except in the event of exigent circumstances. (c) Public locations shall be used for all Council Public Meetings, unless other locations are approved in writing. A request therefore shall be made in one written submission to both the City Ethics Officer and the Office of General Counsel Ethics Liaison, with a copy thereof delivered to the Council President. Written approval shall be required from either the City Ethics Officer or the Office of General Counsel Ethics Liaison, with a copy thereof provided to the Council President and to the other approving authority. (Ord. 2007-733-E, § 1; Ord. 2010-135-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 15.105 Public Meeting; commencement and adjournment.

Sec. 15.105. - Public Meeting; commencement and adjournment. The business and conversations conducted during a noticed Council Public Meeting shall commence upon the chair's or Council Member's opening of the meeting, and shall conclude upon adjournment. The mere fact that a meeting has been noticed, does not authorize action or discussions prior to the opening of the meeting or following its adjournment. (Ord. 2007-733-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 15.106 Public Meetings minutes.

Sec. 15.106. - Public Meetings minutes. (a) Each Council member is responsible for the taking and preparation (or delegation thereof) of the minutes of each Council Public Meeting noticed by that Council Member, in a manner as required by F.S. Ch. 286, and subsection (c) below. (b) The Director/Council Secretary shall be responsible for developing and implementing procedures for assuring: (1) Minutes are written for all noticed Council Public Meetings; (2) Minutes are filed; and (3) A system for the maintenance and retrieval of minutes is developed for all minutes of Council Public Meetings. (c) The minutes of every Council Public Meeting conducted between two or more Council Members outside of the regular Council meeting or committee meeting structure shall reflect, at a minimum: (1) The location, date and time the meeting commenced and adjourned; (2) The members of the Council, other public officials and employees, and registered lobbyists in attendance; (3) The substance of the discussions and positions presented by the persons in attendance. (d) A copy of the minutes of all noticed Council Public Meetings shall be kept, with the notice to such meetings, by the Legislative Services Division. The Legislative Services Division shall develop such systems and policies as are necessary for the orderly filing, maintaining and retrieval of minutes. (e) No less than once every 30 days, the Legislative Services Division shall review notices of all Council Public Meetings to ensure that copies of the minutes of all applicable public meetings have been placed on file in the Legislative Services Division. (Ord. 2007-733-E, § 1; Ord. 2010-135-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 15.107 Biannual (every two years) review and report on Council notices, meeting locations, and minutes.

Sec. 15.107. - Biannual (every two years) review and report on Council notices, meeting locations, and minutes. (a) The Inspector General's Office shall review information provided by the Legislative Services Division regarding: (1) The notices of Council Public Meetings; (2) The location of such public meetings; and (3) Written minutes of such public meetings, and prepare an annual report thereon. The Inspector General shall file such report with the Council committee to which audit matters are referred, the Council President, the City Ethics Officer, and the Ethics Commission, who may comment thereon. (b) The report, as required by subsection (a) above, shall include confirmation, through methods and means developed by the Inspector General, that: (1) Notices were public and timely, and not less than 24 hours exclusive of weekends and holidays, and accessible to the public by internet; (2) That meetings were located in appropriate public rooms, with a list of all meetings held in Council Members' offices; (3) That minutes were written, maintained in the filing system, and available for retrieval; and (4) That all Council Members and Executive Council Assistants have received annual continuing education and training on the Sunshine Law; and shall provide recommendations, as appropriate to improve compliance, as authorized by Section 15.109 below. The report shall be based upon a review of that information collected and provided by the Council Secretary/designee, and any other information that is known to the Inspector General. (c) The Inspector General's review shall commence in even number years on May 1st, 60 days prior to installation of a new Council President, and the report shall be provided no later than June 1. The Inspector General's review shall be based upon statistically significant samples from the preceding two years. (Ord. 2007-733-E, § 1; Ord. 2010-135-E, § 1; Ord. 2013-285-E, § 1; Ord. 2014-519-E, § 7)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 15.108 Annual continuing education and training.

Sec. 15.108. - Annual continuing education and training. (a) Council Members and Executive Council Assistants shall receive annual training on Government in the Sunshine, open meetings laws, ethics laws, and up to one hour devoted to updates on relevant changes to or interpretations or applications of such laws, if any, or other areas of emphasis as determined by the Office of General Counsel or the City Ethics Director. The Office of General Counsel, with the assistance of the City Ethics Director, the Director/Council Secretary and other supporting agencies, shall provide annual training to assist the Council Members and Executive Council Assistants in meeting this requirement. Such training may include annual in person/live training totaling 4 credit hours, four in person/live trainings of 1 credit hour each and in person, one-on-one training as follows: (1) Council Members and their Executive Council Assistants shall be required during the first year of a Council Member's term in office to attend in person, if possible, or if unable to attend in person, following the submission of a written excusal submitted to the Director/Council Secretary, to view the recording of the current year's training provided by the Office of General Counsel, the City Ethics Director and the Director/Council Secretary. (2) Thereafter, Council Members and their Executive Council Assistants may fulfill the requirement of this Section as follows: a. attending in person or viewing the recordings of the current year's trainings provided by the Office of General Counsel, the City Ethics Director and the Director/Council Secretary, including the annual training or other Office of General Counsel, City Ethics Director and Director/Council Secretary training sessions totaling 4 credit hours per year, or b. attending in person or viewing a recording of trainings offered by external organizations such as the Florida Association of Counties, the Florida League of Cities, the Florida Commission on Ethics, and the State of Florida Attorney General's Office, and also completing, by either attending in person or viewing a recording of the current year's training provided by the Office of General Counsel, the City Ethics Director, and the Director/Council Secretary of up to one hour regarding relevant updates and changes to or interpretations or applications of Government in the Sunshine, open meetings and ethics laws, or any areas of emphasis as determined by the Office of General Counsel or the City Ethics Director. Trainings provided by external organizations shall only satisfy the requirements in this Section if such training materials have been previously approved by either the Florida Commission on Ethics or the State of Florida Attorney General's Office, or upon review and approval by the Office of General Counsel and the Office of Ethics, Compliance and Oversight. (b) The date and time of the annual trainings offered by the Office of General Counsel, the City Ethics Director and the Director/Council Secretary as provided in subsection (a) shall be determined by the Director/Council Secretary, City Ethics Director, and Office of General Counsel. The format and duration of these trainings shall also be coordinated by the Director/Council Secretary, City Ethics Director and Office of General Counsel and shall be sufficient to fulfill the requirements of F.S. § 112.3142. The Office of General Counsel and City Ethics Director shall notify the Director/Council Secretary of any one-on-one trainings provided to individual Council Members and Executive Council Assistants. (c) All Council Members and Executive Council Assistants attending or required to attend the annual training provided pursuant to subsection (a) shall be provided materials in electronic format. (d) In addition to the aforementioned annual training, training on Government in the Sunshine, open meetings laws and ethics shall be provided upon special request. These presentations may be given at committee or Council meetings or at other times as may be directed by the Council President. (Ord. 2007-733-E, § 1; Ord. 2008-329-E, § 1; Ord. 2010-135-E, § 1; Ord. 2013-285-E, § 1; Ord. 2016-6-E, § 1; Ord. 2025-658-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 15.109 Recommendations for improved compliance.

Sec. 15.109. - Recommendations for improved compliance. The Director/Council Secretary, the City Ethics Director, and the Office of General Counsel, may make recommendations for improvements to this Chapter to the City Council. (Ord. 2007-733-E, § 1; Ord. 2010-135-E, § 1; Ord. 2013-285-E, § 1)

Source: City of Jacksonville, Ordinance Code and Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/jacksonville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIILEBR_CH15JASULACOACFetched: 10/27/2026