Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...tee in Wood to come within section 286.011, Florida Statutes (1979). Wood, 442 So.2d at 939. We conclude that our holding in Wood should be used in this situation and is appropriate in construing article I, section 24(b) of the Florida Constitution. SECTION 395.3036, FLORIDA STATUTES (SUPP.1998) We recognize that the 1998 Legislature enacted chapter 98-330, sections 1-4, Laws of Florida, codified at section 395.3036, Florida Statutes (Supp.1998), which became effective May 30, 1998....

...Petitioner further argues that if this Court considers the statute, it should be considered as a clear statement by the legislature of the intent that the Fifth District's decision should be reversed. We have determined that we should not decide the facial constitutionality of section 395.3036, Florida Statutes, in the present decision....

...the continued viability" of nonprofit hospitals. The full text of the legislation along with the supporting legislative findings and intent as taken from chapter 98-330 is as follows: Section 1. Section 395.036, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 395.3036 Confidentiality of records and meetings of corporations that lease public hospitals or other public health care facilities.—The records of a private corporation that leases a public hospital or other public health care facility are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s....

...ute was written to comply with the specificity requirement and states with sufficient specificity the reasons for the exemption. It reflects the need for the leasing scheme created in section 155.40 and explains in its intent language, in support of section 395.3036, a clear and justifiable basis for the exemption....

...[15] The 1996 amendment to section 155.40, Florida Statutes, authorizes special taxing districts to sell their hospitals for "fair market value." § 155.40(4)(b), Fla. Stat. (Supp.1996). See supra note 7. [16] See supra note 1. [17] Chapter 98-330, sections 1 and 2, Laws of Florida, provide in relevant part: Section 1. Section 395.3036, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 395.3036 Confidentiality of records and meetings of corporations that lease public hospitals or other public health care facilities....

...Thomas and James B. Lake of Holland & Knight LLP, Tampa, FL, for Media General Operations, Inc., d/b/a The Tampa Tribune, Amicus Curiae. *440 PER CURIAM. We have for review a decision certifying the following question to be of great public importance: SHOULD SECTION 395.3036 [FLORIDA STATUTES (SUPP.1998)] BE APPLIED RETROACTIVELY? Mem'l Hosp.-West Volusia, Inc....

...t order to obtain records from West Volusia. The circuit court ordered production of the documents and West Volusia appealed. The Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed the order requiring production. However, that court was uncertain as to whether section 395.3036, which exempts from disclosure records and meetings of corporations that lease public hospitals if certain conditions are met, applied retroactively to exempt those records being sought. Accordingly, the district court certified that question to this Court. Section 395.3036, Florida Statutes (Supp.1998), provides in part: The records of a private corporation that leases a public hospital or other public health care facility are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s....

...I of the State Constitution when the public lessor complies with the public finance accountability provisions of s. 155.40(5).... This statute was enacted while Memorial I was pending before this Court, and while not extensively discussing the issue, this Court clearly stated that section 395.3036 did not apply retroactively to exempt those records being sought from disclosure. See Memorial I, 729 So.2d at 381. West Volusia argues that our subsequent decision in Metropolitan Dade County v. Chase Federal Housing Corp., 737 So.2d 494 (Fla. 1999), supports its proposition that section 395.3036 applies retroactively....

...d argues that it would be impossible to retroactively exempt from disclosure meetings that have already taken place, thus further demonstrating the Legislature's lack of intent to do so. We agree with News-Journal and find that under the language in section 395.3036 there is not a clear legislative intent that the statute apply retroactively....

...inated prior to that date. Unlike the statute at issue in Chase, which the parties conceded was intended to remedy conduct in the form of environmental contamination that occurred prior to the passage of the act, see Chase Federal, 737 So.2d at 499, section 395.3036 is silent concerning the effect of the exemption on those records in existence at the time the statute was enacted....

...ords created and minutes of meetings held before its effective date which is necessary for the presumption of prospective application to be overcome. Therefore, the first inquiry in Chase Federal is answered in the negative. Because we conclude that section 395.3036 is not to be applied retroactively, it is unnecessary for us to reach the second prong of Chase Federal and determine whether such application is constitutionally permissible....

...ed to requested documents and minutes of board meetings because Medical Services is not subject to the Public Records Act, chapter 119, Florida Statutes, or the Sunshine Law, chapter 286, Florida Statutes. Because we agree with Medical Services that section 395.3036, Florida Statutes (2002), provides exemptions for Medical Services from the Public Records Act and Sunshine Law, we affirm the trial court's final judgment....

...Because we agree with appellants that the instant case is indistinguishable from Memorial Hospital, Medical Services is generally subject to the Public Records Act and the Sunshine Law. However, as Medical Services argues in the alternative, the statutory exemptions must then be considered. II. Section 395.3036 Exemption Section 395.3036 exempts the records of a private corporation that leases a public hospital or other public health care facility from the Public Records Act and the Sunshine Law: Confidentiality of records and meetings of corporations that lease publ...

...I of the State Constitution when the public lessor complies with the public finance accountability provisions of s. 155.40(5) with respect to the transfer of any public funds to the private lessee and when the private lessee meets at least three of the five following criteria: ... Section 395.3036, Florida Statutes (2002). Appellants do not dispute that Medical Services satisfies the required criteria, but argues that section 395.3036 is facially unconstitutional under article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution and Halifax Hospital Medical Center v....

...ion which pertains to critical confidential information. This is facial overbreadth." Id. The statute and legislative justification in the instant case are different from those presented in Halifax. Because all documents and meetings are exempted in section 395.3036, the definitional problems at issue in Halifax are not present in the instant case....

...entity. Ch. 98-330, § 2, at 2846-47, Laws of Fla. (footnote not in original). Accordingly, we hold that the constitutional concerns expressed by the Florida Supreme Court in Halifax have been satisfied by the Florida Legislature in its enactment of section 395.3036....

...State, 753 So.2d 1244, 1251 (Fla.2000) (holding that legislative findings supporting exemptions for disclosures satisfied article I, section 24(c) of the Florida Constitution). We affirm the trial court's ruling that appellants failed to show that section 395.3036 is unconstitutional....

...law should not be held invalid unless clearly unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt," quoting Taylor v. Dorsey, 155 Fla. 305, 19 So.2d 876, 882 (1944)); Medina v. Gulf Coast Linen Servs., 825 So.2d 1018, 1020 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)(same). Because section 395.3036 provides an exemption from the Public Records Act and Sunshine Law, we affirm the trial court's judgment in favor of appellee....

...The apparent purpose of these provisions are to exempt private lessees from the Public Records Act and Sunshine Law, as argued by appellee in support of nondisclosure. Accordingly, the requirements for exemptions under article I, § 24(c) of the Florida Constitution must be complied with. In contrast to the enactment of section 395.3036, there are no legislative findings regarding the public necessity for the exemption in section 155.40. See Ch. 99-356, § 6, at 3633, Laws of Fla. Therefore, we agree with appellants that this statute is unconstitutional under Halifax. Conclusion Because we agree with Medical Services that section 395.3036, Florida Statutes (2002), provides exemptions for Medical Services from the Public Records Act and Sunshine Law, and is facially constitutional, we affirm the trial court's final judgment....

to decide the facial constitutionality of section 395.3036, Florida Statutes (Supp.1998), because “a

The Honorable Bruce H. Colton State Attorney, Nineteenth Judicial Circuit 411 South Second Street Fort Pierce, Florida 34950 Dear Mr. Colton: You have asked for my opinion on substantially the following question: Does the trial court's holding that section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes, is unconstitutional, in Florida Health Sciences Centers, Inc....

...presume the validity of a statute until such time as a judicial resolution of the issue determines otherwise. 2 However, your question relates primarily to the precedential value of court opinions and this office may provide guidance on this matter. Section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes, was adopted in 1998 to make confidential the records and meetings of corporations that lease public hospitals or other public health care facilities....

...Relying on this analysis, the court concluded that the not-for-profit company was subject to the Public Records Law and the Government in the Sunshine Law. The Florida Supreme Court reviewed the decision of the Fifth District Court of Appeal and was also asked to consider the application of the newly enacted section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes. 6 In its opinion approving the appellate court's decision, the Florida Supreme Court confirmed the validity of the "totality of factors" test in determining whether a private party is "acting on behalf of" a public entity. 7 Addressing section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes, the Court rejected the retroactive application of the statute to the case under consideration and declined to address the facial constitutionality of the statute, allowing the issue to proceed through the circuit courts. Following the Florida Supreme Court's decision, West Volusia, Inc., brought suit in circuit court requesting a determination of the constitutional validity of section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes. 8 The court weighed the requirements of Article I , Section 24 (c), Florida Constitution, and concluded that: "Chapter 98-330, Laws of Florida (1998) (codified at s. 395.3036 , Fla....

...f public access and that it is broader than necessary to accomplish any purpose that may be stated or implied therein." 9 This decision was rendered in 2002 and has not been appealed. Another circuit court has also addressed the constitutionality of section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes. In Florida Health Sciences Center, Inc., v. Tribune Company , 10 the circuit court for Hillsborough County concluded that section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes, was unconstitutionally overbroad....

...onstrated that the center was acting on behalf of the hospital authority and was, therefore, subject to Article I , Section 24 (a) of the Florida Constitution and the statutory open government requirements. Florida Health Sciences Center argued that section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes, exempted its meetings and records from public disclosure. While the court concluded that the exemption was not applicable to the corporation because the hospital lease in question did not meet the statutory requirements, it declared that "Section 395.3036 , F.S....

...14 Further, decisions that are affirmed without opinion have no precedential law value because the reasons for the affirmance cannot be determined. 15 Thus, the opinion by the district court of appeal affirming the trial court's finding of the unconstitutionality of section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes, disposes of the issue for purposes of the particular litigation, but does not establish any precedent that would control other cases. I would note that, by its terms, section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes, is only available to a private corporation if the corporation meets three of five statutorily prescribed criteria....

...l the criteria established by the statute is a mixed question of law and fact which is the exclusive province of the judiciary. In sum, it is my opinion that the trial court's holding in Florida Health Sciences Centers, Inc. v. Tribune Company, that section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes, is unconstitutional, affirmed without opinion by the Second District Court of Appeal, is not controlling law in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit....

...5th DCA 1997), 5 The test employed was that developed in News and Sun-Sentinel Company v. Schwab, Twitty Hanser Architectural Group, Inc., 596 So.2d 1029 (Fla. 1992), which delineated a number of factors to be examined in making the determination of whether a private entity was subject to the public meetings law. 6 Section 395.3036 , Fla....

...5th DCA 1983); State Commission on Ethics v. Sullivan, 430 So.2d 928 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), pet. for rev. den., 436 So.2d 101 (Fla. 1983); Terry v. State, 467 So.2d 761 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985). pet. for rev. den., 476 So.2d 675 (Fla. 1985). 16 To qualify for the exemption in section 395.3036 , Florida Statutes, the public lessor must comply with section 155.40 (5), Fla....

...119.07 (1) and 286.011 . (5) The public lessor is not entitled to receive any revenues from the lessee, except for rental or administrative fees due under the lease, and the lessor is not responsible for the debts or other obligations of the lessee." 17 Section 395.3036 (4), Fla....

...The District now appeals. We reverse the trial court’s decision that each party should bear its own attorney’s fees and costs. IRMH, Inc. admitted and the trial court found IRMH, Inc. to have committed several violations of the Sunshine Law prior to the enactment of section 395.3036....

...98-330 § 2, Laws of Fla. The legislature further found it was a “public necessity” for it to clarify when the • public records and public meeting laws applied to private lessees of public health care facilities. See id. For these reasons, the legislature enacted section 395.3036, Florida Statutes, which specifically provides that the records and meetings of corporations that lease public hospitals and health care facilities are confidential and exempt from the provisions of the Public Records Act, the Sunshi...

..., sections 24(a) and (b) of the Florida Constitution, so long as the lessee corporation and the public hospital district are sufficiently distinct entities, as indicated by certain statutory criteria. See Ch. 98-330 § 1, Laws- -of Fla. (codified at § 395.3036, Fla. Stat. (1999)). The legislature specifically provided that section 395.3036 would take effect on May 30,1998, and “shall apply to existing leases and future leases” between hospital districts and private managing corporations....

...News-Journal Corp., 729 So.2d 373 (Fla.1999), approving the Fifth District’s opinion. It appears the Florida Supreme Court determined that at the time the requests for records and access to meetings were made in that case — which was prior to the effective date of section 395.3036 — the private lessee corporation was subject to article I, section (a) and (b) of the Florida Constitution, the constitutional counterparts to....

DAUKSCH, J. This is an appeal from an order requiring production of documents by appellant to appellee. At issue is the application to be given to a statute, viz: should section 395.3036, Florida Statutes, be given retroactive application so as to exempt appellant from having to reveal to appellee records it keeps and to reveal to appellee information about meetings it has held....

...Thus, the legislature was correcting a situation “created” by this court in News-Journal Corp. v. Memorial Hospital-West Volusia, Inc., 695 So.2d 418 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). Therefore, we certify to our supreme court the following question to be of great public importance. SHOULD SECTION 395.3036 BE APPLIED RETROACTIVELY? The judgment is affirmed....