FL H0163

Amends section 119.12, Florida Statutes, to revise attorney's fees awards in civil actions enforcing public records law.

Requires complainants to provide written notice to an agency's records custodian at least 5 business days before filing a civil action, except when the agency fails to prominently post custodian contact information in its primary administrative building and website.

Courts must determine whether a complainant acted with improper purpose, defined as requesting records or pursuing civil action primarily to harass the agency, cause a violation of law, or for frivolous reasons.

Prohibits awarding reasonable costs and attorney's fees to complainants found to have acted with improper purpose and instead requires courts to award such costs against the complainant to the agency.

Clarifies that enforcement actions do not create private rights to monetary damages and limits agency payments to reasonable costs directly attributable to the civil action; applies only to requests made on or after the effective date.