FL S1494

Increases the maximum civil penalty for public officers who violate public records law from $500 to $5,000 and imposes a $100-per-day civil penalty on agencies that unlawfully withhold records, payable to the impacted requestor after final judgment

Prohibits agencies from charging special service fees once a request to produce records for inspection or copying has been received

Makes it a first-degree misdemeanor for a public officer to knowingly deter a resident from enforcing public records rights or to retaliate against a resident for making a public records request, with penalties including suspension, removal, or impeachment

Requires courts to set immediate hearings on public records enforcement actions with priority over all other pending cases, reduces the agency compliance window from 48 hours to 24 hours after a court order, and prohibits termination of such civil actions without an evidentiary hearing

Eliminates the 5-business-day written notice requirement before filing suit when the initial public records request was submitted in writing, by email, or through the agency's website, and applies amendments to attorney fee provisions retroactively to July 1, 2017