Florida SB 380: Legal Notices

Bill Text

380 
Legal Notices 
2026-01-29T09:23:34Z 
Revising the definition of the term “governmental agency”; requiring that certain legal notices be continuously published for a specified timeframe when the notices are for a specified purpose and provided under a certain circumstance; authorizing certain counties or specified municipalities, school boards, clerks of the circuit court, and tax collectors to use a publicly accessible website to publish certain advertisements and legal notices under specified conditions, etc. 
Committee Substitute 2 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
c2 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for CS for SB 380 

 By the Committees on Community Affairs; and Judiciary; and 
 Senator Trumbull 

 578-02267-26 2026380c2 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to legal notices; amending s. 50.0311, 
 3 F.S.; revising the definition of the term 
 4 “governmental agency”; revising the definition of the 
 5 term “publicly accessible website”; requiring that 
 6 certain legal notices be continuously published for a 
 7 specified timeframe when the notices are for a 
 8 specified purpose and provided under a certain 
 9 circumstance; authorizing certain counties or 
 10 specified municipalities, school boards, clerks of the 
 11 circuit court, and tax collectors to use a publicly 
 12 accessible website to publish certain advertisements 
 13 and legal notices under specified conditions; revising 
 14 the definition of the term “special district”; 
 15 reenacting ss. 11.02, 45.031(2), 50.011(2), 
 16 90.902(12), 120.81(1)(d), 121.055(1)(b) and (h), 
 17 162.12(2)(a), 190.005(1)(d), 200.065(2)(f), 849.38(5), 
 18 1001.372(2)(c), and 1011.03(1), F.S., relating to 
 19 notice of special or local legislation or certain 
 20 relief acts, publication of certain notice for a 
 21 certain judicial sales procedure, publication of legal 
 22 notices, self-authentication of certain legal notices, 
 23 exceptions and special requirements of rules regarding 
 24 educational units, notice regarding positions to be 
 25 included in the Senior Management Service Class, 
 26 notices issued by local government code enforcement 
 27 boards, establishment of certain community development 
 28 districts, notices regarding district school board 
 29 budgets, citations regarding proceedings for 
 30 forfeiture of property, due public notice for district 
 31 school board meetings, and notice for public budget 
 32 hearings of the district school board, respectively, 
 33 to incorporate the amendment made to s. 50.0311, F.S., 
 34 in references thereto; providing an effective date. 
 35 
 36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 37 
 38 Section 1. Section 50.0311, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 39 read: 
 40 50.0311 Publication of advertisements and public notices on 
 41 a publicly accessible website and governmental access channels.— 
 42 (1) For purposes of this chapter, the term “governmental 
 43 agency” means a county, municipality, school board, clerk of the 
 44 circuit court, tax collector, water management district 
 45 operating pursuant to chapter 373, or other unit of local 
 46 government or political subdivision in this state. 
 47 (2) For purposes of notices and advertisements required 
 48 under s. 50.011, the term “publicly accessible website” means a 
 49 county’s official website or other private website designated by 
 50 the county for the publication of legal notices and 
 51 advertisements which that is accessible through via the 
 52 Internet. For legal notices and advertisements required under s. 
 53 50.011 by a municipality, clerk of the circuit court, tax 
 54 collector, or water management district, the term “publicly 
 55 accessible website” means such entity’s official website, a 
 56 private website designated by such entity, a county’s official 
 57 website, or a private website designated by the county in which 
 58 such entity is located. 
 59 (3) All advertisements and public notices published on a 
 60 website as provided in this chapter must be in searchable form 
 61 and indicate the date on which the advertisement or public 
 62 notice was first published on the website. 
 63 (4) Any legal notice or advertisement that is published on 
 64 a publicly accessible website must, unless otherwise specified 
 65 by law, be published continuously for at least 2 weeks when the 
 66 purpose is to provide notice of the status of a government 
 67 activity or be published continuously from the date of initial 
 68 publication through the date of the proposed event or activity. 
 69 (5)(3) A governmental agency may use the publicly 
 70 accessible website of the county in which it lies to publish 
 71 legally required advertisements and public notices if the cost 
 72 of publishing advertisements and public notices on such website 
 73 is less than the cost of publishing advertisements and public 
 74 notices in a newspaper. 
 75 (6)(4) A governmental agency