possible violation of the sunshine law by Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission As an active exhibitor permit holder for Class I, II and III, and an active USDA permit holder, I am shocked and angered that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has kept secret a new group called the Captive Wildlife Technical Assistance Group (TAG). As a group of individuals that is supposed to be public knowledge for the safe and well-being of Captive Wildlife, I have never heard of, nor received any information via email or postal mail notifying me or others of this new group. Nor was the Public Notice required by Administrative Rule 7 Sunshine Law been adhered to. Nor as a past Stakeholder was I contacted or asked for recommendations for future Stakeholders. To find information and a supposed meeting about this TAG only through public social media was appalling. FWC Staff in Tallahassee have a lack of leadership and knowledge in captive Wildlife running the Department and the handling of the TAG Group. They are not qualified to oversee Captive Wildlife coming from DEP and Forestry and continue to make mistakes along the way. They have created an environment of total distrust and lack of respect for FWC from the Citizens of Florida, which has not been the case for the last 4 decades. In addition, there is a lack of respect to past Stakeholders by Staff Members and they are breaking continuity and creating discourse within the Industry. I request that FWC cancels this Group and start over with full disclosure and transparency as our Governor Rick Scott and the Commissioners have promised. There are no pressing issues that can not wait for a proper board be selected in the proper way. ITS TIME TO DO IT RIGHT. I also recommend that new members represent major Stakeholders in Florida: Avian, Private Owners, Breeders and Big Cats Owners who represent the Entertainment and Contact, huff stock Industry. This important Sectors have been purposely left out of the Group and the purpose concerns me. We also need members on the TAG with active direct animal husbandry experience not Administrative Higher levels. The questions remain as to who selected people for this TAG? By whose authority? Why was there no public notice given concerning the selection process or the Groups announcement? Why has no public notice been given to a meeting that is open to the public to attend in July? Why to date has the public not been officially notified? Why was such controversial members selected? Why was most members selected are not qualified because they are not active direct animal husbandry experience instead Administrative Higher levels? Why was the Avian, huff stock, Private Owners, Breeders and Big Cats Owners who represent the Entertainment and Contact Industry Ignored? NOTE: The Florida Department of Agriculture has a Technical Advisory Group also and they ask the farmers to select their own representatives to that group! The Department doesnt make the choices, and in Hillsborough County Commissioners each elects a representative to the Animal Advisor Committee. myfloridalegal/__85256236006EB5E1.nsf/0/65F8CB49B4DBB384852565AE004CB632?Open&Highlight=0,sunshine,act A community advisory committee that is responsible for making recommendations to the city commission on matters of concern to the residents of the city and upon which the city commission may foreseeably act must comply with the requirements of the Government in the Sunshine Law. Section 286.011, Florida Statutes, Floridas Government in the Sunshine Law, provides in pertinent part that [a]ll meetings of any board or commission . . . of any agency or authority of any . . . Municipal Corporation . . . at which official acts are to be taken are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times . . . . In considering the application of section 286.011, Florida Statutes, the courts have stated that it is the entire decision-making process which is covered, not merely those meetings where the final vote is taken.[1] As stated by the court in Times Publishing Company v. Williams[2]: Every step in the decision-making process, including the decision itself, is a necessary preliminary to formal action. It follows that each such step constitutes an official act, an indispensable requisite to formal action, within the meaning of the act. Moreover, there is no government by delegation exception to the Sunshine Law and a public board or commission may not avoid compliance with the law by delegating its responsibilities to another group.[3] As recognized in Spillis Candela & Partners, Inc. v. Centrust Savings Bank,[4] The law is quite clear. An ad hoc advisory board, even if its power is limited to making recommendations to a public agency and even if it possesses no authority to bind the agency in any way, is subject to the Sunshine Law. In reaching this conclusion, the court relied on the decision of the Florida Supreme Court in Town of Palm Beach v. Gradison,[5] in which the Court held that a citizens planning commission established by the town council to act as an advisory group to the council regarding the formulation of the zoning plan was subject to the Sunshine Law. Florida courts have determined that advisory boards whose powers are limited to making recommendations to a public agency and that possess no authority to bind that agency in any way are subject to the Sunshine Law.[6] As noted above, in the case of Town of Palm Beach v. Gradison, such a board may be made up entirely of private citizens.[7] It is the nature of the act performed by the board or committee, rather than its makeup or proximity to the final decision, that determines whether an advisory committee is subject to the Sunshine Law.[8] In Wood v. Marston,[9] the Florida Supreme Court concluded that an ad hoc advisory committee appointed to screen applications and make recommendations for the position of dean of the law school at a state university played an integral part in the decision-making process and thus was subject to the Sunshine Law. A similar result was reached in Krause v. Reno.[10] In that case, the district court held that an advisory board made up of private citizens and appointed and used by a city manager to screen applications and make recommendations for the position of chief of police was subject to section 286.011, Florida Statutes.[11] The community advisory committee which the City of Titusville proposes to create is a board or commission that is subject to the Government in the Sunshine Law.[12] The committee would be appointed by the city council to act on its behalf in soliciting and receiving citizen input and in developing recommendations on city government and city operations. As a board or commission subject to the Sunshine Law, the committee would have to comply with the three basic requirements of section 286.011, Florida Statutes: (1) meetings of the committee must be open to the public; (2) reasonable notice of such meetings must be given; and (3) minutes of the meetings must be taken. myfloridalegal/__85256236006EB5E1.nsf/0/762076BB01ECF991852562A70052F5B1?Open&Highlight=0,sunshine,act For example, The Supreme Court of Florida in Wood v. Marston,[5] held that an ad hoc advisory committee appointed to screen applications and make recommendations for the position of dean of the law school at a public university played an integral part in the decision-making process and thus was subject to the Sunshine Law. This office has also concluded that publicly created advisory boards whose powers are limited to making recommendations are subject to s. 286.011, F.S.[6] A limited exception to the applicability of the Sunshine Law to advisory committees has been recognized for committees established for fact-finding only, that is, information gathering and reporting.[7] However, when a committee possesses the authority not only to conduct fact-finding but also to make recommendations, the committee is participating in the decision-making process and is, therefore, subject to s. 286.011, F.S. myfloridalegal/__85256236006EB5E1.nsf/0/E8D60E0BA33900918525624400543185?Open&Highlight=0,sunshine,actIn Wood v. Marston,[5] The Supreme Court of Florida reversed a district court holding that a faculty search committee charged with screening applications for the position of dean at the University of Florida College of Law was outside the scope of the statute where the committees recommendations were subject to a vote of the law faculty and to the review and approval of the university president. While the Court admitted that the search-and-screen committee had a fact-gathering role in soliciting and compiling applications, it recognized that the committee had a decision-making function in screening the applicants. The committee decided which of the applicants to reject from further consideration and the Court determined that in performing this function the committee accomplished a policy-based, decision-making function which had been delegated to it by the president of the university through the faculty as a whole. Therefore, a person or committee who has been delegated the authority to reject certain options from further consideration by the entire public body performs a decision-making function which must be conducted at a public meeting. MY CONCLUSSION What qualifies as a meeting? The Sunshine law applies to all discussions or deliberations as well as the formal action taken by a board or commission. The law, in essence, is applicable to any gathering, whether formal or casual, of two or more members of the same board or commission to discuss some matter on which foreseeable action will be taken by the public board or commission. There is no requirement that a quorum be present for a meeting to be covered under the law. This clearly applies to TAG especially since FWC offices are putting it together, running and setting up the meetings and FWC Staff are serving as Advisories to the Stakeholders. Which are two or more FWC staff Discussions with TAG Individuals involved in the CWTAG are to provide information regarding the care of specific species of wildlife and the wildlifes habits and needs as stated by Ron Cave And FWC Staff some matter on which foreseeable action will be taken by the public board or commission. The individual member is charged solely with fact-finding or information gathering on behalf of the board and has been given no decision-making authority does not apply even though Ron Caves email (6-17-14) applies that this is the case . . the survey below clearly shows that this is not just a fact finding group but a group who is asked what rules they think need to be modified etc. https://surveymonkey/s/MN8WZY7 You have been selected to be a member of FWC’s Captive Wildlife Technical Assistance Group (CWTAG). In preparation for our upcoming meeting with you, we wish to gather some information in order to better serve your interests. Please complete this brief survey. Please Complete this survey by Friday May 30th. 1. Please identify any FWC- captive wildlife rules that need to be modified. Please cite the rule number and the recommended change(s). 2. Do you believe that the current levels of experience required for Class I, II, or venomous reptiles are sufficient? 3. How do you think the experience can best be documented? 4. Are there materials you would like to see added to the FWC- captive wildlife rules for use in enclosures? 5. If so what are they? 6. What FWC- captive wildlife regulations do you feel need to be deleted? 7. What FWC- captive wildlife regulations do you feel need to be added? What FWC- captive wildlife regulations do you feel need to be added? 8. Is there anything else you would like to have considered as part of captive wildlife regulations in Florida? The law is quite clear. An ad hoc advisory board, even if its power is limited to making recommendations to a public agency and even if it possesses no authority to bind the agency in any way, is subject to the Sunshine Law. When a committee possesses the authority not only to conduct fact-finding but also to make recommendations, the committee is participating in the decision-making process and is, therefore, subject to s. 286.011, F.S. I again request that the Commissioners & FWC staff cancels this Group and starts over with full disclosure and transparency as our Governor Rick Scott and the Commissioners have promised. Reminder that there are no pressing issues that can not wait for a proper board be selected in the proper way. And include every sector of the Industry. ITS TIME TO DO IT RIGHT. Kathy Stearns c/o Dade City’s Wild Things & Former Tag representative
Posted on: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 01:35:24 +0000
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