Bill Text: FL S0310 | 2010 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Pub. Rec./Proprietary Confidential Business Info. [CPSC]
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Rules [S0310 Detail]
Download: Florida-2010-S0310-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2010 CS for SB 310 By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability; and Senator Dockery 585-02786-10 2010310c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to public records; amending s. 3 119.071, F.S.; providing definitions; providing that 4 proprietary confidential business information held by 5 an agency is confidential and exempt from public 6 records requirements; authorizing a request to inspect 7 or copy a record that contains proprietary 8 confidential business information to be granted under 9 certain circumstances; authorizing any person to 10 petition a court for the public release of those 11 portions of a record made confidential and exempt by 12 the act; providing requirements for the petition and 13 the court order; providing that the act does not 14 supersede any other applicable public-records 15 exemptions that existed before a certain date; 16 providing for future legislative review and repeal of 17 the exemption under the Open Government Sunset Review 18 Act; providing a finding of public necessity; 19 repealing s. 815.045, F.S., relating to trade secret 20 information; providing an effective date. 21 22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23 24 Section 1. Paragraph (h) is added to subsection (1) of 25 section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read: 26 119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of 27 public records.— 28 (1) AGENCY ADMINISTRATION.— 29 (h)1. As used in this paragraph, the term: 30 a. “Proprietor” means any self-employed individual, 31 proprietorship, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, 32 firm, enterprise, franchise, association, trust, or business 33 entity, whether fictitiously named or not, authorized to do or 34 doing business in this state, including its respective 35 authorized officer, employee, agent, or successor in interest, 36 which controls or owns the proprietary confidential business 37 information provided to an agency. 38 b. “Proprietary confidential business information” means 39 information that has been designated by the proprietor when 40 provided to an agency as information that is owned or controlled 41 by the proprietor requesting confidentiality under this section; 42 is intended to be and is treated by that proprietor as private, 43 is not readily ascertainable or publicly available from any 44 other source, and the disclosure of which would cause harm to 45 the business operations of the proprietor; has not been 46 intentionally disclosed by the proprietor unless pursuant to a 47 private agreement that provides that the information will not be 48 released to the public except as required by law or legal 49 process or pursuant to an order of a court or administrative 50 hearing officer; and that is information concerning: 51 (I) Business plans; 52 (II) Internal auditing controls and reports of internal 53 auditors; 54 (III) Reports of external auditors for privately held 55 companies; or 56 (IV) Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002. 57 2. Proprietary confidential business information held by an 58 agency is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 59 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption applies 60 to proprietary confidential business information held by an 61 agency before, on, or after July 1, 2010. 62 3. Notwithstanding subparagraph 2., if a person requests to 63 inspect or copy a record under s. 119.07(1) which contains 64 proprietary confidential business information, the custodial 65 agency shall notify the proprietor of the information of the 66 request. The request shall be granted unless, within a 67 reasonable period of time, the proprietor verifies the following 68 conditions to that agency through a written declaration in the 69 manner provided by s. 92.525: 70 a. That the requested record contains proprietary 71 confidential business information and the specific location of 72 such information within the record; 73 b. If the proprietary confidential business information is 74 a trade secret, a verification that it is a trade secret as 75 defined in s. 688.002; 76 c. That the proprietary confidential business information 77 is intended to be and is treated by the proprietor as private, 78 is the subject of efforts of the proprietor to maintain its 79 privacy, and is not readily ascertainable or publicly available 80 from any other source; and 81 d. That the disclosure of the proprietary confidential 82 business information to the public would harm the business 83 operations of the proprietor. 84 4. Any person may petition a court of competent 85 jurisdiction for an order for the public release of those 86 portions of any record made confidential and exempt by 87 subparagraph 2. Any action under this subparagraph for 88 information held by a state agency must be brought in Leon 89 County, Florida, and the petition or other initial pleading 90 shall be served on the custodial agency and, if determinable 91 upon diligent inquiry, on the proprietor of the information 92 sought to be released. In any order for the public release of a 93 record under this subparagraph, the court shall make a finding 94 that the record or portion thereof is not a trade secret as 95 defined in s. 688.002, that a compelling public interest is 96 served by the release of the record or portions thereof which 97 exceed the public necessity for maintaining the confidentiality 98 of such record, and that the release of the record will not 99 cause damage to or adversely affect the interests of the 100 proprietor of the released information, other private persons or 101 business entities, or the agency. 102 5. This paragraph does not supersede any other applicable 103 public-records exemption existing before July 1, 2010, or 104 created thereafter. 105 6. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset 106 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand 107 repealed on October 2, 2015, unless reviewed and saved from 108 repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 109 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 110 necessity that proprietary confidential business information, 111 including trade secrets, be made confidential and exempt from s. 112 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and s. 119.07(1), 113 Florida Statutes. Proprietary confidential business information 114 derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from 115 not being generally known to, and not being readily 116 ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain 117 economic value from its disclosure or use. An agency, in 118 performing its lawful duties and responsibilities, may need to 119 obtain from the proprietor confidential business information. 120 Without an exemption from public-records requirements for 121 proprietary confidential business information held by an agency, 122 such information becomes a public record when received by the 123 agency and must be divulged upon request. Divulgence of any 124 proprietary confidential business information under public 125 records laws would destroy the value of that property to the 126 proprietor, causing a financial loss not only to the proprietor 127 but also to the state or local governments due to loss of tax 128 revenue and employment opportunities for residents. Release of 129 that information would give business competitors an unfair 130 advantage and weaken the position of the proprietor of the 131 confidential business information in the marketplace. Thus, the 132 Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that proprietary 133 confidential business information held by an agency be made 134 confidential and exempt from public-records requirements. 135 Section 3. Section 815.045, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 136 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
