Bill Text: MS HB1445 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Contract negotiations; allow information to be exempt from Mississippi Public Records Act while on-going.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-23 - Died In Committee [HB1445 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2016-HB1445-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Accountability, Efficiency,Transparency
By: Representative Turner
House Bill 1445
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT TO EXEMPT INFORMATION THAT IS PART OF AN ON-GOING NEGOTIATION FROM BEING SUBJECT TO A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST UNTIL AFTER EXECUTION OF THE CONTRACT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 25-61-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 25-61-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-61-5. (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided by Sections 25-61-9 and 25-61-11, all public records are hereby declared to be public property, and any person shall have the right to inspect, copy or mechanically reproduce or obtain a reproduction of any public record of a public body in accordance with reasonable written procedures adopted by the public body concerning the cost, time, place and method of access, and public notice of the procedures shall be given by the public body, or, if a public body has not adopted written procedures, the right to inspect, copy or mechanically reproduce or obtain a reproduction of a public record of the public body shall be provided within one (1) working day after a written request for a public record is made. No public body shall adopt procedures which will authorize the public body to produce or deny production of a public record later than seven (7) working days from the date of the receipt of the request for the production of the record.
(b) If a public body
is unable to produce a public record by the seventh working day after the
request is made, the public body must provide a written explanation to the
person making the request stating that the record requested will be produced
and specifying with particularity why the records cannot be produced within the
seven-day period. Unless there is mutual agreement of the parties, or the
information requested is part of on-going negotiations related to a quotation,
bid, request for qualifications or request for proposals, * * *
the date for the
public body's production of the requested records shall not be any later
than fourteen (14) working days from the receipt by the public body of the
original request. Requested information that is part of a quotation, bid,
request for qualifications or request for proposals shall be produced no later
than seven (7) business days after the execution of the purchase, contract or
lease.
(2) If any public record contains material which is not exempted under this chapter, the public agency shall redact the exempted and make the nonexempted material available for examination. Such public agency shall be entitled to charge a reasonable fee for the redaction of any exempted material, not to exceed the agency's actual cost.
(3) Denial by a public body of a request for access to or copies of public records under this chapter shall be in writing and shall contain a statement of the specific exemption relied upon by the public body for the denial. Each public body shall maintain a file of all denials of requests for public records. Public bodies shall be required to preserve such denials on file for not less than three (3) years from the date such denials are made. This file shall be made available for inspection or copying, or both, during regular office hours to any person upon written request.
SECTION 2. Section 25-61-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
25-61-9. (1) Records furnished to public bodies by third parties which contain trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under this chapter until notice to third parties has been given, but the records shall be released within a reasonable period of time unless the third parties have obtained a court order protecting the records as confidential.
(2) If any public record which is held to be exempt from disclosure pursuant to this chapter contains material which is not exempt pursuant to this chapter, the public body shall separate the exempt material and make the nonexempt material available for examination or copying, or both, as provided for in this chapter.
(3) Trade secrets and confidential commercial and financial information of a proprietary nature developed by a college, university or public hospital under contract with a firm, business, partnership, association, corporation, individual or other like entity shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under this chapter.
(4) Misappropriation of a trade secret shall be governed by the provisions of the Mississippi Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Sections 75-26-1 through 75-26-19.
(5) A waste minimization plan and any updates developed by generators and facility operators under the Mississippi Comprehensive Multimedia Waste Minimization Act of 1990 shall be retained at the facility and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under this chapter.
(6) Data processing software obtained by an agency under a licensing agreement that prohibits its disclosure and which software is a trade secret, as defined in Section 75-26-3, and data processing software produced by a public body which is sensitive must not be subject to inspection, copying or reproduction under this chapter.
As used in this subsection, "sensitive" means only those portions of data processing software, including the specifications and documentation, used to:
(a) Collect, process, store, and retrieve information which is exempt under this chapter.
(b) Control and direct access authorizations and security measures for automated systems.
(c) Collect, process, store, and retrieve information, disclosure of which would require a significant intrusion into the business of the public body.
(7) For all procurement contracts awarded by state agencies, the provisions of the contract which contain the commodities purchased or the personal or professional services provided, the price to be paid, and the term of the contract shall not be deemed to be a trade secret or confidential commercial or financial information under this section, and shall be available for examination, copying or reproduction as provided for in this chapter.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.
