Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1712
By Senator Jones
13-02012A-11 20111712__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; providing
3 definitions; providing an exemption from public
4 records requirements for confidential and proprietary
5 business information and trade secrets received by the
6 Destination Resort Commission; providing an exemption
7 from public-records requirements for information held
8 that would reveal investigation techniques and
9 procedures used by the Destination Resort Commission;
10 providing a definition; providing an exception to the
11 exemption for other governmental entities having
12 oversight or regulatory or law enforcement authority;
13 providing penalties for an employee of the commission
14 who violates the provisions of the act; providing for
15 future review and repeal of the exemption under the
16 Open Government Sunset Review Act; providing a
17 statement of public necessity; providing a contingent
18 effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Confidentiality of records.—
23 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
24 (a) “Proprietary confidential business information” means
25 information that is owned or controlled by an applicant for a
26 license or licensee under the Destination Resort Act who
27 requests confidentiality under this section; that is intended to
28 be and is treated by the applicant or licensee as private in
29 that the disclosure of the information would cause harm to the
30 business operations of the applicant or licensee; that has not
31 been disclosed unless disclosed pursuant to a statute or rule,
32 an order of a court or administrative body, or a private
33 agreement providing that the information may be released to the
34 public; and that is information concerning:
35 1. Business plans;
36 2. Internal auditing controls and reports of internal
37 auditors; or
38 3. Reports of external auditors for privately held
39 companies.
40 (b) “Trade secret” has the same meaning as in s. 688.002,
41 Florida Statutes.
42 (2) TRADE SECRETS.—Trade secrets held by the Destination
43 Resort Commission are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1),
44 Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State
45 Constitution.
46 (3) PROPRIETARY CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION.
47 Proprietary confidential business information held by the
48 Destination Resort Commission is confidential and exempt from s.
49 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the
50 State Constitution, until such information is otherwise publicly
51 available or is no longer treated by an applicant for a license
52 or a licensee under the Destination Resort Act as proprietary
53 confidential business information.
54 (4) IDENTIFICATION, ACCOUNT, AND REGISTRATION NUMBERS.—A
55 federal employer identification number, unemployment
56 compensation account number, or Florida sales tax registration
57 number held by the Destination Resort Commission is confidential
58 and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a),
59 Article I of the State Constitution.
60 (5) INVESTIGATION TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES.—
61 (a) For purposes of this subsection, “investigation
62 techniques and procedures” are the methods, processes, and
63 guidelines used to evaluate regulatory compliance and to collect
64 and analyze data, records, and testimony for the purpose of
65 documenting violations of the Destination Resort Act and the
66 rules adopted thereunder.
67 (b) Information that would reveal examination techniques or
68 procedures used by the Destination Resort Commission pursuant to
69 the Destination Resort Act is confidential and exempt from s.
70 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the
71 State Constitution.
72 (c) Confidential and exempt information that would reveal
73 examination techniques or procedures may be provided by the
74 commission to another governmental entity having oversight or
75 regulatory or law enforcement authority.
76 (6) PENALTIES.—Any person who is an employee of the
77 Destination Resort Commission who violates the provisions of
78 this section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree,
79 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, Florida
80 Statutes.
81 (7) LEGISLATIVE REVIEW OF EXEMPTIONS.—This section is
82 subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance
83 with s. 119.15, Florida Statutes, and shall stand repealed on
84 October 2, 2016, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through
85 reenactment by the Legislature.
86 Section 2. (1) It is the finding of the Legislature that it
87 is a public necessity that information relating to proprietary
88 confidential business information and trade secrets under the
89 Destination Resort Act be made confidential and exempt from s.
90 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the
91 State Constitution. This exemption is necessary to ensure that
92 the best qualified applicants are not deterred from applying for
93 licenses by the prospect of the disclosure of proprietary
94 confidential business information and trade secrets.
95 (2) The Destination Resort Act provides for a competitive
96 process for the award of an destination resort license. The
97 selection of the best qualified applicant for a license is
98 critical for the state to ensure that the state receives the
99 most economic benefits and greatest amount of tax revenues in
100 granting a resort license.
101 (3)(a) It is the finding of the Legislature that it is a
102 public necessity that information that would reveal
103 investigation techniques or procedures used by the Destination
104 Resort Commission pursuant to the Destination Resort Act be made
105 confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and
106 s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. This exemption is
107 necessary to ensure the commission’s ability to effectively and
108 efficiently enforce compliance with the Destination Resort Act,
109 which would be significantly impaired without the exemption.
110 (b) Investigations are an essential component of gaming
111 regulation. The mere existence of an investigation program
112 fosters regulatory compliance and deters fraud and abuse by
113 industry participants. Investigations often detect violations in
114 their early stages. Early detection allows corrective action to
115 be taken before significant harm can be done to the state. Due
116 to the importance of such investigations, state regulators
117 devote extensive resources to devising effective investigation
118 techniques and procedures.
119 (c) Allowing access to information revealing investigation
120 techniques or procedures would undermine the investigation
121 process and facilitate evasion of the law. Any advance notice of
122 the areas of inquiry to be explored during an examination might
123 prompt a person to conceal evidence of deficiencies or fabricate
124 evidence of compliance. Without the exemption, the Destination
125 Resort Commission’s ability to uncover misconduct and evaluate
126 policies and procedures through the investigation process would
127 be significantly impaired.
128 (d) Additionally, without such an exemption, the
129 Destination Resort Commission’s ability to participate in joint
130 investigations with other regulators would be impaired as
131 release of this information relating to investigations by other
132 regulators would compromise the integrity of such joint
133 investigations. The commission also would not be able to accept
134 or use confidential examination techniques and procedures
135 developed by other regulators. Thus, the absence of an exemption
136 would create a situation that reduces the commission’s ability
137 to leverage its limited resources.
138 Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that
139 SB ____ or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
140 is enacted in the same legislative session, or an extension
141 thereof, and becomes law, and only if this act is enacted by a
142 two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the
143 Legislature.