Florida Senate - 2013 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 984
Barcode 370112
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/10/2013 .
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The Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation
(Gardiner) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 377.24075, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 377.24075 Exemption from public records requirements.
8 Proprietary business information held by the Department of
9 Environmental Protection in accordance with its statutory duties
10 with respect to an application for a natural gas storage
11 facility permit is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and
12 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
13 (1) As used in this section, the term “proprietary business
14 information” means information that:
15 (a) Is owned or controlled by the applicant or a person
16 affiliated with the applicant.
17 (b) Is intended to be private and is treated by the
18 applicant as private because disclosure would harm the applicant
19 or the applicant’s business operations.
20 (c) Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a
21 private agreement that provides that the information will not be
22 released to the public.
23 (d) Is not publicly available or otherwise readily
24 ascertainable through proper means from another source in the
25 same configuration as requested by the department.
26 (e) Includes, but is not limited to:
27 1. Trade secrets;
28 2. Leasing plans, real property acquisition plans,
29 exploration budgets, or marketing studies, the disclosure of
30 which would impair the efforts of the applicant or its
31 affiliates to contract for goods or services or to acquire real
32 property interests on favorable terms; or
33 3. Competitive interests, which may include well design or
34 completion plans, geological or engineering studies related to
35 storage reservoir performance characteristics, or field
36 utilization strategies or operating plans, the disclosure of
37 which would impair the competitive business of the applicant
38 providing the information.
39 (f) May be found in a document:
40 1. Filed with the Department of Environmental Protection by
41 the applicant or affiliated person seeking a natural gas storage
42 facility permit pursuant to s. 377.2407; or
43 2. Sent to the Department of Environmental Protection from
44 another governmental entity for use by the department in the
45 performance of its duties. This subparagraph applies only if the
46 information is otherwise confidential or exempt as held by the
47 governmental entity.
48 (2) The Department of Environmental Protection may disclose
49 confidential and exempt proprietary business information:
50 (a) Pursuant to a court order;
51 (b) If the applicant to which it pertains gives prior
52 written consent; or
53 (c) To another state agency in this or another state or to
54 a federal agency if the recipient agrees in writing to maintain
55 the confidential and exempt status of the document, material, or
56 other information and has verified in writing its legal
57 authority to maintain such confidentiality.
58 (3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
59 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
60 on October 2, 2018, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
61 through reenactment by the Legislature.
62 Section 2. (1) The Legislature finds that it is a public
63 necessity that proprietary business information provided to the
64 Department of Environmental Protection which relates to trade
65 secrets, leasing plans, real property acquisition plans,
66 exploration budgets, proprietary well design or completion
67 plans, geological or engineering studies related to storage
68 reservoir performance characteristics, field utilization
69 strategies or operating plans, commercial or marketing studies,
70 or other proprietary business information provided by a person
71 in conjunction with an application to establish an underground
72 natural gas storage facility as defined in s. 377.19, Florida
73 Statutes, be made confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1),
74 Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State
75 Constitution. The disclosure of such proprietary business
76 information could injure an applicant in the marketplace by
77 giving competitors detailed insight into technical assessments,
78 design, and experience, thereby putting the applicant at a
79 competitive disadvantage. Without this exemption, applicants
80 might be less willing to expend or commit to expend the
81 substantial resources necessary to determine the feasibility of
82 establishing, permitting, and operating an underground natural
83 gas storage facility, resulting in limited opportunities for
84 developing the additional natural gas storage capacity that this
85 state critically needs to meet current and future residential,
86 commercial, and industrial energy needs. The resulting lack of
87 resources could hinder the ability of electric utility services
88 to optimize services to their customers and could adversely
89 affect those customers by depriving them of the opportunities
90 and energy security that comes with domestic reserves of natural
91 gas stored underground.
92 (2) Proprietary business information derives actual or
93 potential independent economic value from not being generally
94 known to and not being readily ascertainable by other persons
95 who can derive economic value from its disclosure or use. The
96 Department of Environmental Protection, in the course of
97 reviewing and issuing permitting decisions relating to
98 underground natural gas storage facility permits, may need to
99 obtain proprietary business information. Disclosure of such
100 information could destroy the value of that property and could
101 cause economic harm to the applicant providing the information.
102 Additionally, the reduced competition for the provision of
103 domestic underground storage of natural gas could adversely
104 affect energy utility customers. The exemption created by this
105 act will enhance the ability to increase domestic storage of
106 natural gas, thereby creating a significant benefit to energy
107 utility customers. In finding that the public records exemption
108 created by this act is a public necessity, the Legislature also
109 finds that any public benefit derived from disclosure of the
110 information is significantly outweighed by the public and
111 private harm that could result from disclosure after submittal
112 of such proprietary business information.
113 Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2013, if
114 SB 958 or similar legislation is adopted in the same legislative
115 session or an extension thereof and becomes a law.
116
117 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
118 And the title is amended as follows:
119 Delete everything before the enacting clause
120 and insert:
121 A bill to be entitled
122 An act relating to public records; creating s.
123 377.24075, F.S.; creating an exemption from public
124 records requirements for certain information provided
125 in an application for a natural gas storage facility
126 permit to inject and recover gas into and from a
127 natural gas storage reservoir; providing for future
128 review and repeal of the public records exemption
129 under the Open Government Sunset Review Act; providing
130 a statement of public necessity; providing a
131 contingent effective date.