House Bill 4125
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Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4125
By the Committee on Tourism and Representatives Barreiro,
Bullard, Melvin, Culp, Harrington, Bronson, Greene,
Livingston, D. Prewitt and Sindler
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; amending s.
3 288.1254, F.S.; providing an exemption from
4 public records requirements for records of the
5 Office of Entertainment Industry Commissioner
6 relating to specified information with respect
7 to the business activities of private persons,
8 partnerships, or corporations in the
9 entertainment industry, when such
10 confidentiality is requested; providing a
11 penalty for violation of the act; providing for
12 future review and repeal; providing a finding
13 of public necessity; providing a contingent
14 effective date.
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16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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18 Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section
19 288.1254, Florida Statutes, as created by HB 3687, 1998
20 Regular Session, to read:
21 288.1254 Promotion and development of entertainment
22 industry; Office of the Entertainment Industry Commissioner;
23 creation; purpose; powers and duties; confidentiality of
24 records.--
25 (3) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS.--
26 (a) Upon written request from an entertainment
27 industry private corporation, partnership, or person seeking
28 to locate, relocate, or expand any of its business activities
29 in this state, records of the Office of the Entertainment
30 Industry Commissioner which contain the identity, trade
31 secrets as defined by s. 812.081, or information concerning
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1 plans, intentions, or interests of such private corporation,
2 partnership, or person to locate, relocate, or expand any of
3 its business activities in this state are confidential and
4 exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art.
5 I of the State Constitution unless the information contained
6 in the exempted records is otherwise released by the party
7 requesting confidentiality or, in the case of identity only,
8 until the party retains a business location in the state.
9 This subsection is subject to the Open Government Sunset
10 Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall
11 stand repealed on October 2, 2003, unless reviewed and saved
12 from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
13 (b) Any person who is an employee of the Office of the
14 Entertainment Industry Commissioner who willfully and
15 knowingly violates the provisions of this section is guilty of
16 a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in
17 s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
18 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
19 necessity that the identity, or trade secrets as defined by s.
20 812.081, Florida Statutes, of an entertainment industry
21 corporation, partnership, or person seeking to locate,
22 relocate, or expand any of its business activities in this
23 state, or information concerning such plans, intentions, or
24 interests, be exempt from public records requirements. This
25 exemption is needed to protect the ongoing and often delicate
26 contract negotiations common to the preproduction stage of an
27 entertainment industry business venture which occurs prior to
28 that business retaining a business location in the state. The
29 identity, trade secrets, and planning information solicited
30 from such businesses by the Office of the Entertainment
31 Industry Commissioner are needed by that office initially to
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Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4125
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1 encourage these businesses to locate, relocate, or expand
2 their activities in the state. The Office of the
3 Entertainment Industry Commissioner also needs such
4 information in the aggregate, which may be publicly reported
5 in such fashion, to plan the marketing programs it conducts to
6 promote entertainment industry growth for the benefit of this
7 state and to measure the effectiveness of those marketing
8 programs for the Legislature. If such records are not
9 protected, critical confidential information regarding
10 contract negotiations, business identity, trade secrets, and
11 business activity location, relocation, or expansion would be
12 revealed. Release of this proprietary information could put
13 those businesses from which the information is gathered at a
14 competitive disadvantage in the marketplace. Consequently,
15 private companies whose records are not required to be open
16 might refrain from responding to the solicitations of the
17 Office of the Entertainment Industry Commissioner and might
18 choose not to locate, relocate, or expand their activities in
19 the state, thereby denying the use of valuable information
20 needed to assist this state and causing the state to lose
21 potential revenue and employment for its citizens. The harm
22 that would result from any obstruction to revealing the
23 identity, trade secrets, and planning information solicited
24 from entertainment industry businesses seeking to locate,
25 relocate, or expand their business activities in the state
26 would far outweigh any public benefit derived from release of
27 such information.
28 Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date
29 that House Bill 3687 or similar legislation which creates s.
30 288.1254, F.S., establishing the Office of Entertainment
31 Industry Commissioner, takes effect, if such legislation is
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Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4125
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1 adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
2 thereof.
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5 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Provides an exemption from public records requirements
7 for records of the Office of Entertainment Industry
Commissioner which contain the identity, trade secrets,
8 or any information concerning plans, intentions, or
interests of any private person, partnership, or
9 corporation within the entertainment industry to locate,
relocate, or expand any of its business activities in
10 this state, when such confidentiality is requested.
Provides for review and repeal of the exemption by
11 October 2, 2003. Provides a second-degree misdemeanor
penalty for violation of the act. Provides a finding of
12 public necessity. Provides that the act shall take
effect upon the passage of HB 3687 or similar legislation
13 which creates s. 288.1254, F.S., and provides for the
creation of the Office of the Entertainment Industry
14 Commissioner.
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