House Bill 4125c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 CS/HB 4125
By the Committees on Governmental Operations, 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 information
5 held by the Office of Entertainment Industry
6 Commissioner relating to specified information
7 with respect to the business activities of
8 private persons, partnerships, or corporations
9 in the 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.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
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, information held by the Office of the
30 Entertainment Industry Commissioner regarding the identity;
31 trade secrets as defined by s. 812.081; or plans, intentions,
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 CS/HB 4125
192-985-98
1 or interests of such private corporation, partnership, or
2 person to locate, relocate, or expand any of its business
3 activities in this state are confidential and exempt from the
4 provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
5 Constitution unless the information held is otherwise released
6 by the party requesting confidentiality or, in the case of
7 identity, or plans, intentions or interests to locate,
8 relocate, or expand any of its business activities in this
9 state, until the party retains a new or additional business
10 location in this state. This subsection is subject to the
11 Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with
12 s. 119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2003, unless
13 reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the
14 Legislature.
15 (b) Any person who is an employee of the Office of the
16 Entertainment Industry Commissioner who willfully and
17 knowingly violates the provisions of this section is guilty of
18 a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in
19 s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
20 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
21 necessity that the identity, or trade secrets as defined by s.
22 812.081, Florida Statutes, of an entertainment industry
23 corporation, partnership, or person seeking to locate,
24 relocate, or expand any of its business activities in this
25 state, or information concerning such plans, intentions, or
26 interests, be exempt from public records requirements. This
27 exemption is needed to protect the ongoing and often delicate
28 contract negotiations common to the preproduction stage of an
29 entertainment industry business venture which occurs prior to
30 that business retaining a business location in the state. The
31 identity, trade secrets, and planning information solicited
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 CS/HB 4125
192-985-98
1 from such businesses by the Office of the Entertainment
2 Industry Commissioner are needed by that office initially to
3 encourage these businesses to locate, relocate, or expand
4 their activities in the state. The Office of the
5 Entertainment Industry Commissioner also needs such
6 information in the aggregate, which may be publicly reported
7 in such fashion, to plan the marketing programs it conducts to
8 promote entertainment industry growth for the benefit of this
9 state and to measure the effectiveness of those marketing
10 programs for the Legislature. If such records are not
11 protected, critical confidential information regarding
12 contract negotiations, business identity, trade secrets, and
13 business activity location, relocation, or expansion would be
14 revealed. Release of this proprietary information could put
15 those businesses from which the information is gathered at a
16 competitive disadvantage in the marketplace. Consequently,
17 private companies whose records are not required to be open
18 might refrain from responding to the solicitations of the
19 Office of the Entertainment Industry Commissioner and might
20 choose not to locate, relocate, or expand their activities in
21 the state, thereby denying the use of valuable information
22 needed to assist this state and causing the state to lose
23 potential revenue and employment for its citizens. The harm
24 that would result from any obstruction to revealing the
25 identity, trade secrets, and planning information solicited
26 from entertainment industry businesses seeking to locate,
27 relocate, or expand their business activities in the state
28 would far outweigh any public benefit derived from release of
29 such information.
30 Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date
31 that House Bill 3687 or similar legislation which creates s.
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 CS/HB 4125
192-985-98
1 288.1254, F.S., establishing the Office of Entertainment
2 Industry Commissioner, takes effect, if such legislation is
3 adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
4 thereof.
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
4