Senate Bill 1846

    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1846

    By Senator Horne





    6-1119-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; providing an

  3         exemption from public records requirements for

  4         certain telecommunications company records;

  5         providing for future review and repeal;

  6         providing a finding of public necessity;

  7         providing an effective date.

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  9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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11         Section 1.  Any proprietary confidential business

12  information, including maps, records, or other information

13  relating to the provision of telecommunications services,

14  obtained from a telecommunications company by a local

15  governmental entity for the purposes of regulating the public

16  rights-of-way is confidential and exempt from the provisions

17  of section 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and Section 24(a),

18  Article I of the State Constitution, may be used only for the

19  purposes of regulating such public rights-of-way, and may not

20  be used for any other purposes, including, but not limited to,

21  commercial or competitive purposes. This section is subject to

22  the Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance

23  with section 119.15, Florida Statutes, and shall stand

24  repealed on October 1, 2005, unless reviewed and saved from

25  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

26         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public

27  necessity that proprietary confidential business information

28  be kept confidential when held by a local governmental entity

29  pursuant to regulation of the public rights-of-way. Disclosure

30  of proprietary confidential business information in a local

31  governmental entity's possession would adversely affect the

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1846
    6-1119-00




  1  business interests of telecommunications companies providing

  2  the information by harming them in the marketplace and

  3  compromising the security of the telecommunications network.

  4  Further, disclosure of such proprietary confidential business

  5  information would impair competition in the telecommunications

  6  industry. Thus, the public and private harm in disclosing the

  7  proprietary confidential business information significantly

  8  outweighs any public benefit derived from disclosure, and the

  9  public's ability to scrutinize and monitor agency action is

10  not diminished by nondisclosure of the proprietary

11  confidential business information.

12         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

13  law.

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16                          SENATE SUMMARY

17    Provides an exemption from public records requirements
      for certain telecommunications company records. Provides
18    for future review and repeal. Provides a finding of
      public necessity.
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