House Bill 0439
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 439
By Representative Crow
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; amending s.
3 288.99, F.S.; providing exemptions from public
4 records requirements for information obtained
5 from a certified capital company during
6 investigation or review by the Department of
7 Banking and Finance, certain reports related
8 thereto, and for personal financial information
9 relating to a principal of such a company or an
10 applicant for certification; providing for
11 release to certain entities; providing for
12 future review and repeal; providing a finding
13 of public necessity; providing an effective
14 date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Subsections (15) and (16) are added to
19 section 288.99, Florida Statutes, to read:
20 288.99 Certified Capital Company Act.--
21 (15) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INVESTIGATION AND REVIEW
22 INFORMATION.--Except as otherwise provided in this section,
23 information submitted by a certified capital company or
24 collected from a certified capital company during an
25 investigation or department review, and any reports prepared
26 by, or for the use of, the department or any other
27 governmental agency as a result of an investigation or
28 department review of a certified capital company, including
29 working papers or portions thereof, are confidential and
30 exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
31 Constitution unless such information is released by the
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 439
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1 certified capital company. Such information or reports may be
2 released by the department to a principal of the certified
3 capital company, an administrative agency responsible for
4 administration of this section, or a law enforcement agency.
5 Any law enforcement or administrative agency receiving
6 confidential information shall maintain the confidentiality of
7 the information. This subsection shall not be construed to
8 prohibit disclosure of information which is specifically
9 required by law to be filed with the department and which, but
10 for the investigation or department review, would otherwise be
11 subject to public disclosure. This subsection is subject to
12 the Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance
13 with s. 119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2005,
14 unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by
15 the Legislature.
16 (16) CONFIDENTIALITY OF FINANCIAL
17 INFORMATION.--Information submitted to the department by an
18 applicant for certification, or by a certified capital
19 company, that is related to personal financial matters of a
20 principal of the applicant or certified capital company is
21 confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I
22 of the State Constitution unless such information is released
23 by the applicant or certified capital company. Nothing in this
24 subsection shall be construed to prohibit the department from
25 providing such information to a law enforcement agency or
26 administrative agency responsible for administering this
27 section. Any law enforcement or administrative agency
28 receiving such information shall maintain the confidentiality
29 of the information. This subsection is subject to the Open
30 Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s.
31 119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2005, unless
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 439
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1 reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the
2 Legislature.
3 Section 2. The Legislature finds that the citizens of
4 Florida will benefit from the operation of certified capital
5 companies in this state by virtue of potential job creation, a
6 potentially expanded tax base, and overall economic
7 improvement resulting from investment of certified capital in
8 emerging small businesses in Florida. The Legislature further
9 finds that it is a public necessity to exempt from public
10 records requirements information obtained during an
11 investigation or annual review of a certified capital company,
12 any report prepared as a result of an investigation or review,
13 and any personal financial information related to the
14 principals of applicants or certified capital companies. These
15 exemptions are essential to protect the integrity of contract
16 negotiations inherent to this industry, which include complex
17 financial transactions and negotiations between certified
18 capital companies and insurance companies which invest capital
19 in the certified capital companies. Additionally, the
20 exemptions protect the privacy of personal financial
21 information of the individual principals of applicants and
22 certified capital companies. If information collected during
23 investigations or reviews of certified capital companies is
24 not protected, critical proprietary information regarding
25 investment contracts and the structuring of investments in
26 certified capital companies will be revealed. Disclosure of
27 this information would place those certified capital companies
28 at a competitive disadvantage in all states in which the
29 companies currently operate or intend to operate.
30 Consequently, companies whose financial records are not
31 otherwise open to public inspection may refrain from seeking
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 439
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1 certification as certified capital companies in Florida, or
2 expanding their current presence in Florida. As a result,
3 Florida would lose a significant source of venture capital for
4 small early-stage businesses, economic growth resulting from
5 the establishment of new businesses funded by certified
6 capital, tax revenue generated by new jobs and businesses, and
7 employment opportunities for the citizens of this state. In
8 addition, required disclosure of personal financial
9 information of principals of applicants and certified capital
10 companies would have a negative impact on growth of the
11 certified capital company industry in Florida by unnecessarily
12 exposing those individuals to an invasive scrutiny of personal
13 information. Accordingly, the harm that would result from
14 requiring public disclosure of proprietary information of the
15 certified capital companies or personal information of the
16 principals of the companies far outweighs any public benefit
17 derived from the release of such information.
18 Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2000.
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21 HOUSE SUMMARY
22
Provides exemptions from public records requirements for
23 information obtained from a certified capital company
during investigation or review by the Department of
24 Banking and Finance, certain reports related thereto, and
for personal financial information relating to a
25 principal of such a company or an applicant for
certification, unless such information is released by the
26 company or applicant. Provides for future review and
repeal.
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