House Bill 0439er

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    2000 Legislature                    CS/HB 439, First Engrossed



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  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         288.99, F.S.; providing exemptions from public

  4         records requirements for information relating

  5         to an investigation or review by the Department

  6         of Banking and Finance of a certified capital

  7         company, including consumer complaints, for

  8         certain personal information relating to

  9         department investigative personnel and their

10         families, and for information obtained by the

11         department on a confidential basis; providing a

12         privilege against civil liability; providing an

13         exemption from public records requirements for

14         social security numbers of customers of a

15         certified capital company, complainants, or

16         persons associated with a certified capital

17         company or qualified business; providing for

18         future review and repeal; providing a finding

19         of public necessity; providing an effective

20         date.

21

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

23

24         Section 1.  Subsections (15) and (16) are added to

25  section 288.99, Florida Statutes, to read:

26         288.99  Certified Capital Company Act.--

27         (15)(a)  CONFIDENTIALITY OF INVESTIGATION AND REVIEW

28  INFORMATION.--Except as otherwise provided by this section,

29  any information relating to an investigation or department

30  review of a certified capital company, including any consumer

31  complaint, is confidential and exempt from the provisions of


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    2000 Legislature                    CS/HB 439, First Engrossed



  1  s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution

  2  until the investigation or review is complete or ceases to be

  3  active.  Such information shall remain confidential and exempt

  4  from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of

  5  the State Constitution after the investigation or review is

  6  complete or ceases to be active if the information is

  7  submitted to any law enforcement or administrative agency for

  8  further investigation, and shall remain confidential and

  9  exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art.

10  I of the State Constitution until that agency's investigation

11  is complete or ceases to be active. For purposes of this

12  subsection, an investigation or review shall be considered

13  "active" so long as the department, a law enforcement agency,

14  or an administrative agency is proceeding with reasonable

15  dispatch and has a reasonable good faith belief that the

16  investigation may lead to the filing of an administrative,

17  civil, or criminal proceeding.  This section shall not be

18  construed to prohibit disclosure of information which is

19  required by law to be filed with the department and which, but

20  for the investigation, would otherwise be subject to s.

21  119.07(1).

22         (b)  Except as necessary to enforce the provisions of

23  this chapter, a consumer complaint or information relating to

24  an investigation or review shall remain confidential and

25  exempt from s. 119.07(1) after an investigation or review is

26  complete or ceases to be active to the extent disclosure

27  would:

28         1.  Reveal a trade secret as defined in s. 688.002 or

29  s. 812.081.

30         2.  Jeopardize the integrity of another active

31  investigation or review.


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    2000 Legislature                    CS/HB 439, First Engrossed



  1         3.  Disclose the identity of a confidential source or

  2  investigative techniques or procedures.

  3         (c)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to

  4  prohibit the department from providing information to any law

  5  enforcement or administrative agency.  Any law enforcement or

  6  administrative agency receiving confidential information in

  7  connection with its official duties shall maintain the

  8  confidentiality of the information so long as it would

  9  otherwise be confidential.

10         (d)  In the event department personnel are or have been

11  involved in an investigation or review of such nature as to

12  endanger their lives or physical safety or that of their

13  families, the home addresses, telephone numbers, places of

14  employment, and photographs of such personnel, together with

15  the home addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, and places

16  of employment of spouses and children of such personnel and

17  the names and locations of schools and day care facilities

18  attended by the children of such personnel are confidential

19  and exempt from s. 119.07(1).

20         (e)  All information obtained by the department from

21  any person which is only made available to the department on a

22  confidential or similarly restricted basis shall be

23  confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1).  This exemption

24  shall not be construed to prohibit disclosure of information

25  which is specifically required by law to be filed with the

26  department or which is otherwise subject to s. 119.07(1).

27         (f)  If information subject to this subsection is

28  offered in evidence in any administrative, civil, or criminal

29  proceeding, the presiding officer may, in his or her

30  discretion, prevent the disclosure of information which would

31  be confidential pursuant to paragraph (b).


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  1         (g)  A privilege against civil liability is granted to

  2  a person with regard to information or evidence furnished to

  3  the department, unless such person acts in bad faith or with

  4  malice in providing such information or evidence.

  5         (h)  This subsection is subject to the Open Government

  6  Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15, and

  7  shall stand repealed on October 2, 2005, unless reviewed and

  8  saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

  9         (16)  CONFIDENTIALITY OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.--The

10  social security number of any customer of a certified capital

11  company, complainant, or person associated with a certified

12  capital company or qualified business, is exempt from s.

13  119.07(1).  This subsection is subject to the Open Government

14  Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15, and

15  shall stand repealed on October 2, 2005, unless reviewed and

16  saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

17         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that the citizens of

18  Florida will benefit from the operation of certified capital

19  companies in this state by virtue of potential job creation, a

20  potentially expanded tax base, and overall economic

21  improvement resulting from investment of certified capital in

22  emerging small businesses in Florida.  The Legislature further

23  finds that it is a public necessity to exempt from public

24  records requirements certain information obtained during an

25  investigation or annual review of a certified capital company,

26  and certain personal information related to customers of a

27  certified capital company, complainants, or persons associated

28  with a certified capital company or qualified business.  These

29  exemptions are essential to protect the integrity of contract

30  negotiations inherent to this industry, which include complex

31  financial transactions and negotiations between certified


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  1  capital companies and insurance companies which invest capital

  2  in the certified capital companies, and to protect the privacy

  3  of customers of a certified capital company, complainants, or

  4  persons associated with a certified capital company or

  5  qualified business.  If information collected during

  6  investigations or reviews of certified capital companies is

  7  not protected, critical proprietary information regarding

  8  investment contracts and the structuring of investments in

  9  certified capital companies will be revealed.  Disclosure of

10  this information would place those certified capital companies

11  at a competitive disadvantage in all states in which the

12  companies currently operate or intend to operate.

13  Consequently, companies whose records are not otherwise open

14  to public inspection may refrain from seeking certification as

15  certified capital companies in Florida, or expanding their

16  current presence in Florida. As a result, Florida would lose a

17  significant source of venture capital for small early-stage

18  businesses, economic growth resulting from the establishment

19  of new businesses funded by certified capital, tax revenue

20  generated by new jobs and businesses, and employment

21  opportunities for the citizens of this state.  In addition,

22  required disclosure of personal information of customers of a

23  certified capital company, complainants, or persons associated

24  with a certified capital company or qualified business would

25  have a negative impact on growth of the certified capital

26  company industry in Florida by unnecessarily exposing those

27  individuals to an invasive scrutiny of personal information.

28  Accordingly, the harm that would result from requiring public

29  disclosure of proprietary information of the certified capital

30  companies or personal information of customers of a certified

31  capital company, complainants, or persons associated with a


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  1  certified capital company or qualified business far outweighs

  2  any public benefit derived from the release of such

  3  information.  The Legislature also finds that it is a public

  4  necessity to exempt information which is only made available

  5  to the department on a confidential basis.  Maintaining the

  6  confidentiality of such information protects the concerns of

  7  the persons regarding privacy, trade secrets, physical safety,

  8  or other such reason.  The public benefit of maintaining the

  9  confidentiality outweighs the public benefit derived from

10  release of such information, since such information would

11  otherwise not be available to the department to carry out its

12  regulatory or investigatory duties. Furthermore, the

13  Legislature finds that the exemption of the personal

14  information relating to investigatory personnel and their

15  families from public records requirements is a public

16  necessity because release of this information would jeopardize

17  the safety and welfare of departmental investigatory personnel

18  and their families.  The release of this personal information

19  would not benefit the public or aid it in monitoring the

20  effective and efficient operation of government.  The

21  exemption of this personal information would minimize the

22  possibility that those persons under investigation might use

23  the information to threaten, intimidate, harass, or cause

24  physical harm or other injury to these persons or members of

25  their family.

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

27  law.

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