House Bill hb1541c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001             CS/HB 1541

        By the Council for Competitive Commerce and Committee on
    Economic Development & International Trade and Representatives
    Prieguez, Wilson, Meadows, Kilmer, Betancourt, Atwater,
    Benson, Carassas, Mahon, Pickens and Harper



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         288.075, F.S.; expanding the definition of the

  4         term "economic development agency" to include,

  5         for purposes of confidentiality of records, the

  6         Florida Commercial Space Financing Corporation

  7         and any public economic development agency of a

  8         county or a municipality; extending the

  9         scheduled repeal of a public records exemption

10         for information concerning business location,

11         relocation, or expansion plans; providing for

12         future expiration and legislative review;

13         clarifying an exception to the confidentiality

14         provided by such exemption; authorizing public

15         officers or employees under specified

16         conditions to enter into agreements with a

17         business that has requested confidentiality;

18         authorizing an extension in the period of

19         confidentiality; increasing the period of

20         confidentiality for trade secrets; providing a

21         statement of public necessity; providing an

22         effective date.

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

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26         Section 1.  Section 288.075, Florida Statutes, is

27  amended to read:

28         288.075  Confidentiality of records.--

29         (1)  As used in this section, the term "economic

30  development agency" means the Office of Tourism, Trade, and

31  Economic Development, any industrial development authority

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  1  created in accordance with part III of chapter 159 or by

  2  special law, the Spaceport Florida Authority created in part

  3  II of chapter 331, the Florida Commercial Space Financing

  4  Corporation created in part III of chapter 331, the public

  5  economic development agency of a county or municipality that

  6  advises the county commission on the issuance of industrial

  7  revenue bonds of a county that does not have an industrial

  8  development authority created in accordance with part III of

  9  chapter 159 or by special law, or any research and development

10  authority created in accordance with part V of chapter 159.

11  The term also includes any private agency, person,

12  partnership, corporation, or business entity when authorized

13  by the state, a municipality, or a county to promote the

14  general business interests or industrial interests of the

15  state or that municipality or county.

16         (2)  Upon written request from a private corporation,

17  partnership, or person, records of an economic development

18  agency which contain or would provide information concerning

19  plans, intentions, or interests of such private corporation,

20  partnership, or person to locate, relocate, or expand any of

21  its business activities in this state are confidential and

22  exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State

23  Constitution for 24 months after the date an economic

24  development agency receives a request for confidentiality or

25  until disclosed by an economic development agency pursuant to

26  subsection (4) or by the party requesting confidentiality

27  under this section. Confidentiality must be maintained until

28  the expiration of the 24-month period or until documents or

29  information are otherwise disclosed, whichever occurs first.

30  Any This confidentiality provided under this section does not

31  apply when any party petitions a court of competent

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  1  jurisdiction and, in the opinion of the court, proves need for

  2  access to such documents. This exemption expires October 2,

  3  2006 2001, and is subject to review by the Legislature under

  4  the Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance

  5  with s. 119.15.

  6         (3)  This section does not waive any provision of

  7  chapter 120 or any other provision of law requiring a public

  8  hearing.

  9         (4)  A public officer or employee may not enter into a

10  binding agreement with any corporation, partnership, or person

11  who has requested confidentiality of information pursuant to

12  this section, until 90 days after such information is made

13  public, unless such public officer or employee is acting in an

14  official capacity, the agreement does not accrue to the

15  personal benefit of such public officer or employee, and, in

16  the professional judgment of such officer or employee, the

17  agreement is necessary to effectuate an economic development

18  project.

19         (5)  An economic development agency may extend the

20  period of confidentiality specified in subsection (2) for up

21  to an additional 12 months upon written request from the

22  private corporation, partnership, or person who originally

23  requested confidentiality under this section and upon a

24  finding by the economic development agency that such private

25  corporation, partnership, or person is still actively

26  considering locating, relocating, or expanding its business

27  activities in this state. Such a request for an extension in

28  the period of confidentiality must be received prior to the

29  expiration of any confidentiality originally provided under

30  this section.

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  1         (6)  Notwithstanding the period of confidentiality

  2  specified in subsection (2), trade secrets, as defined by s.

  3  812.081, contained in the records of an economic development

  4  agency relating to the plans, intentions, or interests of a

  5  corporation, partnership, or person who has requested

  6  confidentiality pursuant to this section are confidential and

  7  exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State

  8  Constitution for 10 years after the date an economic

  9  development agency receives a request for confidentiality or

10  until otherwise disclosed, whichever occurs first. The 10-year

11  period of confidentiality provided by this subsection does not

12  apply to any portion of the records other than trade secrets

13  as defined by s. 812.081.

14         (7)(5)  Any person who is an employee of an economic

15  development agency who violates the provisions of this section

16  commits is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree,

17  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

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

19  necessity that the confidentiality provided by section

20  288.075, Florida Statutes, for information on a business's

21  plans to locate, relocate, or expand its activities in this

22  state be broadened to include records of a county or a

23  municipal economic development agency which contain such

24  information. Many counties and municipalities in this state

25  operate public economic development offices that assist

26  businesses that are considering locating, relocating, or

27  expanding in this state. Confidentiality during the site

28  selection process is extremely important to businesses

29  because, among other reasons, disclosure of information

30  concerning the business's plans could provide competitors in

31  the marketplace with insights into the business's strategies

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  1  and finances, could cause employees of the business to leave

  2  the organization in the face of uncertainty over the

  3  business's future, or could cause the business to experience

  4  inflated real estate prices as a result of speculation by

  5  those hoping to sell property to the business. If county or

  6  municipal economic development agencies were unable to provide

  7  confidentiality for such information, businesses would be

  8  reluctant to consider such communities as potential sites for

  9  their job-creating and investment projects, thus depriving

10  those communities of the potential economic benefits

11  associated with such projects. The Legislature also finds that

12  it is a public necessity that economic development agencies be

13  authorized to extend the period of confidentiality because a

14  business's site selection process could take longer than the

15  24-month period currently provided by the public records

16  exemption, and the disclosure of information while the

17  business is still considering its site selection options could

18  jeopardize a viable economic development project, as well as

19  injure the business in the marketplace. In addition, the

20  Legislature finds that trade secrets, as defined by section

21  812.081, Florida Statutes, which are obtained by an economic

22  development agency during the site selection process merit a

23  longer period of confidentiality because the injury that would

24  occur to a business in the marketplace if its competitors

25  obtained such trade secrets is greater than the injury that

26  would occur from disclosure of other information concerning a

27  business's plans to locate, relocate, or expand its activities

28  in this state. The harm that would result from the release of

29  sensitive business information or from the impairment of the

30  effective administration of the state and local economic

31  development efforts far outweighs the public benefit derived

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  1  from release of such information. Furthermore, disclosure of

  2  financing records during negotiations between private and

  3  public entities would discourage economic development in

  4  general, and have a negative impact on increasing the number

  5  of high-technology, high-paying jobs in the state.

  6         Section 3.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2001.

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