Senate Bill sb1836c1

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1836

    By the Committee on Finance and Taxation; and Senator Carlton





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  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         213.053, F.S.; providing an exemption from

  4         public records requirements for information

  5         contained in specified documents received by

  6         the Department of Revenue in connection with

  7         ch. 202, F.S., the Communications Services Tax

  8         Simplification Law; authorizing the department

  9         to provide certain information relative to said

10         chapter to local governments imposing a local

11         communications services tax; providing for

12         application of confidentiality and penalty

13         provisions to such local governments; providing

14         for future review and repeal; providing a

15         finding of public necessity; providing a

16         contingent effective date.

17

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

19

20         Section 1.  Section 213.053, Florida Statutes, is

21  amended to read:

22         213.053  Confidentiality and information sharing.--

23         (1)(a)  The provisions of this section apply to s.

24  125.0104, county government; s. 125.0108, tourist impact tax;

25  chapter 175, municipal firefighters' pension trust funds;

26  chapter 185, municipal police officers' retirement trust

27  funds; chapter 198, estate taxes; chapter 199, intangible

28  personal property taxes; chapter 201, excise tax on documents;

29  chapter 203, gross receipts taxes; chapter 211, tax on

30  severance and production of minerals; chapter 212, tax on

31  sales, use, and other transactions; chapter 220, income tax

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1836
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  1  code; chapter 221, emergency excise tax; s. 252.372, emergency

  2  management, preparedness, and assistance surcharge; s.

  3  370.07(3), Apalachicola Bay oyster surcharge; chapter 376,

  4  pollutant spill prevention and control; s. 403.718, waste tire

  5  fees; s. 403.7185, lead-acid battery fees; s. 538.09,

  6  registration of secondhand dealers; s. 538.25, registration of

  7  secondary metals recyclers; ss. 624.501 and 624.509-624.515,

  8  insurance code; s. 681.117, motor vehicle warranty

  9  enforcement; and s. 896.102, reports of financial transactions

10  in trade or business.

11         (b)  The provisions of this section also apply to

12  chapter 202, the Communications Services Tax Simplification

13  Law. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset

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

15  stand repealed on October 2, 2006, unless reviewed and saved

16  from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

17         (2)  Except as provided in subsections (3), (4), (5),

18  (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16),

19  and (17), all information contained in returns, reports,

20  accounts, or declarations received by the department,

21  including investigative reports and information and including

22  letters of technical advice, is confidential except for

23  official purposes and is exempt from the provisions of s.

24  119.07(1).  Any officer or employee, or former officer or

25  employee, of the department who divulges any such information

26  in any manner, except for such official purposes, commits a

27  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.

28  775.082 or s. 775.083.

29         (3)  The department shall permit a taxpayer, his or her

30  authorized representative, or the personal representative of

31  an estate to inspect the taxpayer's return and may furnish him

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1836
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  1  or her an abstract of such return.  A taxpayer may authorize

  2  the department in writing to divulge specific information

  3  concerning the taxpayer's account.

  4         (4)  Nothing contained in this section shall prevent

  5  the department from publishing statistics so classified as to

  6  prevent the identification of particular accounts, reports,

  7  declarations, or returns or prevent the department from

  8  disclosing to the Comptroller the names and addresses of those

  9  taxpayers who have claimed an exemption pursuant to s.

10  199.185(1)(i) or a deduction pursuant to s. 220.63(5).

11         (5)  The department may make available to the Secretary

12  of the Treasury of the United States or his or her delegate,

13  the Commissioner of Internal Revenue of the United States or

14  his or her delegate, the Secretary of the Department of the

15  Interior of the United States or his or her delegate, or the

16  proper officer of any state or his or her delegate,

17  exclusively for official purposes, information to comply with

18  any formal agreement for the mutual exchange of state

19  information with the Internal Revenue Service of the United

20  States, the Department of the Interior of the United States,

21  or any state.

22         (6)  Any information received by the Department of

23  Revenue in connection with the administration of taxes,

24  including, but not limited to, information contained in

25  returns, reports, accounts, or declarations filed by persons

26  subject to tax, shall be made available by the department to

27  the Auditor General or his or her authorized agent, the

28  Comptroller or his or her authorized agent, the Insurance

29  Commissioner or his or her authorized agent, the Treasurer or

30  his or her authorized agent, or a property appraiser or tax

31  collector or their authorized agents pursuant to s.

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  1  195.084(1), in the performance of their official duties, or to

  2  designated employees of the Department of Education solely for

  3  determination of each school district's price level index

  4  pursuant to s. 236.081(2); however, no information shall be

  5  disclosed to the Auditor General or his or her authorized

  6  agent, the Comptroller or his or her authorized agent, the

  7  Insurance Commissioner or his or her authorized agent, the

  8  Treasurer or his or her authorized agent, or to a property

  9  appraiser or tax collector or their authorized agents, or to

10  designated employees of the Department of Education if such

11  disclosure is prohibited by federal law.  The Auditor General

12  or his or her authorized agent, the Comptroller or his or her

13  authorized agent, the Treasurer or his or her authorized

14  agent, and the property appraiser or tax collector and their

15  authorized agents, or designated employees of the Department

16  of Education shall be subject to the same requirements of

17  confidentiality and the same penalties for violation of the

18  requirements as the department.  For the purpose of this

19  subsection, "designated employees of the Department of

20  Education" means only those employees directly responsible for

21  calculation of price level indices pursuant to s. 236.081(2).

22  It does not include the supervisors of such employees or any

23  other employees or elected officials within the Department of

24  Education.

25         (7)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

26  section, the department may provide:

27         (a)  Information relative to chapter 211, chapter 376,

28  or chapter 377 to the proper state agency in the conduct of

29  its official duties.

30         (b)  Names, addresses, and dates of commencement of

31  business activities of corporations to the Division of

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  1  Corporations of the Department of State in the conduct of its

  2  official duties.

  3         (c)  Information relative to chapter 212 and chapters

  4  561 through 568 to the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and

  5  Tobacco of the Department of Business and Professional

  6  Regulation in the conduct of its official duties.

  7         (d)  Names, addresses, and sales tax registration

  8  information to the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the

  9  Department of Business and Professional Regulation in the

10  conduct of its official duties.

11         (e)  Names, addresses, taxpayer identification numbers,

12  and outstanding tax liabilities to the Department of the

13  Lottery and the Department of Banking and Finance in the

14  conduct of their official duties.

15         (f)  State tax information to the Nexus Program of the

16  Multistate Tax Commission pursuant to any formal agreement for

17  the exchange of mutual information between the department and

18  the commission.

19         (g)  Tax information to principals, and their

20  designees, of the Revenue Estimating Conference for the

21  purpose of developing official revenue estimates.

22         (h)  Names and addresses of persons paying taxes

23  pursuant to part IV of chapter 206 to the Department of

24  Environmental Protection in the conduct of its official

25  duties.

26         (i)  Information relative to chapters 212 and 326 to

27  the Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile

28  Homes of the Department of Business and Professional

29  Regulation in the conduct of its official duties.

30         (j)  Information authorized pursuant to s. 213.0535 to

31  eligible participants and certified public accountants for

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  1  such participants in the Registration Information Sharing and

  2  Exchange Program.

  3         (k)  Payment information relative to chapters 199, 201,

  4  212, 220, and 221 to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and

  5  Economic Development in its administration of the tax refund

  6  program for qualified defense contractors authorized by s.

  7  288.1045 and the tax refund program for qualified target

  8  industry businesses authorized by s. 288.106.

  9         (l)  Information relative to chapter 212 to the Office

10  of Agriculture Law Enforcement of the Department of

11  Agriculture and Consumer Services in the conduct of the Bill

12  of Lading Program. This information is limited to the business

13  name and whether the business is in compliance with chapter

14  212.

15         (m)  Information relative to chapter 198 to the Agency

16  for Health Care Administration in the conduct of its official

17  business relating to ss. 409.901-409.910.

18         (n)  Information contained in returns, reports,

19  accounts, or declarations to the Board of Accountancy in

20  connection with a disciplinary proceeding conducted pursuant

21  to chapter 473 when related to a certified public accountant

22  participating in the certified audits project, or to the court

23  in connection with a civil proceeding brought by the

24  department relating to a claim for recovery of taxes due to

25  negligence on the part of a certified public accountant

26  participating in the certified audits project.  In any

27  judicial proceeding brought by the department, upon motion for

28  protective order, the court shall limit disclosure of tax

29  information when necessary to effectuate the purposes of this

30  section.  This paragraph is repealed on July 1, 2002.

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1836
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  1         (o)  Information relative to ss. 376.70 and 376.75 to

  2  the Department of Environmental Protection in the conduct of

  3  its official business and to the facility owner, facility

  4  operator, and real property owners as defined in s. 376.301.

  5         (p)  Information relative to ss. 199.1055, 220.1845,

  6  and 376.30781 to the Department of Environmental Protection in

  7  the conduct of its official business.

  8         (q)  Names, addresses, and sales tax registration

  9  information to the Division of Consumer Services of the

10  Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in the conduct

11  of its official duties.

12         (r)  Information relative to the returns required by

13  ss. 175.111 and 185.09 to the Department of Management

14  Services in the conduct of its official duties. The Department

15  of Management Services is, in turn, authorized to disclose

16  payment information to a governmental agency as necessary in

17  the administration of chapters 175 and 185.

18         (s)  Names, addresses, and federal employer

19  identification numbers, or similar identifiers, to the

20  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for use in the

21  conduct of its official duties.

22         (t)  Information relative to the tax exemptions under

23  ss. 212.031, 212.06, and 212.08 for those persons qualified

24  under s. 288.1258 to the Office of the Film Commissioner. The

25  Department of Revenue shall provide the Office of the Film

26  Commissioner with information in the aggregate.

27         (u)  Information relative to chapter 202 to each local

28  government that imposes a tax pursuant to s. 202.19 in the

29  conduct of its official duties as specified in chapter 202.

30  Information provided under this paragraph may include, but is

31  not limited to, any reports required pursuant to s. 202.231,

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1836
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  1  audit files, notices of intent to audit, tax returns, and

  2  other confidential tax information in the department's

  3  possession relating to chapter 202.  A person or an entity

  4  designated by the local government in writing to the

  5  department as requiring access to confidential taxpayer

  6  information shall have reasonable access to information

  7  provided pursuant to this paragraph.  Such person or entity

  8  may disclose such information to other persons or entities

  9  with direct responsibility for budget preparation, auditing,

10  revenue or financial administration, or legal counsel.  Such

11  information shall only be used for purposes related to budget

12  preparation, auditing, and revenue and financial

13  administration.  Any information furnished to a local

14  government, or to any person or entity designated by the local

15  government as authorized by this paragraph, that is exempt

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

17  the State Constitution pursuant to this section shall continue

18  to be exempt when so provided, and may not be further

19  disclosed except as provided by this paragraph.

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21  Disclosure of information under this subsection shall be

22  pursuant to a written agreement between the executive director

23  and the agency.  Such agencies, governmental or

24  nongovernmental, shall be bound by the same requirements of

25  confidentiality as the Department of Revenue.  Breach of

26  confidentiality is a misdemeanor of the first degree,

27  punishable as provided by s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

28         (8)  The Department of Revenue shall provide returns,

29  reports, accounts, or declarations received by the department,

30  including investigative reports and information, or

31  information contained in such documents, pursuant to an order

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  1  of a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction or pursuant to

  2  a subpoena duces tecum only when the subpoena is:

  3         (a)  Issued by a state attorney, a United States

  4  attorney, or a court in a criminal investigation or a criminal

  5  judicial proceeding;

  6         (b)  Issued by a state or federal grand jury; or

  7         (c)  Issued by a state attorney, the Department of

  8  Legal Affairs, the State Fire Marshal, a United States

  9  attorney, or a court in the course of a civil investigation or

10  a civil judicial proceeding under the state or federal

11  racketeer influenced and corrupt organization act or under

12  chapter 896.

13         (9)(a)  Notwithstanding other provisions of this

14  section, the department shall, subject to paragraph (c) and to

15  the safeguards and limitations of paragraphs (b) and (d),

16  disclose to the governing body of a municipality, a county, or

17  a subcounty district levying a local option tax, or any state

18  tax which is distributed to units of local government based

19  upon place of collection, which the department is responsible

20  for administering, names and addresses only of the taxpayers

21  granted a certificate of registration pursuant to s. 212.18(3)

22  who reside within or adjacent to the taxing boundaries of such

23  municipality, county, or subcounty district when sufficient

24  information is supplied by the municipality, the county, or

25  subcounty district as the department by rule may prescribe,

26  provided such governing bodies are following s. 212.18(3)

27  relative to the denial of an occupational license after the

28  department cancels a dealer's sales tax certificate of

29  registration.

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  1         (b)  Such information shall be disclosed only if the

  2  department receives an authenticated copy of a resolution

  3  adopted by the governing body requesting it.

  4         (c)  After receipt of such information, the governing

  5  body and its officers and employees are subject to the same

  6  requirements of confidentiality and the same penalties for

  7  violating confidentiality as the department and its employees.

  8  The resolution requesting such information shall provide

  9  assurance that the governing body and its officers and

10  employees are aware of those requirements and of the penalties

11  for their violation of such requirements, and the resolution

12  shall describe the measures that will be put into effect to

13  ensure such confidentiality.  The officer of the department

14  who is authorized to receive, consider, and act upon such

15  requests shall, if satisfied that the assurances in the

16  resolution are adequate to assure confidentiality, grant the

17  request.

18         (d)  Nothing in this subsection authorizes disclosure

19  of any information prohibited by federal law from being

20  disclosed.

21         (10)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

22  section, with respect to a request for verification of a

23  certificate of registration issued pursuant to s. 212.18 to a

24  specified dealer or taxpayer or with respect to a request by a

25  law enforcement officer for verification of a certificate of

26  registration issued pursuant to s. 538.09 to a specified

27  secondhand dealer or pursuant to s. 538.25 to a specified

28  secondary metals recycler, the department may disclose whether

29  the specified person holds a valid certificate or whether a

30  specified certificate number is valid or whether a specified

31  certificate number has been canceled or is inactive or invalid

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  1  and the name of the holder of the certificate.  This

  2  subsection shall not be construed to create a duty to request

  3  verification of any certificate of registration.

  4         (11)  The department may provide to a United States

  5  Trustee, or his or her designee, for any United States

  6  Bankruptcy Court, exclusively for official purposes in

  7  connection with administering a bankruptcy estate, information

  8  relating to payment or nonpayment of taxes imposed by any

  9  revenue law of this state by a trustee, debtor, or debtor in

10  possession, including any amount paid or due.

11         (12)  The department may disclose certain state sales

12  tax information relating to the cancellation or revocation of

13  sales and use tax certificates of registration for the failure

14  to collect and remit sales tax. This information is limited to

15  the sales tax certificate number, trade name, owner's name,

16  business location address, and the reason for the cancellation

17  or revocation.

18         (13)  Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 896.102(2),

19  the department may allow full access to the information and

20  documents required to be filed with it under s. 896.102(1) to

21  federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial

22  agencies, and to the Department of Banking and Finance, and

23  any of those agencies may use the information and documents in

24  any civil or criminal investigation and in any court

25  proceedings.

26         (14)(a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

27  section, the department shall, subject to the safeguards

28  specified in paragraph (c), disclose to the Division of

29  Corporations of the Department of State the name, address,

30  federal employer identification number, and duration of tax

31  filings with this state of all corporate or partnership

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  1  entities which are not on file or have a dissolved status with

  2  the Division of Corporations and which have filed tax returns

  3  pursuant to either chapter 199 or chapter 220.

  4         (b)  The Division of Corporations shall use such

  5  information only in the pursuit of its official duties

  6  relative to nonqualified foreign or dissolved corporations in

  7  the recovery of fees and penalties due and owing the state.

  8         (c)  All information exchanged between the Division of

  9  Corporations and the department shall be subject to the same

10  requirements of confidentiality as the Department of Revenue.

11         (15)  The department may disclose confidential taxpayer

12  information contained in returns, reports, accounts, or

13  declarations filed with the department by persons subject to

14  any state or local tax to the child support enforcement

15  program, to assist in the location of parents who owe or

16  potentially owe a duty of support pursuant to Title IV-D of

17  the Social Security Act, their assets, their income, and their

18  employer, and to the Department of Children and Family

19  Services for the purpose of diligent search activities

20  pursuant to chapter 39. Nothing in this subsection authorizes

21  the disclosure of information if such disclosure is prohibited

22  by federal law. Employees of the child support enforcement

23  program and of the Department of Children and Family Services

24  are bound by the same requirements of confidentiality and the

25  same penalties for violation of the requirements as the

26  department.

27         (16)  The department may provide to the person against

28  whom transferee liability is being asserted pursuant to s.

29  212.10(1) information relating to the basis of the claim.

30         (17)  The department may disclose to a person entitled

31  to compensation pursuant to s. 213.30 the amount of any tax,

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  1  penalty, or interest collected as a result of information

  2  furnished by such person.

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

  4  necessity that any information or material contained in

  5  returns, reports, accounts, or declarations received by the

  6  Department of Revenue pursuant to chapter 202, Florida

  7  Statutes, be exempt from public records requirements. The

  8  disclosure of such information or material would adversely

  9  affect the business interests of communications service

10  companies providing the information by harming them in the

11  marketplace and compromising the security of the

12  communications network. Further, disclosure of such

13  information or material would impair competition in the

14  communications industry. Disclosure of data which reveals the

15  business interests of communications service companies creates

16  a competitive disadvantage and an unfair advantage for its

17  competitors. Competitors can use such information to impair

18  full and fair competition and impede competition in the

19  communications marketplace to the disadvantage of the

20  consumers of communications services. Thus, the public and

21  private harm in disclosing this information significantly

22  outweighs any public benefit derived from disclosure, and the

23  public's ability to scrutinize or monitor agency action is not

24  diminished by nondisclosure of this information.

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

26  if Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1878 or similar

27  legislation nullifying the repeal of chapter 202, Florida

28  Statutes, is adopted in the same legislative session or an

29  extension thereof and takes effect.

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  1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  2                             SB 1836

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  4  This committee substitute specifies that this bill shall take
    effect October 1, 2002, contingent on the adoption of CS/SB
  5  1878 or similar legislation.

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