Senate Bill sb2218

    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 2218

    By Senator Rossin





    35-1267-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         624.319, F.S.; exempting work papers relating

  4         to examinations and investigations of insurers

  5         from public records requirements; providing

  6         legislative findings; providing for future

  7         review and repeal of the exemption; providing

  8         an effective date.

  9

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

11

12         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 624.319, Florida

13  Statutes, is amended to read:

14         624.319  Examination and investigation reports.--

15         (3)(a)  Examination reports, until filed, are

16  confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1).

17  Investigation reports are confidential and exempt from the

18  provisions of s. 119.07(1) until the investigation is

19  completed or ceases to be active.  For purposes of this

20  subsection, an investigation is active while it is being

21  conducted by the department with a reasonable, good faith

22  belief that it could lead to the filing of administrative,

23  civil, or criminal proceedings.  An investigation does not

24  cease to be active if the department is proceeding with

25  reasonable dispatch and has a good faith belief that action

26  could be initiated by the department or other administrative

27  or law enforcement agency. After an investigation is completed

28  or ceases to be active, portions of the investigation report

29  relating to the investigation remain confidential and exempt

30  from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) if disclosure would:

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 2218
    35-1267-01




  1         1.  Jeopardize the integrity of another active

  2  investigation;

  3         2.  Impair the safety and financial soundness of the

  4  licensee or affiliated party;

  5         3.  Reveal personal financial information;

  6         4.  Reveal the identity of a confidential source;

  7         5.  Defame or cause unwarranted damage to the good name

  8  or reputation of an individual or jeopardize the safety of an

  9  individual; or

10         6.  Reveal investigative techniques or procedures.

11         (b)  Work papers, or portions thereof, prepared by or

12  for the use of the department in the performance of its

13  examination or investigation duties pursuant to ss. 624.316

14  and 624.3161 or of any state or federal agency responsible for

15  the regulation or supervision of financial institutions as

16  defined in s. 655.005(1) are confidential and exempt from the

17  provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a) of Article I of the

18  State Constitution. This paragraph is subject to the Open

19  Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s.

20  119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2006, unless

21  reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the

22  Legislature.

23         (c)(b)  Lists of insurers or regulated companies are

24  confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1)

25  if:

26         1.  The financial solvency, condition, or soundness of

27  such insurers or regulated companies is being monitored by the

28  department;

29         2.  The list is prepared to internally coordinate

30  regulation by the department of the financial solvency,

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 2218
    35-1267-01




  1  condition, or soundness of the insurers or regulated

  2  companies; and

  3         3.  The Insurance Commissioner and Treasurer determine

  4  that public inspection of such list could impair the financial

  5  solvency, condition, or soundness of such insurers or

  6  regulated companies.

  7         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that the exemption

  8  from public disclosure of work papers relating to an

  9  examination is necessary for the effective and efficient

10  administration of a government program. Disclosure of work

11  papers could indicate the contents of examination reports,

12  which are otherwise confidential until they are filed, and of

13  investigation reports, which are otherwise confidential until

14  the investigation is completed or ceases to be active, and

15  could thus thwart the state's interest in assuring the

16  integrity of the regulatory process. Further, work papers, by

17  the nature of their incompleteness, have a higher risk of

18  containing inaccurate information about insurers and persons

19  which, if disclosed, could harm the business of a regulated

20  entity or an employee or officer of that entity.

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

22  law.

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24            *****************************************

25                          SENATE SUMMARY

26    Exempts partial and complete work papers relating to
      examinations and investigations of insurers from public
27    records disclosure.

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