House Bill hb0777c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
By the Council for Competitive Commerce and Representative
Kilmer
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; creating s.
3 288.1067, F.S.; creating a public records
4 exemption for specified business information
5 received under the capital investment tax
6 credit program, qualified defense contractors
7 tax refund program, qualified target industry
8 tax refund program, high impact sector
9 performance program, and quick action closing
10 fund program; specifying that the exemption
11 does not preclude publication of aggregate data
12 or release of names of qualifying businesses
13 and refund amounts; providing that the public
14 records exemption applies to qualified
15 aviation-industry businesses; amending s.
16 213.053, F.S.; authorizing release of certain
17 additional information in administering certain
18 tax credit or exemption programs; amending ss.
19 443.171 and 443.1715, F.S.; including the
20 refund program for aviation-industry businesses
21 within certain exceptions to certain public
22 records exemptions; providing a statement of
23 public necessity; providing contingent effect;
24 providing effective dates.
25
26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
27
28 Section 1. Section 288.1067, Florida Statutes, is
29 created to read:
30 288.1067 Confidentiality of records.--
31
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 (1) The following information held by the Office of
2 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development or Enterprise
3 Florida, Inc., or county or municipal governmental entities,
4 and their employees or agents, pursuant to the incentive
5 programs for qualified businesses as provided in s. 220.191,
6 s. 288.1045, s. 288.106, s. 288.108, or s. 288.1088 is
7 confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1)
8 and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, for a period
9 not to exceed the duration of the relevant tax refund, tax
10 credit, or incentive agreement programs:
11 (a) The business' federal employer identification
12 number, unemployment compensation account number, and Florida
13 sales tax registration number.
14 (b) Any trade secret information as defined in s.
15 812.081. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, trade
16 secret information shall continue to be confidential and
17 exempt after the duration of the tax refund, tax credit, or
18 incentive agreement programs.
19 (c) The percentage of the business' sales occurring
20 outside of this state. For businesses applying under s.
21 288.1045, the percentage of the business' gross receipts
22 derived from United States Department of Defense contracts
23 during the 5 years immediately preceding the date the
24 business' application is submitted.
25 (d) The anticipated wages for the project jobs that
26 the business plans to create, as reported on the application
27 for certification.
28 (e) The average wage actually paid by the business for
29 those jobs created by the project, and any detailed
30 proprietary business information or an employee's personal
31 identifying information, held as evidence of the achievement
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 or nonachievement of the wage requirements of the tax refund,
2 tax credit, or incentive agreement programs or of the job
3 creation requirements of such programs.
4 (f) Any proprietary business information regarding
5 capital investment in eligible building and equipment made by
6 the qualified business project when held by the Office of
7 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development as evidence of the
8 achievement or nonachievement of the investment requirements
9 for the tax credit certification under s. 220.191, for the
10 high impact performance agreement under s. 288.108, or for the
11 quick action closing fund agreement under s. 288.1088.
12 (g) The amount of:
13 1. Taxes on sales, use, and other transactions paid
14 pursuant to chapter 212;
15 2. Corporate income taxes paid pursuant to chapter
16 220;
17 3. Intangible personal property taxes paid pursuant to
18 chapter 199;
19 4. Emergency excise taxes paid pursuant to chapter
20 221;
21 5. Insurance premium taxes paid pursuant to chapter
22 624;
23 6. Excise taxes paid on documents pursuant to chapter
24 201; or
25 7. Ad valorem taxes paid, as defined in s. 220.03(1),
26
27 which the qualified business reports on its application for
28 certification or reports during the term of the tax refund
29 agreement for which the qualified business claims a tax refund
30 under s. 288.1045 or s. 288.106, and any information held as
31
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 evidence of the achievement or nonachievement of performance
2 items contained in the tax refund agreement.
3 (2) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent
4 the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development or
5 Enterprise Florida, Inc., from releasing:
6 (a) The names of qualified businesses, the total
7 number of jobs each business expects to create, the total
8 number of jobs created by each business, and the amount of tax
9 refunds awarded to and claimed by each business under s.
10 228.1045 or s. 288.106. However, for a business applying under
11 s. 288.1045 based on obtaining a new United States Department
12 of Defense contract, the total number of jobs expected and the
13 amount of tax refunds claimed shall not be released until the
14 new United States Department of Defense contract is awarded;
15 (b) The amount of incentives awarded and claimed by
16 each business under s. 288.108 or s. 288.1088; or
17 (c) The names of qualified businesses, the total
18 number of jobs each business expects to create, and the total
19 number of jobs created by each business under s. 220.191.
20 (3) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent
21 the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development or
22 Enterprise Florida, Inc., from publishing statistics in the
23 aggregate and so classified as to prevent the identification
24 of a single qualified applicant.
25 (4) This section is subject to the Open Government
26 Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15 and
27 shall stand repealed on October 2, 2007, unless reviewed and
28 saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
29 Section 2. Effective upon passage of House Bill 779 or
30 similar legislation, subsection (5) is added to section
31 288.1067, Florida Statutes, as created by this act, to read:
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 288.1067 Confidentiality of records.--
2 (5) The provisions of this section apply to a
3 qualified aviation-industry business as defined in s.
4 288.1045. In addition, the amount of aviation fuel taxes paid
5 pursuant to s. 206.9825, when reported on an application for
6 certification as an aviation-industry business or paid during
7 the term of the aviation-industry business' tax refund
8 agreement, and for which the qualified aviation-industry
9 business claims a tax refund under s. 288.1045, and is held as
10 evidence of the achievement, or nonachievement, of performance
11 items contained in the tax refund agreement, is confidential
12 and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a),
13 Art. I of the State Constitution, when held by the Office of
14 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development or Enterprise
15 Florida, Inc., and their employees or agents, for a period not
16 to exceed the duration of the tax refund agreement.
17 Section 3. Paragraph (k) of subsection (7) of section
18 213.053, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
19 213.053 Confidentiality and information sharing.--
20 (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
21 section, the department may provide:
22 (k)1. Payment information relative to chapters 199,
23 201, 212, 220, and 221, and 624 to the Office of Tourism,
24 Trade, and Economic Development or its employees or agents in
25 its administration of the tax refund program for qualified
26 defense contractors authorized by s. 288.1045 and the tax
27 refund program for qualified target industry businesses
28 authorized by s. 288.106.
29 2. Information regarding tax credits received by a
30 business under s. 220.191 and exemptions or tax refunds
31 received by a business under s. 212.08(5)(j) held by the
5
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development, or its
2 employees or agents, in the administration and evaluation of
3 the capital investment tax credit program authorized in s.
4 220.191 and the semiconductor, defense, and space tax
5 exemption program authorized in s. 212.08(5)(j).
6
7 Disclosure of information under this subsection shall be
8 pursuant to a written agreement between the executive director
9 and the agency. Such agencies, governmental or
10 nongovernmental, shall be bound by the same requirements of
11 confidentiality as the Department of Revenue. Breach of
12 confidentiality is a misdemeanor of the first degree,
13 punishable as provided by s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
14 Section 4. Contingent upon passage of House Bill 779
15 and effective upon becoming a law, subsection (7) of section
16 443.171, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
17 443.171 Division and commission; powers and duties;
18 rules; advisory council; records and reports; proceedings;
19 state-federal cooperation.--
20 (7) RECORDS AND REPORTS.--Each employing unit shall
21 keep true and accurate work records, containing such
22 information as the division may prescribe. Such records shall
23 be open to inspection and be subject to being copied by the
24 division at any reasonable time and as often as may be
25 necessary. The division or an appeals referee may require from
26 any employing unit any sworn or unsworn reports, with respect
27 to persons employed by it, deemed necessary for the effective
28 administration of this chapter. However, a state or local
29 governmental agency performing intelligence or
30 counterintelligence functions need not report an employee if
31 the head of such agency has determined that reporting the
6
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 employee could endanger the safety of the employee or
2 compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.
3 Information revealing the employing unit's or individual's
4 identity thus obtained from the employing unit or from any
5 individual pursuant to the administration of this chapter,
6 shall, except to the extent necessary for the proper
7 presentation of a claim or upon written authorization of the
8 claimant who has a workers' compensation claim pending, be
9 held confidential and exempt from the provisions of s.
10 119.07(1). Such information shall be available only to public
11 employees in the performance of their public duties, including
12 employees of the Department of Education in obtaining
13 information for the Florida Education and Training Placement
14 Information Program and the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
15 Economic Development in its administration of the qualified
16 defense contractor tax refund program for qualified defense
17 contractors and aviation-industry businesses authorized by s.
18 288.1045 and, the qualified target industry business tax
19 refund program authorized by s. 288.106. Any claimant, or the
20 claimant's legal representative, at a hearing before an
21 appeals referee or the commission shall be supplied with
22 information from such records to the extent necessary for the
23 proper presentation of her or his claim. Any employee or
24 member of the commission or any employee of the division, or
25 any other person receiving confidential information, who
26 violates any provision of this subsection is guilty of a
27 misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
28 775.082 or s. 775.083. However, the division may furnish to
29 any employer copies of any report previously submitted by such
30 employer, upon the request of such employer, and the division
31 is authorized to charge therefor such reasonable fee as the
7
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 division may by rule prescribe not to exceed the actual
2 reasonable cost of the preparation of such copies. Fees
3 received by the division for copies provided under this
4 subsection shall be deposited to the credit of the Employment
5 Security Administration Trust Fund.
6 Section 5. Contingent upon passage of House Bill 779
7 and effective upon becoming a law, subsection (1) of section
8 443.1715, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
9 443.1715 Disclosure of information; confidentiality.--
10 (1) RECORDS AND REPORTS.--Information revealing the
11 employing unit's or individual's identity obtained from the
12 employing unit or from any individual pursuant to the
13 administration of this chapter, and any determination
14 revealing such information, must, except to the extent
15 necessary for the proper presentation of a claim or upon
16 written authorization of the claimant who has a workers'
17 compensation claim pending, must be held confidential and
18 exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art.
19 I of the State Constitution. Such information may be made
20 available only to public employees in the performance of their
21 public duties, including employees of the Department of
22 Education in obtaining information for the Florida Education
23 and Training Placement Information Program and the Office of
24 Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development in its administration
25 of the qualified defense contractor tax refund program for
26 qualified defense contractors and aviation-industry businesses
27 authorized by s. 288.1045. Except as otherwise provided by
28 law, public employees receiving such information must retain
29 the confidentiality of such information. Any claimant, or the
30 claimant's legal representative, at a hearing before an
31 appeals referee or the commission shall be supplied with
8
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 information from such records to the extent necessary for the
2 proper presentation of her or his claim. Any employee or
3 member of the commission or any employee of the division, or
4 any other person receiving confidential information, who
5 violates any provision of this subsection commits a
6 misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
7 775.082 or s. 775.083. However, the division may furnish to
8 any employer copies of any report previously submitted by such
9 employer, upon the request of such employer, and may furnish
10 to any claimant copies of any report previously submitted by
11 such claimant, upon the request of such claimant, and the
12 division is authorized to charge therefor such reasonable fee
13 as the division may by rule prescribe not to exceed the actual
14 reasonable cost of the preparation of such copies. Fees
15 received by the division for copies as provided in this
16 subsection must be deposited to the credit of the Employment
17 Security Administration Trust Fund.
18 Section 6. The Legislature finds that it is a public
19 necessity to provide confidentiality for certain information
20 about businesses that is obtained through the administration
21 of the tax refund, tax credit, and incentive programs for
22 qualified defense contractors, qualified target industry
23 businesses, high-impact performance incentive businesses,
24 quick-action closing fund businesses, capital investment tax
25 credit businesses, and aviation-industry businesses under ss.
26 220.191, 288.1045, 288.106, 288.108, and 288.1088, Florida
27 Statutes. The disclosure of information such as trade
28 secrets, tax identification numbers, analyses of gross
29 receipts, the amount of taxes paid, amount of capital
30 investment, and the amount of employee wages paid, and the
31 detailed documentation to substantiate such performance
9
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 information, could injure a business in the marketplace by
2 providing its competitors with detailed insights into the
3 financial status and the strategic plans of the business,
4 thereby diminishing the advantage that the business maintains
5 over those who do not possess such information. The
6 disclosure, prior to the award of a new United States
7 Department of Defense contract, of information such as the
8 number of new jobs to be created to perform the contract and
9 the amount of refunds claimed, could injure a business by
10 providing competitors with detailed insights into the
11 resources of the business and diminish the business' chances
12 of obtaining a new United States Department of Defense
13 contract. Some of the documentation supplied to support a
14 business' tax refund and credit claims, or other incentive
15 claims, could reveal private information about that business'
16 employees such as names and social security numbers. Without
17 this exemption, private-sector businesses, whose records
18 generally are not required to be open to the public, might
19 refrain from participating in these economic development
20 programs and thus would not be able to use the tax refunds
21 available under the programs. If a business were unable to use
22 the tax refund, it might choose to locate its employment and
23 other investment activities outside the state, depriving the
24 state and the public of the potential economic benefits
25 associated with such business activities in Florida. The harm
26 to businesses in the marketplace and to the effective
27 administration of these economic development programs caused
28 by the public disclosure of such information far outweighs the
29 public benefits derived from its release. In addition, because
30 the confidentiality provided by this act does not preclude the
31 reporting of statistics in the aggregate about the programs,
10
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 777
402-134-02
1 as well as the names of businesses participating in the
2 programs and the amount of tax refunds and other incentives
3 awarded and claimed, the public has access to information
4 important to an assessment of the performance of those
5 programs.
6 Section 7. Except as otherwise provided herein, this
7 act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
11
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.