HB 1061 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public records; amending s. 500.148,
3	F.S.; providing an exemption from public records
4	requirements for certain federal records that are
5	otherwise confidential under federal law and that are
6	provided to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
7	Services for purposes of food safety investigations,
8	contracts and partnership activities, and regulatory
9	reviews; prohibiting the disclosure of such information
10	unless a federal agency has found that the record is no
11	longer entitled to protection or unless ordered by a
12	court; providing for future legislative review and repeal;
13	providing a finding of public necessity; providing an
14	effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1. Section 500.148, Florida Statutes, is amended
19	to read:
20	500.148 Reports and dissemination of information;
21	confidentiality.--
22	(1) The department may publish from time to time reports
23	summarizing all judgments and court orders that have been
24	rendered under this chapter, including the nature of the charges
25	and the disposition thereof.
26	(2) The department may also disseminate any information
27	regarding food that it considers necessary in the interest of
28	public health and the protection of the consumer against fraud.
29	Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
30	department from collecting, reporting, and illustrating the
31	results of these investigations.
32	(3) Federal records deemed confidential under 21 C.F.R.
33	part 20.61, part 20.62, or part 20.88, or U.S.C. s. 552(b), and
34	which are provided to the department for assistance during a
35	joint food safety or food illness investigation, as a
36	requirement for conducting a federal-state contract or
37	partnership activity, or for regulatory review, are confidential
38	and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
39	Constitution. Such information may not be disclosed except under
40	a final determination by the appropriate federal agencies that
41	such records are no longer entitled to protection, or pursuant
42	to an order of the court. This section is subject to the Open
43	Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s.
44	119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2008, unless
45	reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the
46	Legislature.
47	(4)(3)Upon request of a food establishment, the
48	department may issue a report certifying that the requesting
49	food establishment currently complies with the sanitation and
50	permitting requirements of this chapter and the rules
51	promulgated thereunder. Such certification may be requested for
52	the purpose of exporting food to a foreign country. The
53	department is authorized to recover the cost associated with
54	carrying out the provisions of this subsection, the amount of
55	which shall be set by rule.
56	Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
57	necessity that records and information concerning investigations
58	of food-borne illness which are otherwise confidential under
59	federal law remain confidential when shared with the Department
60	of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It is essential that the
61	department have access to data gathered by federal agencies and
62	other states in order to conduct investigations and carry out
63	contracts and partnership agreements. The Legislature further
64	finds that federal agencies are reluctant to seek the
65	department's review on important regulatory matters if
66	information that is confidential under federal law would be
67	subject to disclosure. Therefore, the Legislature finds that the
68	harm caused by the release of such information substantially
69	outweighs any minimal public benefit derived from disclosure of
70	federal records that are otherwise confidential.
71	Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date
72	that HB 339 or similar legislation takes effect, if such
73	legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an
74	extension thereof and becomes law.