Senate Bill sb0008E

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 8-E

    By Senator Atwater





    41-612A-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records and meetings;

  3         creating s. 288.9551, F.S.; creating an

  4         exemption from public records and public

  5         meetings requirements for certain information

  6         held by the Scripps Florida Funding Corporation

  7         or the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

  8         Development; creating an exemption from public

  9         records requirements for specified research

10         materials and actual and potential trade

11         secrets; creating an exemption from public

12         records for other proprietary business

13         information; creating an exemption for

14         information made confidential under the laws of

15         other states or nations or pursuant to federal

16         law; creating an exemption from public meetings

17         requirements for meetings of the governing

18         board of directors of the Scripps Florida

19         Funding Corporation at which exempt records are

20         presented or discussed; providing for

21         interagency exchange of confidential

22         information; providing a penalty; providing for

23         future review and repeal; providing a statement

24         of public necessity; providing a contingent

25         effective date.

26  

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

28  

29         Section 1.  Section 288.9551, Florida Statutes, is

30  created to read:

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 8-E
    41-612A-04




 1         288.9551  Exemptions from public records and meetings

 2  requirements; Scripps Florida Funding Corporation.--

 3         (1)  As used in this section, the term "grantee" has

 4  the same meaning ascribed in s. 288.955.

 5         (2)  The following information held by the Scripps

 6  Florida Funding Corporation or the Office of Tourism, Trade,

 7  and Economic Development under s. 288.955 is confidential and

 8  exempt from s. 24, Art. I of the State Constitution and s.

 9  119.07(1):

10         (a)  Methods of manufacture or production, potential

11  trade secrets, patentable material, or proprietary information

12  received, generated, ascertained, or discovered by the grantee

13  or The Scripps Research Institute.

14         (b)  Proprietary business information of the grantee or

15  The Scripps Research Institute, including, but not limited to,

16  actual trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002; federal

17  employer identification numbers; unemployment account numbers;

18  Florida sales tax registration numbers; agreements and

19  proposals to receive funding, including grant applications;

20  materials that relate to the recruitment of personnel; the

21  identity of donors; and building design plans.

22         (c)  Any information received by the grantee or The

23  Scripps Research Institute from a person or another state or

24  nation or the Federal Government which is otherwise

25  confidential or exempt pursuant to that state's or nation's

26  laws or pursuant to federal law.

27         (d)  Any information received by the grantee or The

28  Scripps Research Institute in the conduct of their operations

29  which is otherwise confidential and exempt by law.

30         (2)  That portion of a meeting of the board of

31  directors of the Scripps Florida Funding Corporation at which

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 8-E
    41-612A-04




 1  information is presented or discussed which is confidential

 2  and exempt under subsection (1) is closed to the public and

 3  exempt from s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution and s.

 4  286.011.

 5         (3)  Any records generated during those portions of the

 6  board meetings which are closed to the public under subsection

 7  (2), such as minutes, tape recordings, videotapes,

 8  transcriptions, or notes, are confidential and exempt from s.

 9  24, Art. I of the State Constitution and s. 119.07(1).

10         (4)  Information that is made confidential under this

11  section may be released to public employees exclusively for

12  the performance of their public duties, including, but not

13  limited to, the exchange of information between the Scripps

14  Florida Funding Corporation and the Office of Tourism, Trade,

15  and Economic Development to administer s. 288.955. Public

16  employees receiving this confidential information must

17  maintain the confidentiality of the information. A person

18  receiving confidential information who violates this

19  subsection commits a misdemeanor of the first degree,

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

21         (5)  This section is subject to the Open Government

22  Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15 and

23  shall stand repealed on October 2, 2009, unless reviewed and

24  saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

25         Section 2.  (1)  The Legislature finds that it is a

26  public necessity that certain records held by the Scripps

27  Florida Funding Corporation and the Office of Tourism, Trade,

28  and Economic Development which contain proprietary business

29  and scientific information be made confidential and exempt

30  from the public records law. Methods of manufacture or

31  production, actual or potential trade secrets, patented or

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 8-E
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 1  patentable materials, business transactions, or other

 2  proprietary information received, generated, ascertained, or

 3  discovered by the grantee or The Scripps Research Institute,

 4  or through business development by the grantee or The Scripps

 5  Research Institute, must be confidential and exempt because

 6  the disclosure of this information would create an unfair

 7  competitive advantage for persons receiving the information,

 8  which would adversely impact the grantee, The Scripps Research

 9  Institute, or its subsidiaries, affiliates, or partnerships,

10  including the state. If this information regarding research in

11  progress was released under a public records request, those

12  persons receiving the information would be permitted to take

13  the benefit of the research and business development without

14  compensation or reimbursement to the grantee, The Scripps

15  Research Institute, or its subsidiaries or partnerships,

16  including the state. The disclosure of trade secrets, tax

17  identification numbers, the amount of taxes paid, and the

18  amount of employee wages paid, personnel recruitment, grant

19  applications, and the detailed documentation held by the

20  Scripps Florida Funding Corporation or the Office of Tourism,

21  Trade, and Economic Development which is used to substantiate

22  the performance of the grantee or The Scripps Research

23  Institute, could injure the grantee or The Scripps Research

24  Institute in the marketplace by providing its competitors with

25  detailed insights into the financial status and the strategic

26  plans of the grantee or The Scripps Research Institute,

27  thereby diminishing the advantage that the grantee or The

28  Scripps Research Institute maintains over those who do not

29  possess the information. Some of the documentation supplied to

30  support the grantee's or The Scripps Research Institute's

31  claim for incentive funding could reveal private information,

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 8-E
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 1  such as employee names and social security numbers, concerning

 2  the employees of the grantee or The Scripps Research

 3  Institute.

 4         (2)  The Legislature further finds that information

 5  held by the Scripps Florida Funding Corporation or the Office

 6  of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development from a person in

 7  another state or nation, or the Federal Government, which

 8  information is otherwise confidential or exempt from

 9  disclosure under the laws of that state or nation, or under

10  federal law, should remain confidential or exempt because the

11  highly confidential nature of research necessitates that the

12  Scripps Florida Funding Corporation and the Office of Tourism,

13  Trade, and Economic Development be authorized to maintain the

14  status of confidential or exempt information they receive from

15  the grantee or The Scripps Research Institute. Without these

16  exemptions, the disclosure of confidential and exempt

17  information would place the grantee and The Scripps Research

18  Institute in an unequal footing in the biomedical industry as

19  compared with research competitors that are not required to

20  disclose confidential and exempt information.

21         (3)  The Legislature finds that the disclosure of this

22  information would adversely impact the Scripps Florida Funding

23  Corporation and the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

24  Development from fulfilling their missions of research and

25  economic development. It is further a public necessity that

26  the Scripps Florida Funding Corporation and the Office of

27  Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development have the

28  confidentiality protections for other information received in

29  the performance of their duties and obligations which is

30  confidential and exempt by law to put the grantee and The

31  Scripps Research Institute on an equal footing with other

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                   SB 8-E
    41-612A-04




 1  public research institutes and ensure that the grantee and The

 2  Scripps Research Institute have similar opportunities for

 3  success as private research competitors.

 4         (4)  The Legislature further finds that it is a public

 5  necessity that portions of the meetings at which proprietary

 6  confidential business information, including, but not limited

 7  to, materials that relate to methods of manufacture or

 8  production, actual or potential trade secrets, patentable

 9  materials, business transactions, or proprietary information

10  received, generated, ascertained, or discovered during the

11  course of research, is being presented or discussed be exempt

12  under public open meeting laws to allow the Scripps Florida

13  Funding Corporation to maintain the confidentiality of this

14  information and prevent an unfair competitive advantage for

15  the persons receiving this information.

16         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on the same date

17  that Senate Bill ___ or similar legislation takes effect, if

18  such legislation is enacted in the same legislative session or

19  an extension thereof and becomes law.

20  

21            *****************************************

22                          SENATE SUMMARY

23    Provides that certain information held by the Scripps
      Florida Funding Corporation and the Office of Tourism,
24    Trade, and Economic Development is confidential and
      exempt from disclosure under the public records law.
25    Provides an exemption from disclosure for information
      made confidential under the laws of other states or
26    nations or pursuant to federal law. Provides that
      portions of meetings at which confidential information is
27    discussed are exempt from the public meetings law.
      Provides for future legislative review and repeal of the
28    act under the Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995.

29  

30  

31  

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