1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to a public records exemption; amending s. |
3 | 1004.43, F.S.; expanding the public records exemption for |
4 | proprietary confidential business information owned or |
5 | controlled by the not-for-profit corporation operating the |
6 | H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute and |
7 | its subsidiaries relating to trade secrets; expanding the |
8 | exemption to include information received from an agency |
9 | in this or another state or nation or the Federal |
10 | Government which is otherwise exempt or confidential |
11 | pursuant to the laws of this or another state or nation or |
12 | pursuant to federal law; providing for future review and |
13 | repeal; providing a statement of public necessity; |
14 | providing an effective date. |
15 |
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16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
17 |
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18 | Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section |
19 | 1004.43, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (c) is |
20 | added to said subsection, to read: |
21 | 1004.43 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research |
22 | Institute.--There is established the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer |
23 | Center and Research Institute at the University of South |
24 | Florida. |
25 | (8) |
26 | (b) Proprietary confidential business information is |
27 | confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and |
28 | s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. However, the Auditor |
29 | General, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government |
30 | Accountability, and the State Board of Education, pursuant to |
31 | their oversight and auditing functions, must be given access to |
32 | all proprietary confidential business information upon request |
33 | and without subpoena and must maintain the confidentiality of |
34 | information so received. As used in this paragraph, the term |
35 | "proprietary confidential business information" means |
36 | information, regardless of its form or characteristics, which is |
37 | owned or controlled by the not-for-profit corporation or its |
38 | subsidiaries; is intended to be and is treated by the not-for- |
39 | profit corporation or its subsidiaries as private and the |
40 | disclosure of which would harm the business operations of the |
41 | not-for-profit corporation or its subsidiaries; has not been |
42 | intentionally disclosed by the corporation or its subsidiaries |
43 | unless pursuant to law, an order of a court or administrative |
44 | body, a legislative proceeding pursuant to s. 5, Art. III of the |
45 | State Constitution, or a private agreement that provides that |
46 | the information may be released to the public; and which is |
47 | information concerning: |
48 | 1. Internal auditing controls and reports of internal |
49 | auditors; |
50 | 2. Matters reasonably encompassed in privileged attorney- |
51 | client communications; |
52 | 3. Contracts for managed-care arrangements, including |
53 | preferred provider organization contracts, health maintenance |
54 | organization contracts, and exclusive provider organization |
55 | contracts, and any documents directly relating to the |
56 | negotiation, performance, and implementation of any such |
57 | contracts for managed-care arrangements; |
58 | 4. Bids or other contractual data, banking records, and |
59 | credit agreements the disclosure of which would impair the |
60 | efforts of the not-for-profit corporation or its subsidiaries to |
61 | contract for goods or services on favorable terms; |
62 | 5. Information relating to private contractual data, the |
63 | disclosure of which would impair the competitive interest of the |
64 | provider of the information; |
65 | 6. Corporate officer and employee personnel information; |
66 | 7. Information relating to the proceedings and records of |
67 | credentialing panels and committees and of the governing board |
68 | of the not-for-profit corporation or its subsidiaries relating |
69 | to credentialing; |
70 | 8. Minutes of meetings of the governing board of the not- |
71 | for-profit corporation and its subsidiaries, except minutes of |
72 | meetings open to the public pursuant to subsection (9); |
73 | 9. Information that reveals plans for marketing services |
74 | that the corporation or its subsidiaries reasonably expect to be |
75 | provided by competitors; |
76 | 10. Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002, including: |
77 | a. Information relating to methods of manufacture or |
78 | production, potential trade secrets, potentially patentable |
79 | materials, or proprietary information received, generated, |
80 | ascertained, or discovered during the course of research |
81 | conducted by the not-for-profit corporation or its subsidiaries; |
82 | and |
83 | b. Reimbursement methodologies or rates; or |
84 | 11. The identity of donors or prospective donors of |
85 | property who wish to remain anonymous or any information |
86 | identifying such donors or prospective donors. The anonymity of |
87 | these donors or prospective donors must be maintained in the |
88 | auditor's report; or. |
89 | 12. Any information received by the not-for-profit |
90 | corporation or its subsidiaries from an agency in this or |
91 | another state or nation or the Federal Government which is |
92 | otherwise exempt or confidential pursuant to the laws of this or |
93 | another state or nation or pursuant to federal law. |
94 |
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95 | As used in this paragraph, the term "managed care" means systems |
96 | or techniques generally used by third-party payors or their |
97 | agents to affect access to and control payment for health care |
98 | services. Managed-care techniques most often include one or more |
99 | of the following: prior, concurrent, and retrospective review of |
100 | the medical necessity and appropriateness of services or site of |
101 | services; contracts with selected health care providers; |
102 | financial incentives or disincentives related to the use of |
103 | specific providers, services, or service sites; controlled |
104 | access to and coordination of services by a case manager; and |
105 | payor efforts to identify treatment alternatives and modify |
106 | benefit restrictions for high-cost patient care. |
107 | (c) Subparagraphs 10. and 12. of paragraph (b) are subject |
108 | to the Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance |
109 | with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2010, |
110 | unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the |
111 | Legislature. |
112 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
113 | necessity that information relating to methods of manufacture or |
114 | production, potential trade secrets, potentially patentable |
115 | materials, or proprietary information received, generated, |
116 | ascertained, or discovered during the course of research |
117 | conducted by the not-for-profit corporation organized solely for |
118 | the purpose of governing and operating the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer |
119 | Center and Research Institute or its subsidiaries be held |
120 | confidential and exempt from public disclosure because the |
121 | disclosure of such information would adversely impact the not- |
122 | for-profit corporation or its subsidiaries and would create an |
123 | unfair competitive advantage for persons receiving such |
124 | information. If such confidential and exempt information |
125 | regarding research in progress were released pursuant to a |
126 | public records request, others would be allowed to take the |
127 | benefit of the research without compensation or reimbursement to |
128 | the research center. The Legislature further finds that it is a |
129 | public necessity that information received by the not-for-profit |
130 | corporation or its subsidiaries from an agency in this or |
131 | another state or nation or the Federal Government which is |
132 | otherwise exempt or confidential from public disclosure pursuant |
133 | to the laws of this or another state or nation or pursuant to |
134 | federal law should remain exempt or confidential from public |
135 | records requirements because the highly confidential nature of |
136 | cancer-related research necessitates that the not-for-profit |
137 | corporation or its subsidiaries be authorized to maintain the |
138 | status of the exempt or confidential information it receives. |
139 | Without the exemptions provided for in this act, the disclosure |
140 | of confidential and exempt information would place the not-for- |
141 | profit corporation on an unequal footing in the marketplace as |
142 | compared with its private health care and medical research |
143 | competitors that are not required to disclose such confidential |
144 | and exempt information. The Legislature finds that the |
145 | disclosure of such confidential and exempt information would |
146 | adversely impact the not-for-profit corporation or its |
147 | subsidiaries in fulfilling their mission of cancer treatment, |
148 | research, and education. |
149 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |