HB 1469

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public records; creating s. 288.96275,
3	F.S.; providing an exemption from public records
4	requirements for information held by the Florida
5	Opportunity Fund and the Florida Opportunity Fund
6	Management Corporation that is a trade secret; providing
7	an exemption from public records requirements for tax
8	identification numbers, social security numbers, analyses
9	of gross receipts, amount of taxes paid, amount of capital
10	investment, amount of employee wages paid, and detailed
11	documentation to substantiate such performance information
12	included in portfolio data pertaining to specific
13	companies within the portfolios of venture capital funds
14	receiving investment from the Florida Opportunity Fund;
15	providing for review and repeal; providing a statement of
16	public necessity; providing a contingent effective date.
17
18	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20	Section 1.  Section 298.96275, Florida Statutes, is created
21	to read:
22	288.96275  Trade secret information; identification and
23	performance information; public records exemption.--Any
24	information held by the Florida Opportunity Fund and the Florida
25	Opportunity Fund Management Corporation that is a trade secret
26	as defined in s. 812.081 is confidential and exempt from the
27	provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
28	Constitution. Tax identification numbers, social security
29	numbers, analyses of gross receipts, the amount of taxes paid,
30	the amount of capital investment, the amount of employee wages
31	paid, and the detailed documentation to substantiate such
32	performance information included in portfolio data pertaining to
33	specific companies within the portfolios of venture capital
34	funds receiving investment from the Florida Opportunity Fund is
35	confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and
36	s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This section is
37	subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance
38	with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2011,
39	unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the
40	Legislature.
41	Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public
42	necessity that any information held by the Florida Opportunity
43	Fund and the Florida Opportunity Fund Management Corporation
44	that is a trade secret be held confidential and exempt from s.
45	119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
46	Constitution. It is the further finding of the Legislature that
47	it is a public necessity that tax identification numbers, social
48	security numbers, analyses of gross receipts, amount of taxes
49	paid, amount of capital investment, amount of employee wages
50	paid, and detailed documentation to substantiate such
51	performance information included in portfolio data pertaining to
52	specific companies within the portfolios of venture capital
53	funds receiving investment from the Florida Opportunity Fund be
54	held confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida
55	Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. The
56	disclosure of information concerning businesses that is obtained
57	through the administration of the Florida Capital Investment
58	Trust and the Florida Opportunity Fund under ss. 288.9621-
59	288.9628, Florida Statutes, the "Florida Capital Formation Act,"
60	could injure a business in the marketplace by providing its
61	competitors with detailed insights into the financial status and
62	the strategic plans of the business, thereby diminishing the
63	advantage that the business maintains over those that do not
64	possess such information. Some of the documentation supplied to
65	support a business's incentive claims could reveal private
66	information, such as employee names and social security numbers,
67	concerning that business's employees. Without this exemption,
68	private sector businesses, whose records generally are not
69	required to be open to the public, might refrain from
70	participating in the economic development program and thus would
71	not be able to use the incentives available under the program.
72	If a business were unable to use the incentives, the business
73	might choose not to invest venture capital in the State of
74	Florida, depriving the state and the public of the potential
75	economic benefits associated with such business activities in
76	this state. The harm to businesses in the marketplace and to the
77	effective administration of the economic development program
78	caused by the public disclosure of such information far
79	outweighs the public benefits derived from its release.
80	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006, if
81	House Bill 1467 or similar legislation is adopted in the same
82	legislative session or an extension thereof and becomes law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.