| 1 | The Economic Development, Trade & Banking Committee recommends |
| 2 | the following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 5 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 6 |
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| 7 | A bill to be entitled |
| 8 | An act relating to public records; creating s. 288.96275, |
| 9 | F.S.; providing an exemption from public records |
| 10 | requirements for information held by the Florida |
| 11 | Opportunity Fund that is a trade secret; providing an |
| 12 | exemption from public records requirements for tax |
| 13 | identification numbers, analyses of gross receipts, amount |
| 14 | of taxes paid, amount of capital investment, amount of |
| 15 | employee wages paid, and detailed documentation to |
| 16 | substantiate such performance information included in |
| 17 | portfolio data pertaining to specific companies within the |
| 18 | portfolios of venture capital funds receiving investment |
| 19 | from the Florida Opportunity Fund; providing for review |
| 20 | and repeal; providing a statement of public necessity; |
| 21 | providing a contingent effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Section 288.96275, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 26 | to read: |
| 27 | 288.96275 Trade secret information; identification and |
| 28 | performance information; public records exemption.--A trade |
| 29 | secret, as defined in s. 688.002, held by the Florida |
| 30 | Opportunity Fund is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) |
| 31 | and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. Tax |
| 32 | identification numbers, analyses of gross receipts, the amount |
| 33 | of taxes paid, the amount of capital investment, the amount of |
| 34 | employee wages paid, and the detailed documentation to |
| 35 | substantiate such performance information included in portfolio |
| 36 | data pertaining to specific companies within the portfolios of |
| 37 | venture capital funds receiving investment from the Florida |
| 38 | Opportunity Fund are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) |
| 39 | and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This section is |
| 40 | subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance |
| 41 | with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2011, |
| 42 | unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the |
| 43 | Legislature. |
| 44 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 45 | necessity that a trade secret, as defined in the Uniform Trade |
| 46 | Secrets Act, held by the Florida Opportunity Fund be held |
| 47 | confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and |
| 48 | s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. In addition, the |
| 49 | Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that tax |
| 50 | identification numbers, analyses of gross receipts, amount of |
| 51 | taxes paid, amount of capital investment, amount of employee |
| 52 | wages paid, and detailed documentation to substantiate such |
| 53 | performance information included in portfolio data pertaining to |
| 54 | specific companies within the portfolios of venture capital |
| 55 | funds receiving investment from the Florida Opportunity Fund be |
| 56 | held confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida |
| 57 | Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. The |
| 58 | disclosure of information concerning businesses that is obtained |
| 59 | through the administration of the Florida Opportunity Fund under |
| 60 | ss. 288.9621-288.9628, Florida Statutes, the "Florida Capital |
| 61 | Formation Act," could injure a business in the marketplace by |
| 62 | providing its competitors with detailed insights into the |
| 63 | financial status and the strategic plans of the business, |
| 64 | thereby diminishing the advantage that the business maintains |
| 65 | over those that do not possess such information. Without this |
| 66 | exemption, private sector businesses, whose records generally |
| 67 | are not required to be open to the public, might refrain from |
| 68 | participating in the economic development program, and thus |
| 69 | would not be able to use the incentives available under the |
| 70 | program. If a business were unable to use the incentives, the |
| 71 | business might choose not to invest venture capital in the State |
| 72 | of Florida, depriving the state and the public of the potential |
| 73 | economic benefits associated with such investment activities in |
| 74 | this state. The harm to businesses in the marketplace and to the |
| 75 | effective administration of the economic development program |
| 76 | caused by the public disclosure of such information far |
| 77 | outweighs the public benefits derived from its release. |
| 78 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006, if |
| 79 | House Bill 1467 or similar legislation is adopted in the same |
| 80 | legislative session or an extension thereof and becomes law. |