Senate Bill sb2656

    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2656

    By Senator Atwater





    25-1512-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; creating s.

  3         288.9961, F.S.; creating an exemption from

  4         public-records requirements for trade secrets

  5         held by the Florida Opportunity Fund and the

  6         Florida Opportunity Fund Management Corporation

  7         and for certain other information concerning

  8         portfolios of venture capital funds receiving

  9         investments from the Florida Opportunity Fund;

10         providing for future legislative review and

11         repeal under the Open Government Sunset Review

12         Act; providing a finding of public necessity;

13         providing a contingent effective date.

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

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17         Section 1.  Section 288.9961, Florida Statutes, is

18  created to read:

19         288.9961  Confidentiality of records.--Any information

20  held by the Florida Opportunity Fund and the Florida

21  Opportunity Fund Management Corporation which is a trade

22  secret, as defined in s. 812.081, is confidential and exempt

23  from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of

24  the State Constitution. Tax identification numbers, social

25  security numbers, analyses of gross receipts, the amount of

26  taxes paid, the amount of capital investment, the amount of

27  employee wages paid, and the detailed documentation to

28  substantiate such performance information included in

29  portfolio data on specific companies within the portfolios of

30  venture capital funds receiving investments from the Florida

31  Opportunity Fund are confidential and exempt from the

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2656
    25-1512-06




 1  provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State

 2  Constitution. This section is subject to the Open Government

 3  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall

 4  stand repealed on October 2, 2011, unless reviewed and saved

 5  from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

 6         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public

 7  necessity to provide confidentiality for certain information

 8  concerning businesses which is obtained through the

 9  administration of the Florida Capital Investment Trust and the

10  Florida Opportunity Fund under s. 288.996, Florida Statutes.

11  The disclosure of information such as trade secrets, tax

12  identification numbers, analyses of gross receipts, the amount

13  of taxes paid, the amount of capital investment, the amount of

14  employee wages paid, and the detailed documentation to

15  substantiate such performance information could injure a

16  business in the marketplace by providing its competitors with

17  detailed insights into the financial status and the strategic

18  plans of the business, thereby diminishing the advantage that

19  the business maintains over those that do not possess such

20  information. Some of the documentation supplied to support a

21  business's incentive claims could reveal private information,

22  such as employee names and social security numbers, concerning

23  that business's employees. Without this exemption,

24  private-sector businesses, the records of which are not

25  generally required to be open to the public, might refrain

26  from participating in the economic development program and

27  thus would not be able to use the incentives available under

28  the program. If a business were unable to use the incentives,

29  the business might choose not to invest venture capital in

30  this state, thereby depriving the state and the public of the

31  potential economic benefits associated with such business

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2656
    25-1512-06




 1  activities in this state. The harm to businesses in the

 2  marketplace and to the effective administration of the

 3  economic development program caused by the public disclosure

 4  of such information far outweighs the public benefits derived

 5  from its release.

 6         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006, if

 7  Senate Bill ___ or similar legislation creating the Florida

 8  Capital Formation Act takes effect, if such legislation is

 9  adopted in the same legislative session, or an extension

10  thereof, and becomes law.

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13                          SENATE SUMMARY

14    Provides an exemption from public-records requirements
      for trade secrets held by the Florida Opportunity Fund
15    and the Florida Opportunity Fund Management Corporation
      and certain investment information of the Florida
16    Opportunity Fund. Provides for future legislative review
      and repeal under the Open Government Sunset Review Act.
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