| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public records; creating s. 332.16, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing definitions; providing an exemption from |
| 4 | public-records requirements for proprietary confidential |
| 5 | business information submitted to or held by a public |
| 6 | airport and for any proposal or counterproposal exchanged |
| 7 | between the governing body of a public airport and a |
| 8 | nongovernmental entity relating to the sale, use, |
| 9 | development, or lease of airport land or airport |
| 10 | facilities; providing for exceptions to the exemptions; |
| 11 | providing for future legislative review and repeal of the |
| 12 | exemptions under the Open Government Sunset Review Act; |
| 13 | providing a finding of public necessity; providing an |
| 14 | 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. Section 332.16, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 19 | read: |
| 20 | 332.16 Exemption from public disclosure.- |
| 21 | (1) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term: |
| 22 | (a) "Airport facilities" means airports, buildings, |
| 23 | structures, terminal buildings, parking garages and lots, |
| 24 | hangars, land, warehouses, shops, hotels, other aviation |
| 25 | facilities of any kind or nature, or any other facility of any |
| 26 | kind or nature related to or connected with a public airport and |
| 27 | other aviation facility that a public airport is authorized by |
| 28 | law to construct, acquire, own, lease, or operate, together with |
| 29 | all fixtures, equipment, and property, real or personal, |
| 30 | tangible or intangible, necessary, appurtenant, or incidental |
| 31 | thereto. |
| 32 | (b) "Governing body" means the board or body in which the |
| 33 | general legislative powers of a public airport is vested. |
| 34 | (c) "Proprietor" means a self-employed individual, |
| 35 | proprietorship, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, |
| 36 | firm, enterprise, franchise, association, trust, or business |
| 37 | entity, whether fictitiously named or not, authorized to do or |
| 38 | doing business in this state, including its respective |
| 39 | authorized officer, employee, agent, or successor in interest, |
| 40 | which controls or owns the proprietary confidential business |
| 41 | information provided to a public airport. |
| 42 | (d) "Proprietary confidential business information" means |
| 43 | information that has been designated as confidential by the |
| 44 | proprietor and includes: |
| 45 | 1. Business plans; |
| 46 | 2. Internal auditing controls and reports of internal |
| 47 | auditors; |
| 48 | 3. Reports of external auditors for privately held |
| 49 | companies; |
| 50 | 4. Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002; |
| 51 | 5. Client and customer lists; |
| 52 | 6. Potentially patentable material; |
| 53 | 7. Business transactions; or |
| 54 | 8. Financial information of the proprietor or projections |
| 55 | of financial results for the proprietor or the airport |
| 56 | facilities project for which the information is provided. |
| 57 | (e) "Public airport" has the same meaning as provided in |
| 58 | s. 330.27 and includes areas defined in s. 332.01(3). |
| 59 | (2) PROPRIETARY CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION.- |
| 60 | Proprietary confidential business information submitted to or |
| 61 | held by a public airport is confidential and exempt from s. |
| 62 | 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, until |
| 63 | such information is no longer considered to be proprietary |
| 64 | confidential business information by the proprietor. |
| 65 | (3) SALE, USE, DEVELOPMENT, OR LEASE OF AIRPORT LAND OR |
| 66 | AIRPORT FACILITIES.- |
| 67 | (a) A proposal or counterproposal exchanged between a |
| 68 | public airport and a nongovernmental entity relating to the |
| 69 | sale, use, development, or lease of airport land or airport |
| 70 | facilities is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. |
| 71 | 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. |
| 72 | (b) Ten days after any such proposal or counterproposal is |
| 73 | approved by the governing body of a public airport, the proposal |
| 74 | or counterproposal shall cease to be exempt. If no proposal or |
| 75 | counterproposal is submitted to the governing body of the public |
| 76 | airport for approval, such proposal or counterproposal shall |
| 77 | cease to be exempt 90 days after the cessation of negotiations |
| 78 | between the public airport and the nongovernmental entity. |
| 79 | (4) LEGISLATIVE REVIEW.-This section is subject to the |
| 80 | Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, |
| 81 | and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2016, unless reviewed and |
| 82 | saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 83 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 84 | necessity that proprietary confidential business information, |
| 85 | including business plans, internal auditing controls and reports |
| 86 | of internal auditors, reports of external auditors for privately |
| 87 | held companies, trade secrets, client and customer lists, |
| 88 | potentially patentable material, business transactions, and |
| 89 | financial information of the proprietor or projections of |
| 90 | financial results for the proprietor or the airport facilities |
| 91 | project for which the information is provided, be made |
| 92 | confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and |
| 93 | s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. Proprietary |
| 94 | confidential business information derives independent economic |
| 95 | value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, |
| 96 | and not being readily ascertainable by, other persons who could |
| 97 | obtain economic value from its disclosure or use. An airport, in |
| 98 | performing its lawful duties and responsibilities, may need to |
| 99 | obtain from a proprietor confidential business information. |
| 100 | Without an exemption from public-records requirements, |
| 101 | proprietary confidential business information that is received |
| 102 | or held by an airport becomes a public record and must be |
| 103 | divulged upon request. Divulging the proprietary confidential |
| 104 | business information would destroy the value of that property to |
| 105 | the proprietor, causing a financial loss not only to the |
| 106 | proprietor, but also to the airport and to the state and local |
| 107 | governments due to a loss of tax revenue and employment |
| 108 | opportunities for residents. Release of that information would |
| 109 | give business competitors an unfair advantage and would injure |
| 110 | the affected entity in the marketplace. Thus, the Legislature |
| 111 | finds that it is a public necessity that proprietary |
| 112 | confidential business information that is received or held by a |
| 113 | public airport be made confidential and exempt from public- |
| 114 | records requirements. |
| 115 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |