Florida Senate - 2020                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 774
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì458574JÎ458574                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/17/2020           .                                
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       The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       (Diaz) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 1004.098, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7  	1004.098 Applicants for president of a state university or
    8  Florida College System institution; public records exemption;
    9  public meetings exemption.
   10  	(1)(a) Any personal identifying information of an applicant
   11  for president of a state university or Florida College System
   12  institution is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s.
   13  24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   14  	(b) The personal identifying information of an applicant
   15  included in a final group of applicants for president of a state
   16  university or Florida College System institution is no longer
   17  confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I
   18  of the State Constitution at least 21 days before the date of a
   19  meeting at which an interview of an applicant will be conducted
   20  or at which final action or a vote is to be taken on the offer
   21  of the employment of an applicant as president.
   22         (2)(a) Any portion of a meeting held for the purpose of
   23  identifying or vetting applicants for president of a state
   24  university or Florida College System institution, including any
   25  portion of a meeting that would disclose personal identifying
   26  information of such applicants, is exempt from s. 286.011 and s.
   27  24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   28  	(b) A complete recording must be made of any portion of a
   29  meeting that is closed pursuant to paragraph (a), and any closed
   30  portion of such meeting may not be held off the record. The
   31  recording of the closed portion of a meeting is exempt from s.
   32  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   33  	(c) The public meeting exemption provided in paragraph (a)
   34  does not apply to:
   35  	1. Any portion of a meeting held for the purpose of
   36  establishing qualifications for the position or establishing any
   37  compensation framework to be offered to an applicant for
   38  president of a state university or Florida College System
   39  institution.
   40  	2. Any meeting held after a final group of applicants for
   41  president of a state university or Florida College System
   42  institution has been established at which an interview of an
   43  applicant is conducted or at which final action or a vote is to
   44  be taken on the offer of the employment of an applicant as
   45  president.
   46  	(3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   47  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   48  on October 2, 2025, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   49  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   50         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   51  necessity that any personal identifying information of an
   52  applicant for president of a state university or Florida College
   53  System institution be made confidential and exempt from s.
   54  119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
   55  Constitution. The Legislature also finds that it is a public
   56  necessity that any portion of a meeting held for the purpose of
   57  identifying or vetting applicants for president of a state
   58  university or Florida College System institution, including any
   59  portion of a meeting that would disclose personal identifying
   60  information of such applicants, be made exempt from s. 286.011,
   61  Florida Statutes, and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State
   62  Constitution, and that the recording of such meeting be made
   63  exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I
   64  of the State Constitution. The task of filling the position of
   65  president of a state university or Florida College System
   66  institution is often conducted by an executive search committee.
   67  Many, if not most, applicants for such a position are currently
   68  employed at another job at the time they apply and could
   69  jeopardize their current positions if it were to become known
   70  that they were seeking employment elsewhere. These exemptions
   71  from public records and public meeting requirements are needed
   72  to ensure that such a search committee can avail itself of the
   73  most experienced and desirable pool of qualified applicants from
   74  which to fill the position of president of a state university or
   75  Florida College System institution. If potential applicants fear
   76  the possibility of losing their current jobs as a consequence of
   77  attempting to progress along their chosen career path or simply
   78  seeking different and more rewarding employment, failure to have
   79  these safeguards in place could have a chilling effect on the
   80  number and quality of applicants available to fill the position
   81  of president of a state university or Florida College System
   82  institution.
   83         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
   84  
   85  
   86  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   87  And the title is amended as follows:
   88         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   89  and insert:
   90   An act relating to public records and public meetings; creating 
   91    s. 1004.098, F.S.; providing an exemption from public records  
   92     requirements for any personal identifying information of an   
   93  applicant for president of a state university or Florida College 
   94      System institution; specifying that personal identifying     
   95       information of applicants who comprise a final group of     
   96      applicants is no longer confidential and exempt at a time    
   97  certain; providing an exemption from public meeting requirements 
   98  for any portion of a meeting held for the purpose of identifying 
   99    or vetting applicants for president of a state university or   
  100   Florida College System institution, including any portion of a  
  101     meeting that would disclose identifying information of such   
  102  applicants; requiring a recording to be made of any portion of a 
  103  closed meeting and providing that no portion of a closed meeting 
  104   may be held off the record; providing that the recording of any 
  105      closed portion of a meeting is exempt from public record     
  106    requirements; specifying that certain meetings are not exempt  
  107       from public meeting requirements; providing for future      
  108    legislative review and repeal of the exemptions; providing a   
  109     statement of public necessity; providing an effective date