Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 7004
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Transportation
       
       
       
       
       
       596-01354-21                                          20217004__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to a review under the Open Government
    3         Sunset Review Act; amending s. 339.55, F.S.; expanding
    4         an existing exemption from public records requirements
    5         for financial information of a private entity
    6         applicant which the Department of Transportation
    7         requires as part of a certain application process to
    8         include the financial information of the private
    9         entity applicant’s guarantor; including a private
   10         entity applicant’s guarantor in an exception to the
   11         exemption; amending the definition of the term
   12         “financial information” to include the financial
   13         information of the private entity applicant’s
   14         guarantor; providing for future legislative review and
   15         repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of
   16         public necessity; providing an effective date.
   17          
   18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   19  
   20         Section 1. Subsection (10) of section 339.55, Florida
   21  Statutes, is amended to read:
   22         339.55 State-funded infrastructure bank.—
   23         (10)(a) Financial information of a private entity
   24  applicant, or of an applicant’s guarantor, which the department
   25  requires as part of the application process for loans or credit
   26  enhancements from the state-funded infrastructure bank is exempt
   27  from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
   28  Constitution. This exemption does not apply to records of an
   29  applicant, or of an applicant’s guarantor, who is in default of
   30  a loan issued under this section. As used in this subsection,
   31  the term “financial information” means any business plan, pro
   32  forma statement, account balance, operating income or revenue,
   33  asset value, or debt of the applicant or the applicant’s
   34  guarantor.
   35         (b) This subsection is subject to the Open Government
   36  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand
   37  repealed on October 2, 2026 2021, unless reviewed and saved from
   38  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   39         Section 2. (1) The Legislature finds that it is a public
   40  necessity that financial information of the guarantor of a
   41  private entity applicant which the Department of Transportation
   42  requires as part of the application process for a loan or credit
   43  enhancement from the state-funded infrastructure bank be
   44  protected from disclosure. The disclosure of such information
   45  could harm a guarantor in the marketplace by giving the
   46  guarantor’s competitors insights into its financial status and
   47  business plan, thereby putting the guarantor at a competitive
   48  disadvantage. Additionally, the disclosure of sensitive
   49  financial information regarding a guarantor could create the
   50  opportunity for theft, fraud, and other illegal activity,
   51  thereby jeopardizing the financial security of the guarantor and
   52  placing it at risk for substantial financial harm.
   53         (2) Without an exemption from public records requirements
   54  under s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of
   55  the State Constitution, some guarantors might be unwilling to
   56  provide guarantees for private entity applicants who submit an
   57  application to the state-funded infrastructure bank. This
   58  unwillingness to provide guarantees for private entity
   59  applicants could limit the ability of private entity applicants
   60  to submit applications for assistance from the state-funded
   61  infrastructure bank, which could, in turn, limit opportunities
   62  the department might otherwise have for providing loans or
   63  credit enhancements to private entities who could propose cost
   64  effective or strategic solutions for constructing and improving
   65  transportation facilities. The Legislature finds that the
   66  benefit to the public of increased opportunities for the
   67  provision of such facilities facilitated by private entity
   68  applicant guarantors outweighs any public benefit that may be
   69  derived from the disclosure of the financial information of a
   70  private entity applicant’s guarantor. For this reason, the
   71  Legislature declares that financial information that the
   72  department requires of a guarantor as part of a private entity’s
   73  application process for loans or credit enhancements from the
   74  state-funded infrastructure bank is exempt from s. 119.07(1),
   75  Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State
   76  Constitution.
   77         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.