Florida Senate - 2023 SB 234
By Senator Avila
39-00248D-23 2023234__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to statutorily required reports;
3 amending s. 286.001, F.S.; defining the term “state
4 entity”; revising the procedure for filing statutorily
5 required or authorized reports; deleting provisions
6 requiring that abstracts be filed for statutorily
7 required or authorized reports; requiring state
8 entities to redact exempt or confidential and exempt
9 information from reports before filing; providing that
10 the Division of Library and Information Services of
11 the Department of State or the department, or any
12 contractor thereof, is not responsible for redaction
13 and may not be held liable for the failure of a state
14 entity to redact exempt or confidential and exempt
15 information from its reports; requiring state entities
16 to submit a specified accompanying statement
17 identifying the applicable provisions for such
18 redactions; requiring the state entity to retain or
19 archive reports in accordance with certain schedules;
20 requiring the division to compile and annually update
21 a list of all statutorily required reports and their
22 submission dates; requiring the division to publish
23 such list on the department’s website; requiring the
24 division to compile, beginning on a specified date,
25 bibliographic information on received reports in a
26 specified database; requiring the division to update
27 the bibliographic information on a quarterly basis;
28 requiring that the bibliographic information be
29 distributed quarterly to the Governor and the
30 Legislature; requiring the division to implement and
31 maintain a database for such reports by a specified
32 date; specifying requirements for the database;
33 deleting a provision requiring state entities to
34 create, store, manage, update, retrieve, and
35 disseminate statutorily required or authorized reports
36 in an electronic format; deleting a provision related
37 to construction; providing an appropriation; providing
38 an effective date.
39
40 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
41
42 Section 1. Section 286.001, Florida Statutes, is amended to
43 read:
44 286.001 Reports statutorily required; filing, maintenance,
45 retrieval, and provision of copies.—
46 (1) For purposes of this section, the term “state entity”
47 means any agency or officer of the executive, legislative, or
48 judicial branch of state government, the State Board of
49 Education, the Board of Governors of the State University
50 System, the Public Service Commission, or a water management
51 district operating under the authority of chapter 373.
52 (2) A state entity Unless otherwise specifically provided
53 by law, any agency or officer of the executive, legislative, or
54 judicial branches of state government, the State Board of
55 Education, the Board of Governors of the State University
56 System, or the Public Service Commission required or authorized
57 by law to make a regular or periodic report reports regularly or
58 periodically shall fulfill the requirement to submit the report
59 by electronically filing such requirement by filing an abstract
60 of the report with the statutorily or administratively
61 designated recipients of the report and an abstract and one copy
62 of the report with the Division of Library and Information
63 Services of the Department of State, unless the head of the
64 reporting entity makes a determination that the additional cost
65 of providing the entire report to the statutorily or
66 administratively designated recipients is justified. A one-page
67 summary justifying the determination shall be submitted to the
68 chairs of the governmental operations committees of both houses
69 of the Legislature. The abstract of the contents of such report
70 shall be no more than one-half page in length. The actual report
71 must shall be retained by the reporting agency or officer, and
72 copies of the report must shall be provided to interested
73 parties and the statutorily or administratively designated
74 recipients of the report upon request.
75 (a) A state entity that submits a report pursuant to this
76 section is solely responsible for redacting any portion of the
77 report which is not subject to public inspection. The division
78 or the department, or any contractor thereof, is not responsible
79 for and may not be held liable for the failure of a state entity
80 to redact exempt or confidential and exempt information from its
81 reports.
82 (b) If a report is redacted, the state entity submitting
83 the report must provide to the division an accompanying
84 statement that identifies the specific statutory basis for the
85 redaction.
86 (3) The state entity shall retain or archive each report in
87 accordance with the applicable records retention schedule.
88 (4)(2) With respect to reports statutorily required of
89 state entities agencies or officers within the executive,
90 legislative, or judicial branches of state government, the State
91 Board of Education, the Board of Governors of the State
92 University System, or the Public Service Commission, it is the
93 duty of the division, in addition to its duties under s. 257.05,
94 to:
95 (a) By November 1, 2023, with assistance from the state
96 entities, compile a list of statutorily required reports and
97 their submission dates. The division shall update this list by
98 each November 1 thereafter. The division shall publish the list
99 on the Department of State’s publicly accessible website
100 Regularly compile and update bibliographic information on such
101 reports for distribution as provided in paragraph (b). Such
102 bibliographic information may be included in the bibliographies
103 prepared by the division pursuant to s. 257.05(3).
104 (b) Beginning January 1, 2024, compile bibliographic
105 information on each statutorily required report it receives for
106 publication in the database implemented and maintained under
107 paragraph (d). The division shall update the bibliographic
108 information on a quarterly basis. The bibliographic information
109 may be included in the bibliographies prepared by the division
110 pursuant to s. 257.05(3).
111 (c) Beginning April 15, 2024, and each calendar quarter
112 thereafter, distribute the most recently completed quarter’s
113 bibliography created pursuant to paragraph (b) to the Governor,
114 the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
115 Representatives.
116 (d) By January 1, 2024, implement and maintain a publicly
117 available Internet-based database of the statutorily required
118 reports and bibliographic information that it receives or
119 creates pursuant to this section. The database must be
120 searchable, at a minimum, by the report’s designated recipient,
121 the state entity that submitted the report, the date of the
122 report’s submission, the law requiring the state entity to
123 submit the report, the title or topic of the report, and
124 identifiable keywords Provide for at least quarterly
125 distribution of bibliographic information on reports to:
126 1. Agencies and officers within the executive, legislative,
127 and judicial branches of state government, the State Board of
128 Education, the Board of Governors of the State University
129 System, and the Public Service Commission, free of charge; and
130 2. Other interested parties upon request properly made and
131 upon payment of the actual cost of duplication pursuant to s.
132 119.07(1).
133 (3) As soon as practicable, the administrative head of each
134 executive, legislative, or judicial agency and each agency of
135 the State Board of Education, the Board of Governors of the
136 State University System, and the Public Service Commission
137 required by law to make reports periodically shall ensure that
138 those reports are created, stored, managed, updated, retrieved,
139 and disseminated through electronic means.
140 (4) This section may not be construed to waive or modify
141 the requirement in s. 257.05(2) pertaining to the provision of
142 copies of state publications to the division.
143 Section 2. For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the sum of $1
144 million in nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund is
145 appropriated to the Department of State for the purpose of
146 implementing and maintaining the database of statutorily
147 required reports and bibliographic information as required by
148 this act.
149 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.