Florida Senate - 2014                                    SB 1318
       
       
        
       By Senator Evers
       
       
       
       
       
       2-00760-14                                            20141318__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         287.05712, F.S., relating to public-private
    4         partnerships for the upgrade of public facilities and
    5         infrastructure; providing an exemption from public
    6         records requirements for unsolicited proposals held by
    7         a responsible public entity for a specified period;
    8         providing for future review and repeal of the
    9         exemption under the Open Government Sunset Review Act;
   10         providing a statement of public necessity; providing
   11         an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Present subsections (14) and (15) of section
   16  287.05712, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections
   17  (15) and (16), respectively, and a new subsection (14) is added
   18  to that section, to read:
   19         287.05712 Public-private partnerships.—
   20         (14) PUBLIC RECORDS EXEMPTION.—
   21         (a) An unsolicited proposal held by a responsible public
   22  entity under this section is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s.
   23  24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution until such time that the
   24  responsible public entity receives, opens, and ranks the
   25  proposals as set forth in paragraph (6)(c).
   26         (b) If a responsible public entity rejects all proposals
   27  submitted for a qualifying project as provided in paragraph
   28  (6)(c) and the entity concurrently provides notice of its intent
   29  to seek additional proposals for the qualifying project, the
   30  rejected unsolicited proposal remains exempt from s. 119.07(1)
   31  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution until such time
   32  that the responsible public entity solicits bids and provides
   33  notice of a decision or intended decision. An unsolicited
   34  proposal is not exempt for more than 12 months after the
   35  responsible public entity rejects all proposals submitted as
   36  provided in paragraph (6)(c).
   37         (c) This subsection is subject to the Open Government
   38  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand
   39  repealed on October 2, 2019, unless reviewed and saved from
   40  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   41         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   42  necessity that an unsolicited proposal held by a responsible
   43  public entity pursuant to s. 287.05712, Florida Statutes, be
   44  made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a),
   45  Article I of the State Constitution until such time that the
   46  responsible public entity receives, opens, and ranks the
   47  proposals as set forth in s. 287.05712(6)(c), Florida Statutes,
   48  or, if the responsible public entity rejects all proposals,
   49  until the responsible public entity solicits bids for the
   50  qualifying project and provides notice of its decision or
   51  intended decision. An unsolicited proposal is not exempt for
   52  more than 12 months after all proposals are rejected. The
   53  disclosure of information in an unsolicited proposal, such as
   54  financing mechanisms and terms, formulas, and designs, could
   55  give competitors a business advantage by knowing the proposal’s
   56  financial strategy and innovative plans, thereby injuring the
   57  entity that submitted the unsolicited proposal and placing the
   58  entity at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace. Without
   59  the exemption, entities might not submit unsolicited proposals
   60  that could provide timely and cost-effective solutions for
   61  qualifying projects that serve a public need. Therefore, the
   62  Legislature finds that the harm that may result from the release
   63  of such information outweighs any public benefit that may be
   64  derived from disclosure of the information.
   65         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.