House Bill hb1951
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Florida House of Representatives - 2002 HB 1951
By the Committee on Fiscal Policy & Resources and
Representative Wallace
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records and meetings;
3 amending s. 119.07, F.S.; exempting certain
4 procurement documents from public records
5 requirements; clarifying trade secret
6 protection; amending s. 287.0595, F.S.;
7 exempting certain procurement documents held by
8 the Department of Environmental Protection from
9 public records requirements; amending s.
10 286.011, F.S.; exempting certain procurement
11 selection team meetings from public meetings
12 requirements; specifying requirements for such
13 meetings; providing a statement of public
14 necessity for such exemptions; providing an
15 effective date.
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17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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19 Section 1. Paragraph (m) of subsection (3) of section
20 119.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
21 119.07 Inspection, examination, and duplication of
22 records; exemptions.--
23 (3)
24 (m) Sealed bids, or proposals, or replies received by
25 an agency pursuant to invitations to bid, or requests for
26 proposals, or invitations to negotiate are exempt from the
27 provisions of subsection (1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
28 Constitution until such time as the agency provides notice of
29 an a decision or intended decision pursuant to s.
30 120.57(3)(a), until the solicitation is withdrawn, or until
31 all bids, proposals, or replies are rejected or within 10 days
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1 after bid or proposal opening, whichever is earlier. A vendor
2 does not waive trade secret protection provided by s. 815.045
3 by including such confidential information in a bid, proposal,
4 or reply.
5 Section 2. Section 287.0595, Florida Statutes, is
6 amended to read:
7 287.0595 Pollution response action contracts;
8 department rules.--
9 (1) The Department of Environmental Protection shall
10 establish, through the promulgation of administrative rules as
11 provided in chapter 120:
12 (a) Procedures for determining the qualifications of
13 responsible potential vendors bidders prior to advertisement
14 for and receipt of bids, proposals, or replies for pollution
15 response action contracts, including procedures for the
16 rejection of unqualified vendors bidders. Response actions are
17 those activities described in s. 376.301(37).
18 (b) Procedures for awarding such contracts to the
19 lowest responsible and responsive vendor qualified bidder as
20 well as procedures to be followed in cases in which the
21 department declares a valid emergency to exist which would
22 necessitate the waiver of the rules governing the awarding of
23 such contracts to the lowest responsible and responsive vendor
24 qualified bidder.
25 (c) Procedures governing payment of contracts.
26 (d) Procedures to govern negotiations for contracts,
27 modifications to contract documents, and terms and conditions
28 of contracts.
29 (2) In adopting rules under this section, the
30 Department of Environmental Protection shall follow the
31 criteria applicable to the department's Department of
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1 Management Services contracting to the maximum extent
2 possible, consistent with the goals and purposes of ss.
3 376.307 and 376.3071.
4 (3) Any bid, proposal, or reply submitted under this
5 section shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions
6 of s. 119.07(1) until the Department of Environmental
7 Protection provides notice of an intended decision pursuant to
8 s. 120.57(3)(a), until the solicitation is withdrawn, or until
9 all bids, proposals, or replies are rejected, whichever is
10 earlier a selection is made and a contract signed or until
11 bids are no longer under active consideration.
12 (4) This section does not apply to contracts which
13 must be negotiated under s. 287.055.
14 Section 3. Subsection (9) is added to section 286.011,
15 Florida Statutes, to read:
16 286.011 Public meetings and records; public
17 inspection; criminal and civil penalties.--
18 (9) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1),
19 procurement selection teams for a state agency or authority or
20 an agency or authority of a county, municipality, or political
21 subdivision may meet in private to discuss, evaluate, or
22 negotiate bids, proposals, or replies received by the entity
23 from vendors in response to an invitation to bid, request for
24 proposals, or invitation to negotiate issued by the entity.
25 The persons chairing the meeting shall take minutes which
26 shall record the times of commencement and termination of the
27 meeting, all discussion topics and decisions of the
28 proceedings, the names of all persons present at any time, and
29 the names of all persons speaking. The minutes of the meeting
30 shall be filed with the entity's clerk within a reasonable
31 time after the meeting and shall be maintained in the
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1 procurement file. The minutes of evaluation meetings shall be
2 made part of the public record upon release of the vendor
3 rankings by the entity. The minutes of negotiation meetings
4 shall be made part of the public record subsequent to the
5 agency decision to award to only one vendor.
6 Section 4. The Legislature finds that the exemption
7 from public records requirements for bids, proposals, or
8 replies pursuant to invitations to bid, requests for
9 proposals, or invitations to negotiate is a public necessity.
10 These documents contain information relating to the business
11 practices of the vendors and premature disclosure would offer
12 their competitors an unfair advantage in the procurement
13 process. Unless these records contain trade secrets or other
14 information made exempt or confidential, they will be
15 available for public inspection later in the procurement
16 process. The Legislature also finds that the exemption from
17 public records requirements for bids, proposals, or replies
18 held by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to
19 s. 287.0595, Florida Statutes, is a public necessity. These
20 documents contain information relating to the business
21 practices of the vendors and premature disclosure would offer
22 their competitors an unfair advantage in the procurement
23 process. Unless these records contain trade secrets or other
24 information made exempt or confidential, they will be
25 available for public inspection later in the procurement
26 process. The Legislature further finds that the exemption
27 from public meetings requirements for procurement evaluation
28 and negotiation teams when discussing, evaluating, or
29 negotiating bids, proposals, or replies received from vendors
30 is a public necessity. The members of these teams can more
31 effectively discuss the contents of the documents and engage
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1 in more effective discussion with vendors in an effort to
2 procure the best value for spending tax dollars when meeting
3 in private. The minutes of the meeting will become part of
4 the public record later in the procurement process.
5 Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
6 law, if HB .... or similar legislation is adopted in the same
7 legislative session or an extension thereof and becomes law.
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10 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Revises public records exemptions for sealed bids and
12 proposals to include replies and invitations to
negotiate. Revises public records exemptions for
13 pollution response action contract documents held by the
Department of Environmental Protection to include
14 proposals and replies and to apply to responsible and
responsive vendors. Exempts meetings of procurement
15 selection teams for state, county, municipality, or
political subdivision agencies or authorities from public
16 meetings requirements and specifies requirements for such
meetings. See bill for details.
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