| 1 | Representative(s) Grant offered the following: |
| 2 |
|
| 3 | Amendment |
| 4 | Remove lines 162 through 166 and insert: |
| 5 |
|
| 6 | information and traditionally is private. The Legislature finds |
| 7 | that the internal audit process, and therefore accountability to |
| 8 | the public, will be damaged if records relating to an incomplete |
| 9 | internal audit or investigation are made public. The Legislature |
| 10 | finds that although the association is an agency within the |
| 11 | meaning of the public records and open meetings laws, the |
| 12 | association essentially operates as a private business. Its core |
| 13 | function is to engage in the business of providing workers' |
| 14 | compensation insurance coverage, as distinguished from an agency |
| 15 | whose core functions are governmental in nature. The association |
| 16 | does not exercise the authority or perform the functions of a |
| 17 | department or political subdivision, and lacks the power to |
| 18 | enforce laws. The Legislature further finds that the general |
| 19 | exemptions in chapters 119 and 286 relating to records created |
| 20 | by attorneys and communications with attorneys are designed to |
| 21 | address the needs of agencies providing governmental functions |
| 22 | and are generally limited to matters relating to litigation and |
| 23 | adversarial administrative matters. As distinguished from |
| 24 | agencies providing governmental functions, the association |
| 25 | receives the advice of counsel on the entire range of matters on |
| 26 | which a similarly situated private business would receive advice |
| 27 | of counsel, including matters that do not involve litigation or |
| 28 | adversarial administrative matters. These include, but are not |
| 29 | limited to, legal advice relating to business negotiations with |
| 30 | private entities which provide the association with reinsurance, |
| 31 | policy issuance, policy administration, underwriting, and |
| 32 | payroll audit services, with insurance agents who may act as |
| 33 | producers of insurance business to the association, and with |
| 34 | other entities which provide services to private market |
| 35 | insurers. Accordingly, the Legislature finds that the |
| 36 | association would not be able to carry out its core business |
| 37 | functions effectively without the free and confidential exchange |
| 38 | of attorneys' mental impressions, conclusions, litigation |
| 39 | strategies, and legal theories, both as to business matters and |
| 40 | as to litigation and adversarial administrative matters. |