| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public records; amending s. 119.0713, |
| 3 | F.S.; expanding an exemption from public records |
| 4 | requirements to include certain records relating to |
| 5 | investigations in the custody of an inspector general of a |
| 6 | local government; providing for future repeal and |
| 7 | legislative review of such revisions to the exemption |
| 8 | under the Open Government Sunset Review Act; providing a |
| 9 | statement of public necessity; providing an effective |
| 10 | date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Section 119.0713, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 15 | to read: |
| 16 | 119.0713 Local government agency exemptions from |
| 17 | inspection or copying of public records.- |
| 18 | (1) All complaints and other records in the custody of any |
| 19 | unit of local government which relate to a complaint of |
| 20 | discrimination relating to race, color, religion, sex, national |
| 21 | origin, age, handicap, marital status, sale or rental of |
| 22 | housing, the provision of brokerage services, or the financing |
| 23 | of housing are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of |
| 24 | the State Constitution until a finding is made relating to |
| 25 | probable cause, the investigation of the complaint becomes |
| 26 | inactive, or the complaint or other record is made part of the |
| 27 | official record of any hearing or court proceeding. This |
| 28 | provision does shall not affect any function or activity of the |
| 29 | Florida Commission on Human Relations. Any state or federal |
| 30 | agency that is authorized to have access to such complaints or |
| 31 | records by any provision of law shall be granted such access in |
| 32 | the furtherance of such agency's statutory duties. This |
| 33 | subsection does shall not be construed to modify or repeal any |
| 34 | special or local act. |
| 35 | (2)(a) The audit report of an internal auditor and the |
| 36 | investigative report of the inspector general prepared for or on |
| 37 | behalf of a unit of local government becomes a public record |
| 38 | when the audit or investigation becomes final. As used in this |
| 39 | subsection, the term "unit of local government" means a county, |
| 40 | municipality, special district, local agency, authority, |
| 41 | consolidated city-county government, or any other local |
| 42 | governmental body or public body corporate or politic authorized |
| 43 | or created by general or special law. An audit or investigation |
| 44 | becomes final when the audit report or investigative report is |
| 45 | presented to the unit of local government. Audit Workpapers and |
| 46 | notes related to such audit and information received, produced, |
| 47 | or derived from an investigation report are confidential and |
| 48 | exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State |
| 49 | Constitution until the audit or investigation is complete |
| 50 | completed and the audit report becomes final or when the |
| 51 | investigation is no longer active. An investigation is active if |
| 52 | it is continuing with a reasonable, good faith anticipation of |
| 53 | resolution and with reasonable dispatch. |
| 54 | (b) Paragraph (a) is subject to the Open Government Sunset |
| 55 | Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand |
| 56 | repealed on October 2, 2016, unless reviewed and saved from |
| 57 | repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 58 | (3) Any data, record, or document used directly or solely |
| 59 | by a municipally owned utility to prepare and submit a bid |
| 60 | relative to the sale, distribution, or use of any service, |
| 61 | commodity, or tangible personal property to any customer or |
| 62 | prospective customer is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), |
| 63 | Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption commences when |
| 64 | a municipal utility identifies in writing a specific bid to |
| 65 | which it intends to respond. This exemption no longer applies |
| 66 | after when the contract for sale, distribution, or use of the |
| 67 | service, commodity, or tangible personal property is executed, a |
| 68 | decision is made not to execute such contract, or the project is |
| 69 | no longer under active consideration. The exemption in this |
| 70 | subsection includes the bid documents actually furnished in |
| 71 | response to the request for bids. However, the exemption for the |
| 72 | bid documents submitted no longer applies after the bids are |
| 73 | opened by the customer or prospective customer. |
| 74 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that a public necessity |
| 75 | exists to exempt from public records requirements audit reports |
| 76 | and investigative reports and related workpapers and notes and |
| 77 | information received, produced, or derived from an audit or |
| 78 | investigation by an auditor or inspector general of a local |
| 79 | government until the audit or investigation is completed and the |
| 80 | audit report becomes final or the investigation is no longer |
| 81 | active. The exemption is necessary because the release of such |
| 82 | information could potentially be defamatory to an individual or |
| 83 | entity under audit or investigation, causing unwarranted damage |
| 84 | to the good name or reputation of an individual or company, or |
| 85 | could significantly impair an administrative or criminal |
| 86 | investigation. |
| 87 | Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2011. |