Florida Senate - 2014 (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL) SPB 7054
FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Gaming
584-01589-14 20147054__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; creating s.
3 551.427, F.S.; defining the term “proprietary
4 confidential business information”; providing an
5 exemption from public records requirements for such
6 information in license or license renewal applications
7 submitted to the Gaming Control Board or the
8 Department of Gaming Control by a gaming license
9 applicant or licensee; providing for future
10 legislative review and repeal of the exemption;
11 providing a statement of public necessity; providing a
12 contingent effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Section 551.427, Florida Statutes, is created to
17 read:
18 551.427 Public records exemption.—
19 (1) As used in this section, the term “proprietary
20 confidential business information” means information that is
21 submitted to the board or department pursuant to ss. 551.41,
22 551.42, and 551.422 in an application for license or license
23 renewal, that is treated by the applicant or licensee as private
24 information because the disclosure of the information would
25 cause harm to the applicant or licensee or the applicant’s or
26 licensee’s business operations, and that has not been disclosed
27 unless disclosed pursuant to a statutory provision, an order of
28 a court or administrative body, or a private agreement that
29 provides that the information will not be released to the
30 public. The term includes, but is not limited to:
31 (a) Trade secrets.
32 (b) Business plans.
33 (c) Internal auditing controls and reports of internal
34 auditors.
35 (d) Security measures, systems, or procedures.
36 (e) Information relating to competitive interests, the
37 disclosure of which would impair the competitive business of the
38 person providing the information.
39 (2) Proprietary confidential business information submitted
40 in an application for license or license renewal pursuant to s.
41 551.41, s. 551.42, or s. 551.422 is confidential and exempt from
42 s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution if
43 the person submitting such information to the board or
44 department:
45 (a) Requests that the information be kept confidential and
46 exempt;
47 (b) Informs the board or department of the basis for the
48 claim of the proprietary confidential business information; and
49 (c) Clearly marks each page of a document or specific
50 portion of a document containing information claimed to be
51 proprietary confidential business information as “proprietary
52 confidential business information.”
53 (3) If the department receives a public records request for
54 a document or portion of a document that is marked “proprietary
55 confidential business information” under this section, the
56 department must promptly notify the applicant or licensee who
57 submitted the information and identified it as proprietary
58 confidential business information. The notice must inform the
59 applicant or licensee that the applicant or licensee has 30 days
60 following receipt of such notice to file an action in circuit
61 court seeking a determination whether the document or portion of
62 the document in question contains proprietary confidential
63 business information and an order barring public disclosure of
64 the document or portion of the document. If the applicant or
65 licensee files an action within 30 days after receipt of notice
66 of the public records request, the department may not release
67 the document or portion of the document pending the outcome of
68 the legal action. The failure to file an action within 30 days
69 constitutes a waiver of any claim of confidentiality, and the
70 department shall release the document or portion of the document
71 as requested.
72 (4) Information made confidential and exempt under this
73 subsection may be disclosed:
74 (a) To an officer or employee of another governmental
75 entity in the performance of his or her duties or
76 responsibilities; or
77 (b) If relevant, in a proceeding under this section. Those
78 persons involved in a proceeding under this section, including,
79 but not limited to, an administrative law judge, a hearing
80 officer, or a judge or justice, must maintain the
81 confidentiality of any proprietary confidential business
82 information revealed at such proceeding.
83 (5) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
84 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
85 on October 2, 2019, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
86 through reenactment by the Legislature.
87 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
88 necessity that proprietary confidential business information be
89 made confidential and exempt from public records requirements.
90 The disclosure of proprietary confidential business information
91 could harm an applicant for license or license renewal in the
92 marketplace by giving competitors insights into the applicant or
93 licensee’s financial status and business plan, thereby putting
94 the applicant or licensee at a competitive disadvantage. The
95 Legislature finds that requiring the applicant or licensee to
96 identify the information the applicant or licensee considers
97 proprietary confidential business information under the
98 statutory definition is appropriate as the applicant or licensee
99 is the owner of such information. Identification of proprietary
100 confidential business information by the applicant or licensee
101 puts the department on notice without requiring the department
102 to have to attempt to determine what the applicant or licensee
103 might consider confidential. The Legislature also finds that the
104 harm to an applicant for license or license renewal in
105 disclosing proprietary confidential business information
106 significantly outweighs any public benefit derived from
107 disclosure of the information. For these reasons, the
108 Legislature declares that any proprietary confidential business
109 information identified by an applicant for license or license
110 renewal in the application submitted to the board or department
111 pursuant to ss. 551.41, 551.42, and 551.422, Florida Statutes,
112 is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes,
113 and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution.
114 Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that
115 SB __ or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
116 is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
117 thereof and becomes a law.