Florida Senate - 2016 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 196
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
01/11/2016 .
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The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
(Latvala) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Subsection (10) is added to section 339.55,
6 Florida Statutes, to read:
7 339.55 State-funded infrastructure bank.—
8 (10)(a) Financial information of a private entity applicant
9 which the department requires as part of the application process
10 for loans or credit enhancements from the state-funded
11 infrastructure bank is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a),
12 Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption does not apply
13 to records of an applicant who is in default of a loan issued
14 under this section. As used in this subsection, the term
15 “financial information” means any business plan, pro forma
16 statement, account balance, operating income or revenue, asset
17 value, or debt of the applicant.
18 (b) This subsection is subject to the Open Government
19 Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand
20 repealed on October 2, 2021, unless reviewed and saved from
21 repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
22 Section 2. (1) The Legislature finds that it is a public
23 necessity that financial information of a private entity that
24 the Department of Transportation requires as part of the
25 application process for a loan or credit enhancement from the
26 state-funded infrastructure bank be protected from disclosure.
27 Financial information means any business plan, pro forma
28 statement, account balance, operating income or revenue, asset
29 value, or debt of the applicant.
30 (2) The disclosure of such information could harm a private
31 entity in the marketplace by giving the private entity’s
32 competitors insights into its financial status and business
33 plan, thereby putting the private entity at a competitive
34 disadvantage. Additionally, the disclosure of sensitive
35 financial information regarding a private entity could create
36 the opportunity for theft, fraud, and other illegal activity,
37 thereby jeopardizing the financial security of the private
38 entity and placing it at risk for substantial financial harm. If
39 an individual is required to provide his or her personal
40 financial information to the department as part of the
41 application process for his or her business, the individual
42 could be subject to identity theft and other criminal activity.
43 Without an exemption from public records requirements under s.
44 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the
45 State Constitution, some private entities might be unwilling to
46 submit an application to the state-funded infrastructure bank.
47 This unwillingness to submit applications could, in turn, limit
48 opportunities the department might otherwise have for providing
49 loans or credit enhancements to private entities who could
50 propose cost-effective or strategic solutions for constructing
51 and improving transportation facilities. The Legislature finds
52 that the benefit to the public of more private entities applying
53 for loans or credit enhancements outweighs any public benefit
54 that may be derived from the disclosure of the financial
55 information of a private entity. For this reason, the
56 Legislature declares that financial information that the
57 department requires as part of an application process for loans
58 or credit enhancements from the state-funded infrastructure bank
59 is exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a),
60 Article I of the State Constitution.
61 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.
62
63 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
64 And the title is amended as follows:
65 Delete everything before the enacting clause
66 and insert:
67 A bill to be entitled
68 An act relating to public records; amending s. 339.55,
69 F.S.; providing an exemption from public records
70 requirements for financial information of a private
71 entity applicant which the Department of
72 Transportation requires as part of an application
73 process for loans or credit enhancements from the
74 state-funded infrastructure bank; providing an
75 exception to the exemption; defining the term
76 “financial information”; providing for future
77 legislative review and repeal of the exemption;
78 providing a statement of public necessity; providing
79 an effective date.