CS/HB 703 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to public records and public meetings; 2
creating s. 1004.098, F.S.; providing an exemption 3
from public records requirements for any personal 4
identifying information of an applicant for president 5
of a state university or a Florida College Sys tem 6
institution held by a state university or a Florida 7
College System institution; specifying when the 8
personal identifying information of applicants who are 9
in the final group of applicants is no longer 10
confidential and exempt; providing an exemption fro m 11
public meeting requirements for any portion of a 12
meeting held for the purpose of identifying or vetting 13
applicants for president of a state university or a 14
Florida College System institution, including any 15
portion of a meeting which would disclose certai n 16
personal identifying information of such applicants; 17
requiring that a recording be made of any portion of a 18
closed meeting which would disclose personal 19
identifying information of such applicants; providing 20
that no portion of a closed meeting may be held off 21
the record; providing that the recording of any closed 22
portion of a meeting is exempt from public records 23
requirements; specifying that certain meetings are not 24
exempt from public meeting requirements; providing for 25
CS/HB 703 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
future legislative review and repea l of the 26
exemptions; providing a statement of public necessity; 27
providing an effective date. 28
29
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30
31
Section 1. Section 1004.098, Florida Statutes, is created 32
to read: 33
1004.098 Applicants for president of a state university or 34
Florida College System institution; public records exemption; 35
public meetings exemption. — 36
(1)(a) Any personal identifying information of an 37
applicant for president of a state university or a Florida 38
College System insti tution held by a state university or a 39
Florida College System institution is confidential and exempt 40
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 41
Constitution. 42
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the personal 43
identifying information of an applicant included in the final 44
group of applicants for president of a state university or a 45
Florida College System institution is no longer confidential and 46
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 47
Constitution beginning at the earlier of the dat e the final 48
group of applicants to be considered for president is 49
established or 14 days before the date of a meeting at which an 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
interview of an applicant will be conducted or at which final 51
action or a vote is to be taken on the offer of the employment 52
of an applicant as president. 53
(2)(a) Any portion of a meeting held for the purpose of 54
identifying or vetting applicants for president of a state 55
university or a Florida College System institution, including 56
any portion of a meeting which would disclose pe rsonal 57
identifying information of such applicants which is otherwise 58
confidential and exempt under subsection (1), is exempt from s. 59
286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution. 60
(b) A complete recording must be made of any portion of a 61
meeting which is closed pursuant to paragraph (a), and any 62
closed portion of such meeting may not be held off the record. 63
The recording of the closed portion of a meeting is exempt from 64
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 65
(c) The exemption provided in paragraph (a) does not apply 66
to: 67
1. Any portion of a meeting held for the purpose of 68
establishing qualifications for the position or establishing any 69
compensation framework to be offered to an applicant for 70
president of a state university or a Florida College System 71
institution. 72
2. Any meeting that is held after a final group of 73
applicants for president of a state university or a Florida 74
College System institution has been established. 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset 76
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 77
on October 2, 2027, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 78
through reenactment by the Legislature. 79
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 80
necessity that any personal identifying information of an 81
applicant for president of a state university or a Florida 82
College System institution held by a state university or a 83
Florida College System institution be made confidential and 84
exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), 85
Article I of the State Constitution. The Legislature also finds 86
that it is a public necessity that any portion of a meeting held 87
for the purpose of identifying or vetting applicants for 88
president of a state university or a Florida College System 89
institution, including any portion of a meeting which would 90
disclose personal identifying information of such applicants, be 91
made exempt from s. 286.011, Florida Statutes, and s. 24(b), 92
Article I of the State Constitution, and that the recording of 93
such meeting be made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, 94
and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The task of 95
filling the position of president of a state university or a 96
Florida College System institution is often conducted by an 97
executive search committee. Many, if not most, applicants for 98
such a position are currently employed at another job at the 99
time they apply and could jeopardize their current positions if 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
it were to become known that they were seeking employment 101
elsewhere. These exemptio ns from public records and public 102
meetings requirements are needed to ensure that a search 103
committee can avail itself of a pool of the most experienced and 104
qualified applicants from which to fill the position. If 105
potential applicants fear the possibility o f losing their 106
current jobs as a consequence of attempting to progress along 107
their chosen career path or simply seeking different and more 108
rewarding employment, failure to have these safeguards in place 109
could have a chilling effect on the number and qualit y of 110
applicants available to fill the position of president of a 111
state university or a Florida College System institution. 112
Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 113