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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
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An act relating to public records; amending s. 2
119.071, F.S.; providing an exemption from public 3
records requirements for certain financial information 4
a prospective bidder submits to an agency in order to 5
prequalify for bidding or for responding to a 6
solicitation for road or other public works projects; 7
providing for future legislative review and repeal of 8
the exemption; providing a statement of public 9
necessity; providing an effective date. 10
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
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Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 14
119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 15
119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of 16
public records.— 17
(1) AGENCY ADMINISTRATION. — 18
(c) Any financial statement or other financial information 19
necessary to verify the financial adequacy of a prospective 20
bidder which that an agency requires a prospective bidder to 21
submit in order to prequalify for bidding or for responding to a 22
solicitation proposal for a road or any other public works 23
project is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the 24
State Constitution. This paragraph is subject to the Open 25
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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
Government Sunset Review A ct in accordance with s. 119.15 and 26
shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and 27
saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 28
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 29
necessity that financial information necessa ry to verify the 30
financial adequacy of a prospective bidder which an agency 31
requires a prospective bidder to submit in order to prequalify 32
for bidding or for responding to a solicitation for a road or 33
any other public works project be made exempt from s. 1 19.07(1), 34
Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State 35
Constitution. In the prequalification process, a prospective 36
bidder will provide financial statements to the agency, and the 37
agency may request additional financial information in order to 38
verify the financial adequacy of the prospective bidder. The 39
additional financial information often contains sensitive 40
information. The risk of potential disclosure of sensitive 41
financial information defeats the purpose of protections already 42
afforded to financial statements and may have a chilling effect 43
on persons desiring to prequalify or maintain prequalification. 44
The chilling effect may result in a limited pool of potential 45
bidders and, thus, negatively impact the state's ability to 46
receive the best valu e for road and other public works projects. 47
Additionally, protecting this financial information from 48
disclosure will prevent such information from being used by 49
competitors to gain an unfair advantage against other bidders on 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
road and other public works pr ojects. Lastly, protecting this 51
financial information from disclosure promotes the free 52
provision of such information to the requesting agency by 53
removing a prospective bidder's concern for attendant risks in 54
doing so. As a result, this exemption promotes the state's 55
interest in ensuring that prospective bidders on road and other 56
public works projects possess the necessary financial resources 57
to complete such projects, many of which involve immense costs 58
and may be complex and of long duration. 59
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 60