HB 1461 2024
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hb1461-00
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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; amending s. 2
501.174, F.S.; providing an exemption from public 3
records requirements for information relating to 4
investigations by the Department of Legal Affairs and 5
law enforcement agencies of certain artificial 6
intelligence transparency violations; providing a 7
definition; providing for future legislative review 8
and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of 9
public necessity; providing a contingent effective 10
date. 11
12
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13
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Section 1. Subsection (10) of section 501.174, Florida 15
Statutes, as created by HB 1459 or similar legislation, 2024 16
Regular Session, is renumbere d as subsection (11), and a new 17
subsection (10) is added to that section to read: 18
501.174 Artificial intelligence transparency. — 19
(10)(a) All information received by the department 20
pursuant to a notification of a violation under this section, or 21
received by the department pursuant to an investigation by the 22
department or a law enforcement agency of a violation of this 23
section, is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, until such time as the 25
HB 1461 2024
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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
investigation is completed or ceases to be active. This 26
exemption shall be construed in conformity with s. 27
119.071(2)(c). 28
(b) During an active investigation, information made 29
confidential and exempt pursuant to paragraph (a) may be 30
disclosed by the department: 31
1. In the furtherance of its official duties and 32
responsibilities; 33
2. For print, publication, or broadcast if the department 34
determines that such release would assist in notifying the 35
public or locating or identifying a person who the department 36
believes to be a victim of a data breach or an improper use or 37
disposal of customer records, except that information made 38
confidential and exempt by paragraph (c) may not be released 39
pursuant to this subparagraph; or 40
3. To another governmental entity in the furthera nce of 41
its official duties and responsibilities. 42
(c) Upon completion of an investigation or once an 43
investigation ceases to be active, the following information 44
received by the department shall remain confidential and exempt 45
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a ), Art. I of the State 46
Constitution: 47
1. All information to which another public records 48
exemption applies. 49
2. Personal information. 50
HB 1461 2024
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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. A computer forensic report. 51
4. Information that would otherwise reveal weaknesses in 52
the data security of the business operations of the entity or 53
person. 54
5. Information that would disclose the proprietary 55
information of the business operations of the entity or person. 56
(d) For purposes of this subsection, the term "proprietary 57
information" means information th at: 58
1. Is owned or controlled by the entity or person. 59
2. Is intended to be private and is treated by the entity 60
or person as private because disclosure would harm the entity or 61
person. 62
3. Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a 63
private agreement that provides that the information will not be 64
released to the public. 65
4. Is not publicly available or otherwise readily 66
ascertainable through proper means from another source in the 67
same configuration as received by the department. 68
5. Includes: 69
a. Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002. 70
b. Competitive interests, the disclosure of which would 71
impair the competitive advantage of the business operations of 72
the entity or person who is the subject of the information. 73
(e) This subsection is subject to the Open Government 74
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 75
HB 1461 2024
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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
repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from 76
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 77
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a publi c 78
necessity that all information received by the Department of 79
Legal Affairs pursuant to a notification of a violation of s. 80
501.174, Florida Statutes, or received by the department 81
pursuant to an investigation by the department or a law 82
enforcement agency of a violation of that section, be made 83
confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and 84
s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution for the following 85
reasons: 86
(1) A notification of a violation of s. 501.174, Florida 87
Statutes, may result in an investigation of such violation. The 88
premature release of such information could frustrate or thwart 89
the investigation and impair the ability of the department to 90
effectively and efficiently administer s. 501.174, Florida 91
Statutes. In addition, re lease of such information before 92
completion of an active investigation could jeopardize the 93
ongoing investigation. 94
(2) Release of information to which another public records 95
exemption applies once an investigation is completed or ceases 96
to be active would undo the specific statutory exemption 97
protecting that information. 98
(3) An investigation of a violation of s. 501.174, Florida 99
Statutes, is likely to result in the gathering of sensitive 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
personal information, including identification numbers, unique 101
identifiers, professional or employment -related information, and 102
personal financial information. Such information could be used 103
for the purpose of identity theft. The release of such 104
information could subject possible victims of data privacy 105
violations to further harm. 106
(4) Notices received by the department and information 107
received during an investigation of a violation of s. 501.174, 108
Florida Statutes, are likely to contain proprietary information. 109
Such information, including trade secrets, derives indepe ndent, 110
economic value, actual or potential, from being generally 111
unknown to, and not readily ascertainable by, other persons who 112
might obtain economic value from its disclosure or use. Allowing 113
public access to proprietary information, including a trade 114
secret, through a public records request could destroy the value 115
of the proprietary information and cause a financial loss to the 116
entity or person. Release of such information could give 117
business competitors an unfair advantage. 118
(5) Information received by the department may contain a 119
computer forensic report or information that could reveal 120
weaknesses in the data security of the business operations of 121
the entity or person. The release of this information could 122
result in the identification of vulnerabilitie s in the 123
cybersecurity system of the business operations of the entity or 124
person and be used to harm the entity or person and clients. 125
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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
(6) The harm that may result from the release of 126
information received by the department pursuant to a 127
notification or investigation by the department or a law 128
enforcement agency of a violation of s. 501.174, Florida 129
Statutes, could impair the effective and efficient 130
administration of the investigation and thus, outweighs the 131
public benefit that may be derived from the disc losure of the 132
information. 133
Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date 134
that HB 1459 or similar legislation takes effect , if such 135
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 136
extension thereof and becomes a law. 137