HB 977 2025
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb977-00
Page 1 of 5
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 contracting with foreign countries 2
of concern; amending s. 287.138, F.S.; removing the 3
definition of the term "controlling interest"; 4
prohibiting governmental entities from entering into 5
certain contracts for products with governments of 6
foreign countries of concern if such governments have 7
specific ownership interests in those products; 8
requiring certain entities that bid or propose to 9
provide goods or services to sign an certain 10
affidavit; removing provisions that prohibit local 11
governments from entering into or renewing specified 12
contracts with certain entities if doing so would give 13
access to personal identifying information; amending 14
s. 316.0078, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes 15
made by the act; providing an effective date. 16
17
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
19
Section 1. Section 287.138, Florida Statutes, is amended 20
to read: 21
287.138 Contracting w ith entities of foreign countries of 22
concern prohibited.— 23
(1) As used in this section, the term: 24
(a) "Controlling interest" means possession of the power 25
HB 977 2025
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb977-00
Page 2 of 5
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
to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies 26
of a company, whether through owner ship of securities, by 27
contract, or otherwise. A person or entity that directly or 28
indirectly has the right to vote 25 percent or more of the 29
voting interests of the company or is entitled to 25 percent or 30
more of its profits is presumed to possess a contr olling 31
interest. 32
(a)(b) "Department" means the Department of Management 33
Services. 34
(b)(c) "Foreign country of concern" means the People's 35
Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic 36
of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic 37
of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, or the Syrian 38
Arab Republic, including any agency of or any other entity of 39
significant control of such foreign country of concern. 40
(c)(d) "Governmental entity" means any state, county, 41
district, authority, or municipal officer, department, division, 42
board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government 43
created or established by law including, but not limited to, the 44
Commission on Ethics, the Public Service Commission, the Office 45
of Public Counsel, and any other public or private agency, 46
person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on 47
behalf of any public agency. 48
(2) A governmental entity may not knowingly enter into a 49
contract for services or to procure or purchase computers, 50
HB 977 2025
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb977-00
Page 3 of 5
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
printers, or interoperable or videoconferencing devices or 51
services if the government of a foreign country of concern has 52
an ownership interest in the manufacturer, bidder, or offeror, 53
or any subsidiary or parent entity of the manufacturer, bidd er, 54
or offeror of such equipment, devices, or services with an 55
entity which would give access to an individual's personal 56
identifying information if: 57
(a) The entity is owned by the government of a foreign 58
country of concern; 59
(b) The government of a for eign country of concern has a 60
controlling interest in the entity; or 61
(c) The entity is organized under the laws of or has its 62
principal place of business in a foreign country of concern . 63
(3) Beginning July 1, 2025, a governmental entity may not 64
extend or renew a contract with an entity listed in subsection 65
(2) paragraphs (2)(a)-(c) if the contract would give such entity 66
access to an individual's personal identifying information . 67
(4)(a) Beginning July January 1, 2025 2024, a governmental 68
entity may not accept a bid on, a proposal for, or a reply to, 69
or enter into, a contract with an entity , or a subsidiary or 70
parent company of an entity, in which the government of a 71
foreign country of concern has any ownership interest which 72
would grant the entity acces s to an individual's personal 73
identifying information unless the entity provides the 74
governmental entity with an affidavit signed by an officer or 75
HB 977 2025
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb977-00
Page 4 of 5
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
representative of the entity under penalty of perjury attesting 76
that the entity does not meet any of the crit eria in paragraphs 77
(2)(a)-(c). 78
(b) A governmental entity must require each entity that 79
submits a bid or proposal to provide goods or services to sign 80
an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, that testifies that 81
there is no ownership interest by a government of a foreign 82
country of concern in the entity, subsidiary, or parent company 83
of the entity. 84
(b) Beginning July 1, 2025, when an entity extends or 85
renews a contract with a governmental entity which would grant 86
the entity access to an individual 's personal identifying 87
information, the entity must provide the governmental entity 88
with an affidavit signed by an officer or representative of the 89
entity under penalty of perjury attesting that the entity does 90
not meet any of the criteria in paragraphs ( 2)(a)-(c). 91
(5) The Attorney General may bring a civil action in any 92
court of competent jurisdiction against an entity that violates 93
this section. Violations of this section may result in: 94
(a) A civil penalty equal to twice the amount of the 95
contract for which the entity submitted a bid or proposal for, 96
replied to, or entered into; 97
(b) Ineligibility to enter into, renew, or extend any 98
other contract, including any grant agreements, with any 99
governmental entity for up to 5 years; 100
HB 977 2025
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb977-00
Page 5 of 5
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
(c) Ineligibility to receive or renew any license, 101
certification, or credential issued by a governmental entity for 102
up to 5 years; and 103
(d) Placement on the suspended vendor list pursuant to s. 104
287.1351. 105
(6) Any penalties collected under subsection (5) must be 106
deposited into the General Revenue Fund. 107
(7) The department shall adopt rules to implement this 108
section, including rules establishing the form for the affidavit 109
required under subsection (4). 110
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 316.0078, Florida 111
Statutes, is amended to read: 112
316.0078 Prohibition on contracting for camera systems of 113
vendors of foreign countries of concern. — 114
(1) As used in this section, the term terms "controlling 115
interest" and "foreign country of concern" has have the same 116
meaning meanings as in s. 287.138(1). 117
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 118