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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. 295.22, 2
F.S.; providing an exemption from public records 3
requirements for specified materials and information 4
received, generated, ascertained, or discovered by 5
Florida Is For Veterans, Inc., while administering the 6
Veterans Florida Opportunity Program; providing for 7
future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; 8
providing a statement of public necessity; providing a 9
contingent 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. Subsection (4) of section 295.22, Florida 14
Statutes, as amended by HB 1241, 2025 Regular Session, is 15
amended to read: 16
295.22 Veterans Florida Opportunity Program. — 17
(4) ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC RECORDS EXEMPTION .— 18
(a) Florida Is For Veterans, Inc., shall administer the 19
Veterans Florida Opportunity Program and perform all of the 20
following functions: 21
1.(a) Conduct marketing and recrui ting efforts directed at 22
individuals within the target market who reside in or have an 23
interest in relocating to this state and who are seeking 24
employment. Marketing must include information related to how 25
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military experience can be valuable to a target in dustry or 26
secondary industry business. Such efforts may include attending 27
job fairs and events; hosting events for servicemembers, 28
veterans, and their spouses or the business community; and using 29
digital and social media and direct mail campaigns. The 30
corporation shall also include such marketing as part of its 31
main marketing campaign. 32
2.(b) Assist individuals in the target market who reside 33
in or relocate to this state and who are seeking employment with 34
target industry or secondary industry businesses. The 35
corporation shall offer skills assessments to such individuals 36
and assist them in establishing employment goals and applying 37
for and achieving gainful employment. 38
a.1. Assessment may include skill match information, skill 39
gap analysis, résumé creatio n, translation of military skills 40
into civilian workforce skills, and translation of military 41
achievements and experience into generally understood civilian 42
workforce skills. 43
b.2. Assistance may include providing the servicemember, 44
veteran, or his or her spouse with information on current 45
workforce demand by industry or geographic region, creating 46
employment goals, and aiding or teaching general knowledge 47
related to completing applications. 48
c.3. Assessment and assistance may be in person or by 49
electronic means, as determined by the corporation to be most 50
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efficient and best meet the needs of veterans or their spouses. 51
3.(c) Assist Florida target industry and secondary 52
industry businesses in recruiting and hiring individuals in the 53
target market. The cor poration shall provide services to Florida 54
businesses to meet their hiring needs by connecting businesses 55
with suitable applicants for employment. Suitable applicants 56
include veterans or veterans' spouses who have appropriate job 57
skills or may need additio nal training to meet the specific 58
needs of a business. The corporation shall also provide 59
information about the state and federal benefits of hiring 60
veterans. 61
4.(d) Create a grant program to provide funding to assist 62
individuals in the target market in m eeting the workforce -skill 63
needs of target industry and secondary industry businesses 64
seeking to hire, promote, or generally improve specialized 65
skills of veterans, establish criteria for approval of requests 66
for funding, and maximize the use of funding fo r this program. 67
Grant funds may be used only in the absence of available 68
veteran-specific federally funded programs. Grants may fund 69
specialized training specific to a particular business. 70
a.1. The program may prioritize grant funds to be used to 71
provide a certificate, a license, or nondegree training from the 72
Master Credentials List pursuant to s. 445.004(4)(h); any 73
federally created certifications or licenses; and any skills -74
based industry certifications or licenses deemed relevant or 75
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necessary by the corporation. Funds may be allocated only upon a 76
review that includes, but is not limited to, documentation of 77
accreditation and licensure. 78
b.2. Grant reimbursements are limited to $5,000 per 79
eligible trainee per fiscal year. Qualified businesses must 80
cover the entire cost for all of the training provided before 81
receiving reimbursement from the corporation. Training costs for 82
a trainee in a fiscal year must be equal to or greater than 83
$5,000. Eligible costs and expenditures include, but are not 84
limited to: 85
(I)a. Tuition and fees. 86
(II)b. Books and classroom materials. 87
(III)c. Rental fees for facilities. 88
c.3. Before funds are allocated for a request pursuant to 89
this section, the corporation shall prepare a grant agreement 90
between the business reque sting funds and the corporation. Such 91
agreement must include, but need not be limited to: 92
(I)a. Identification of the personnel necessary to conduct 93
the instructional program, instructional program description, 94
and any vendors used to conduct the instruc tional program. 95
(II)b. Identification of the duration of the instructional 96
program. 97
(III)c. Identification of all direct, training -related 98
costs. 99
(IV)d. Identification of special program requirements that 100
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are not otherwise addressed in the agreement. 101
(V)e. Permission to access aggregate information specific 102
to the wages and performance of participants upon the completion 103
of instruction for evaluation purposes. The agreement must 104
specify that any evaluation published subsequent to the 105
instruction may not identify the employer or any individual 106
participant. 107
d.4. A business may receive a grant under any state 108
program and a grant under this section for the same veteran 109
trainee. 110
e.5. Notwithstanding sub-subparagraph b. subparagraph 2., 111
grant funds may be used as educational stipends for individuals 112
in the target market while training at any location of the 113
University of Florida's Institute for Food and Agricultural 114
Sciences within this state. The corporation and the University 115
of Florida shall enter in to an agreement before any grant funds 116
are expended, and the corporation shall determine the amount and 117
structure of any educational stipend. Such stipend may be used 118
only for such training for a period of no less than 4 months and 119
no more than 6 months, i n the absence of veteran -specific 120
federally funded programs. 121
5.(e) Contract with one or more entities to administer an 122
entrepreneur initiative program for individuals in the target 123
market in this state which connects business leaders in the 124
state with such individuals seeking to become entrepreneurs. 125
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a.1. The corporation shall award each contract in 126
accordance with the competitive bidding requirements in s. 127
287.057 to one or more public or private entities that: 128
(I)a. Demonstrate the ability to implement the program and 129
the commitment of resources, including financial resources, to 130
such programs. 131
(II)b. Have a demonstrated experience working with veteran 132
entrepreneurs. 133
(III)c. As determined by the corporation, hav e been 134
recognized for their performance in assisting entrepreneurs to 135
launch successful businesses in this state. 136
b.2. Each contract must include performance metrics, 137
including a focus on employment and business creation. The 138
entity may also work with a university or college offering 139
related programs to refer individuals in the target market or to 140
provide services. The entrepreneur initiative program may 141
include activities and assistance such as peer -to-peer learning 142
sessions, mentoring, technical assista nce, business roundtables, 143
networking opportunities, support of student organizations, 144
speaker series, or other tools within a virtual environment. 145
6.(f) Administer a SkillBridge initiative for target 146
industry and secondary industry businesses in this st ate and for 147
eligible individuals in the target market who reside in, or who 148
wish to reside in, this state. In administering the initiative, 149
the corporation shall: 150
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a.1. Establish and maintain, as applicable, its 151
certification for the SkillBridge initiativ e or any other 152
similar workforce training and transition programs established 153
by the United States Department of Defense; 154
b.2. Educate businesses, business associations, and 155
eligible individuals in the target market on the SkillBridge 156
initiative and its benefits, and educate military command and 157
personnel within the state on the opportunities available to 158
eligible individuals in the target market; 159
c.3. Assist businesses in obtaining approval for skilled 160
workforce training curricula under the SkillBridge initiative, 161
including, but not limited to, apprenticeships, internships, or 162
fellowships; and 163
d.4. Match eligible individuals in the target market with 164
training opportunities offered by the corporation or 165
participating businesses, with the intent of havi ng them achieve 166
gainful employment in this state upon completion of their 167
SkillBridge training. 168
(b) Materials that relate to methods of manufacture or 169
production, potential trade secrets, potentially patentable 170
material, actual trade secrets, workforce t raining plans, 171
business transactions, business plans, military records, skills 172
assessments and career goals, resumes and contact information, 173
certificates, financial and proprietary information, and 174
agreements or proposals to receive funding which are rece ived, 175
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generated, ascertained, or discovered by Florida Is For 176
Veterans, Inc., including partnership and training participants, 177
such as private enterprises, educational institutions, and other 178
organizations, for the purposes of administering this subsection 179
are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. 180
I of the State Constitution. Aggregated data with no personal 181
identifying information for reporting purposes is not exempt. 182
This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review 183
Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on 184
October 2, 2030, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through 185
reenactment by the Legislature. 186
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 187
necessity that information pertaining to an in dividual or 188
organization that seeks assistance, services, or training under 189
s. 295.22(4), Florida Statutes, be made confidential and exempt 190
from public records requirements under s. 119.07(1), Florida 191
Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitu tion. The 192
Legislature created Florida Is For Veterans, Inc., and funds the 193
program under s. 295.22(4), Florida Statutes, administered by 194
the corporation, in order to provide assistance, services, and 195
training to separating servicemembers, veterans, and oth ers 196
through organizations such as employers, nonprofits, and 197
universities in the areas of career placement and training and 198
entrepreneurship training to support workforce and economic 199
development within this state. Making information, such as 200
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resumes of job seekers, entrepreneurship business plans, and 201
employer workforce training plans and curricula, publicly 202
available exposes those individuals and organizations to risk of 203
loss of personal privacy and theft of confidential business 204
information. Without the public records exemption, the state 205
would be unable to effectively and efficiently implement and 206
administer the program. 207
Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date 208
that HB 1241 or similar legislation takes effect , if such 209
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 210
extension thereof and becomes a law. 211