Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1282 By Senator Collins 14-00432A-25 20251282__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to public records; amending s. 295.22, 3 F.S.; providing an exemption from public records 4 requirements for specified materials and information 5 received, generated, ascertained, or discovered by 6 Florida Is For Veterans, Inc., while administering the 7 Veterans Florida Opportunity Program; providing for 8 future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; 9 providing a statement of public necessity; providing a 10 contingent effective date. 11 12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13 14 Section 1.Subsection (4) of section 295.22, Florida 15 Statutes, as amended by SB 1280, 2025 Regular Session, is 16 amended to read: 17 295.22Veterans Florida Opportunity Program. 18 (4)ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC RECORDS EXEMPTION. 19 (a)Florida Is For Veterans, Inc., shall administer the 20 Veterans Florida Opportunity Program and perform all of the 21 following functions: 22 1.(a)Conduct marketing and recruiting efforts directed at 23 individuals within the target market who reside in or have an 24 interest in relocating to this state and who are seeking 25 employment. Marketing must include information related to how 26 military experience can be valuable to a target industry or 27 secondary industry business. Such efforts may include attending 28 job fairs and events; hosting events for servicemembers, 29 veterans, and their spouses or the business community; and using 30 digital and social media and direct mail campaigns. The 31 corporation shall also include such marketing as part of its 32 main marketing campaign. 33 2.(b)Assist individuals in the target market who reside in 34 or relocate to this state and who are seeking employment with 35 target industry or secondary industry businesses. The 36 corporation shall offer skills assessments to such individuals 37 and assist them in establishing employment goals and applying 38 for and achieving gainful employment. 39 a.1.Assessment may include skill match information, skill 40 gap analysis, rsum creation, translation of military skills 41 into civilian workforce skills, and translation of military 42 achievements and experience into generally understood civilian 43 workforce skills. 44 b.2.Assistance may include providing the servicemember, 45 veteran, or his or her spouse with information on current 46 workforce demand by industry or geographic region, creating 47 employment goals, and aiding or teaching general knowledge 48 related to completing applications. 49 c.3.Assessment and assistance may be in person or by 50 electronic means, as determined by the corporation to be most 51 efficient and best meet the needs of veterans or their spouses. 52 3.(c)Assist Florida target industry and secondary industry 53 businesses in recruiting and hiring individuals in the target 54 market. The corporation shall provide services to Florida 55 businesses to meet their hiring needs by connecting businesses 56 with suitable applicants for employment. Suitable applicants 57 include veterans or veterans spouses who have appropriate job 58 skills or may need additional training to meet the specific 59 needs of a business. The corporation shall also provide 60 information about the state and federal benefits of hiring 61 veterans. 62 4.(d)Create a grant program to provide funding to assist 63 individuals in the target market in meeting the workforce-skill 64 needs of target industry and secondary industry businesses 65 seeking to hire, promote, or generally improve specialized 66 skills of veterans, establish criteria for approval of requests 67 for funding, and maximize the use of funding for this program. 68 Grant funds may be used only in the absence of available 69 veteran-specific federally funded programs. Grants may fund 70 specialized training specific to a particular business. 71 a.1.The program may prioritize grant funds to be used to 72 provide a certificate, a license, or nondegree training from the 73 Master Credentials List pursuant to s. 445.004(4)(h); any 74 federally created certifications or licenses; and any skills 75 based industry certifications or licenses deemed relevant or 76 necessary by the corporation. Funds may be allocated only upon a 77 review that includes, but is not limited to, documentation of 78 accreditation and licensure. 79 b.2.Grant reimbursements are limited to $5,000 per 80 eligible trainee per fiscal year. Qualified businesses must 81 cover the entire cost for all of the training provided before 82 receiving reimbursement from the corporation. Training costs for 83 a trainee in a fiscal year must be equal to or greater than 84 $5,000. Eligible costs and expenditures include, but are not 85 limited to: 86 (I)a.Tuition and fees. 87 (II)b.Books and classroom materials. 88 (III)c.Rental fees for facilities. 89 c.3.Before funds are allocated for a request pursuant to 90 this section, the corporation shall prepare a grant agreement 91 between the business requesting funds and the corporation. Such 92 agreement must include, but need not be limited to: 93 (I)a.Identification of the personnel necessary to conduct 94 the instructional program, instructional program description, 95 and any vendors used to conduct the instructional program. 96 (II)b.Identification of the duration of the instructional 97 program. 98 (III)c.Identification of all direct, training-related 99 costs. 100 (IV)d.Identification of special program requirements that 101 are not otherwise addressed in the agreement. 102 (V)e.Permission to access aggregate information specific 103 to the wages and performance of participants upon the completion 104 of instruction for evaluation purposes. The agreement must 105 specify that any evaluation published subsequent to the 106 instruction may not identify the employer or any individual 107 participant. 108 d.4.A business may receive a grant under any state program 109 and a grant under this section for the same veteran 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 Floridas Institute for Food and Agricultural 114 Sciences within this state. The corporation and the University 115 of Florida shall enter into 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, in 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 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, have 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 assistance, 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 state 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 a.1.Establish and maintain, as applicable, its 151 certification for the SkillBridge initiative 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 having 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 training 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 received, 175 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 individual 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 Constitution. 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 others 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 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 that 208 SB 1280 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation 209 is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension 210 thereof and becomes a law.