Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1538 By Senator Collins 14-01246B-25 20251538__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to contracting with foreign countries 3 of concern; amending s. 287.138, F.S.; removing the 4 definition of the term controlling interest; 5 prohibiting governmental entities from entering into 6 certain contracts for products with governments of 7 foreign countries of concern if such governments have 8 specific ownership interests in those products; 9 requiring certain entities that bid or propose to 10 provide goods or services to sign a certain affidavit; 11 removing provisions that prohibit governmental 12 entities from entering into or renewing specified 13 contracts with certain entities if doing so would give 14 access to personal identifying information; amending 15 s. 316.0078, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes 16 made by the act; providing an effective date. 17 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19 20 Section 1.Section 287.138, Florida Statutes, is amended to 21 read: 22 287.138Contracting with entities of foreign countries of 23 concern prohibited. 24 (1)As used in this section, the term: 25 (a)Controlling interest means possession of the power to 26 direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a 27 company, whether through ownership of securities, by contract, 28 or otherwise. A person or entity that directly or indirectly has 29 the right to vote 25 percent or more of the voting interests of 30 the company or is entitled to 25 percent or more of its profits 31 is presumed to possess a controlling interest. 32 (a)(b)Department means the Department of Management 33 Services. 34 (b)(c)Foreign country of concern means the Peoples 35 Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic 36 of Iran, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, the Republic 37 of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicols 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 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, bidder, 54 or offeror of such equipment, devices, or services with an 55 entity which would give access to an individuals 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 foreign 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 individuals 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 access to an individuals personal 73 identifying information unless the entity provides the 74 governmental entity with an affidavit signed by an officer or 75 representative of the entity under penalty of perjury attesting 76 that the entity does not meet any of the criteria 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 attests that there 81 is no ownership interest by a government of a foreign country of 82 concern in the entity, subsidiary, or parent company of the 83 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 individuals 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 other 98 contract, including any grant agreements, with any governmental 99 entity for up to 5 years; 100 (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: 112 316.0078Prohibition 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.