Bill Text: FL S0774 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Public Records and Public Meetings/Applicants for President/State University or Florida College System Institution
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-12 - Laid on Table, refer to HB 7081 [S0774 Detail]
Download: Florida-2020-S0774-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Public Records and Public Meetings/Applicants for President/State University or Florida College System Institution
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-12 - Laid on Table, refer to HB 7081 [S0774 Detail]
Download: Florida-2020-S0774-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2020 SB 774 By Senator Diaz 36-00599A-20 2020774__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to public records and meetings; 3 creating s. 1004.098, F.S.; providing an exemption 4 from public records requirements for any personal 5 identifying information of an applicant for president 6 of a state university or Florida College System 7 institution; providing an exemption from public 8 meeting requirements for any meeting held for the 9 purpose of identifying or vetting applicants for 10 president of a state university or Florida College 11 System institution and for any portion of a meeting 12 held for the purpose of establishing qualifications 13 of, or any compensation framework to be offered to, 14 such potential applicants which would disclose 15 personal identifying information of an applicant or 16 potential applicant; providing applicability; 17 requiring release of the names of specified applicants 18 within a certain timeframe; providing for future 19 legislative review and repeal of the exemptions; 20 providing a statement of public necessity; providing 21 an effective date. 22 23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24 25 Section 1. Section 1004.098, Florida Statutes, is created 26 to read: 27 1004.098 Information identifying applicants for president 28 at state universities and Florida College System institutions; 29 public records exemption; public meeting exemption.— 30 (1) Any personal identifying information of an applicant 31 for president of a state university or Florida College System 32 institution is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 33 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 34 (2) Any meeting held for the purpose of identifying or 35 vetting applicants for president of a state university or 36 Florida College System institution is exempt from s. 286.011 and 37 s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption does 38 not apply to a meeting held for the purpose of establishing 39 qualifications of potential applicants or any compensation 40 framework to be offered to potential applicants. However, any 41 portion of such a meeting which would disclose personal 42 identifying information of an applicant or potential applicant 43 is exempt from s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State 44 Constitution. 45 (3) Any meeting or interview held after a final group of at 46 least three applicants has been established which is conducted 47 for the purpose of making a final selection to fill the position 48 of president of a state university or Florida College System 49 institution is subject to s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the 50 State Constitution. 51 (4) The names of the three or more applicants who comprise 52 a final group of applicants pursuant to subsection (3) must be 53 released by the state university or Florida College System 54 institution no later than 21 days before the date of the meeting 55 at which final action or voting is to occur on the employment of 56 the applicants. 57 (5) Any personal identifying information of the three or 58 more applicants who comprise a final group of applicants 59 pursuant to subsection (3) becomes subject to s. 119.07(1) and 60 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution at the time the names 61 of such applicants are released pursuant to subsection (4). 62 (6) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset 63 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 64 on October 2, 2025, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 65 through reenactment by the Legislature. 66 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 67 necessity that any personal identifying information of an 68 applicant for president of a state university or Florida College 69 System institution be made confidential and exempt from s. 70 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 71 State Constitution. The Legislature also finds that any meeting 72 held for the purpose of identifying or vetting applicants for 73 president of a state university or Florida College System 74 institution and any portion of a meeting held for the purpose of 75 establishing qualifications of, or any compensation framework to 76 be offered to, such potential applicants which would disclose 77 personal identifying information of an applicant or potential 78 applicant be made exempt from s. 286.011, Florida Statutes, and 79 s. 24(b), Article I of the State Constitution. The task of 80 filling the position of president of a state university or 81 Florida College System institution is often conducted by an 82 executive search committee. Many, if not most, applicants for 83 such a position are currently employed at another job at the 84 time they apply, and their current positions could be 85 jeopardized if it were to become known that they were seeking 86 employment elsewhere. These exemptions from public records and 87 public meeting requirements are needed to ensure that an 88 executive search committee can avail itself of the most 89 experienced and desirable pool of qualified applicants from 90 which to fill the position of president of a state university or 91 Florida College System institution. If potential applicants fear 92 the possibility of losing their current jobs as a consequence of 93 attempting to further their careers or simply seeking different 94 and more rewarding employment, failure to have these safeguards 95 in place could have a chilling effect on the number and quality 96 of applicants available to fill the position of president of a 97 state university or Florida College System institution. 98 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.