OGSR/Trade Secrets

HB 7017 2026

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to a review under the Open Government 2
Sunset Review Act; amending s. 119.0715, F.S., which 3
provides an exemption from public record requirements 4
for a trade secret held by an agency; removing the 5
scheduled repeal of the exemption; amending ss. 6
287.137, 288.075, 334.049, 408.185, 409.91196, 7
440.108, 497.172, 501.171, 501.1735, 501.2041, 8
501.722, 520.9965, 548.062, 559.5558, 569.215, 9
627.0628, and 1004.4472; removing references to trade 10
secrets from public records exemptions; providing an 11
effective date. 12
13
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
15
Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 119.0715, Florida 16
Statutes, is amended to read: 17
119.0715 Trade secrets held by an agency.— 18
(5) OPEN GOVERNMENT SUNSET REVIEW.—This section is subject 19
to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 20
119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2026, unless 21
reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 22
Legislature. 23
Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (8) of section 24
287.137, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 25

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287.137 Antitrust violations; denial or revocation of the 26
right to transact business with public entities; denial of 27
economic benefits.— 28
(8) 29
(d) For purposes of this subsection, the term "proprietary 30
business information" means information that: 31
1. Is owned or controlled by the business; 32
2. Is intended to be private and is treated by the 33
business as private because disclosure would harm the business 34
or its business operations; 35
3. Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a 36
private agreement that provides that the information will not be 37
released to the public; 38
4. Is not publicly available or otherwise readily 39
ascertainable through proper means from another source in the 40
same configuration as received by the Attorney General; and 41
5. Includes: 42
a. Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002. 43
b. competitive interests, the disclosure of which would 44
impair the competitive advantage of the business that is the 45
subject of the information. 46
Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) and subsection 47
(3) of section 288.075, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 48
288.075 Confidentiality of records.— 49
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 50

HB 7017 2026

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(c) "Trade secret" has the same meaning as in s. 688.002. 51
(3) TRADE SECRETS.—Trade secrets held by an economic 52
development agency are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) 53
and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 54
Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 334.049, Florida 55
Statutes, is amended to read: 56
334.049 Patents, copyrights, trademarks; notice to 57
Department of State; confidentiality of trade secrets.— 58
(4) Any information obtained by the department as a result 59
of research and development projects and revealing a method of 60
process, production, or manufacture which is a trade secret as 61
defined in s. 688.002, is confidential and exempt from the 62
provisions of s. 119.07(1). 63
Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 408.185, Florida 64
Statutes, is amended to read: 65
408.185 Information submitted for review of antitrust 66
issues; confidentiality.—The following information held by the 67
Office of the Attorney General, which is submitted by a member 68
of the health care community pursuant to a request for an 69
antitrust no-action letter shall be confidential and exempt from 70
the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 71
Constitution for 1 year after the date of submission. 72
(1) Documents that reveal trade secrets as defined in s. 73
688.002. 74
Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 409.91196, Florida 75

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Statutes, is amended to read: 76
409.91196 Supplemental rebate agreements; public records 77
and public meetings exemption.— 78
(1) The rebate amount, percent of rebate, manufacturer's 79
pricing, and supplemental rebate, and other trade secrets as 80
defined in s. 688.002 that the agency has identified for use in 81
negotiations, held by the Agency for Health Care Administration 82
under s. 409.912(5)(a)7. are confidential and exempt from s. 83
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 84
Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 85
440.108, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 86
440.108 Investigatory records relating to workers' 87
compensation employer compliance; confidentiality.— 88
(2) After an investigation is completed or ceases to be 89
active, information in records relating to the investigation 90
remains confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 91
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution if 92
disclosure of that information would: 93
(b) Reveal a trade secret, as defined in s. 688.002; 94
Section 8. Subsection (4) of section 497.172, Florida 95
Statutes, is amended to read: 96
497.172 Public records exemptions; public meetings 97
exemptions.— 98
(4) TRADE SECRETS.—Trade secrets, as defined in s. 99
688.002, held by the department or board, are confidential and 100

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exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 101
Constitution. 102
Section 9. Paragraph (d) of subsection (11) of section 103
501.171, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 104
501.171 Security of confidential personal information.— 105
(11) PUBLIC RECORDS EXEMPTION.— 106
(d) For purposes of this subsection, the term "proprietary 107
information" means information that: 108
1. Is owned or controlled by the covered entity. 109
2. Is intended to be private and is treated by the covered 110
entity as private because disclosure would harm the covered 111
entity or its business operations. 112
3. Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a 113
private agreement that provides that the information will not be 114
released to the public. 115
4. Is not publicly available or otherwise readily 116
ascertainable through proper means from another source in the 117
same configuration as received by the department. 118
5. Includes: 119
a. Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002. 120
b. competitive interests, the disclosure of which would 121
impair the competitive business of the covered entity who is the 122
subject of the information. 123
Section 10. Paragraph (d) of subsection (6) of section 124
501.1735, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 125

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501.1735 Protection of children in online spaces; public 126
records exemption.— 127
(6) PUBLIC RECORDS EXEMPTION.— 128
(d) For purposes of this section, the term "proprietary 129
information" means information that: 130
1. Is owned or controlled by the online platform. 131
2. Is intended to be private and is treated by the online 132
platform as private because disclosure would harm the online 133
platform or its business operations. 134
3. Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a 135
private agreement that provides that the information will not be 136
released to the public. 137
4. Is not publicly available or otherwise readily 138
ascertainable through proper means from another source in the 139
same configuration as received by the department. 140
5. Includes: 141
a. Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002. 142
b. competitive interests, the disclosure of which would 143
impair the competitive advantage of the online platform who is 144
the subject of the information. 145
Section 11. Paragraph (d) of subsection (10) of section 146
501.2041, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 147
501.2041 Unlawful acts and practices by social media 148
platforms.— 149
(10) 150

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(d) For purposes of this subsection, the term "proprietary 151
business information" means information that: 152
1. Is owned or controlled by the business; 153
2. Is intended to be private and is treated by the 154
business as private because disclosure would harm the business 155
or its business operations; 156
3. Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a 157
private agreement that provides that the information will not be 158
released to the public; 159
4. Is not publicly available or otherwise readily 160
ascertainable through proper means from another source in the 161
same configuration as received by the department; and 162
5. Includes: 163
a. Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002. 164
b. competitive interests, the disclosure of which would 165
impair the competitive advantage of the business that is the 166
subject of the information. 167
Section 12. Paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of section 168
501.722, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 169
501.722 Public records exemption.— 170
(4) For purposes of this section, the term "proprietary 171
information" means information that: 172
(e) Includes: 173
1. Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002. 174
2. competitive interests, the disclosure of which would 175

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impair the competitive advantage of the controller, processor, 176
or third party who is the subject of the information. 177
Section 13. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 178
520.9965, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 179
520.9965 Confidentiality of information relating to 180
investigations and examinations.— 181
(1) 182
(b) Except as necessary for the office to enforce the 183
provisions of this chapter, a consumer complaint and other 184
information relative to an investigation or examination shall 185
remain confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) after the 186
investigation or examination is completed or ceases to be active 187
to the extent disclosure would: 188
1. Jeopardize the integrity of another active 189
investigation or examination. 190
2. Reveal the name, address, telephone number, social 191
security number, or any other identifying number or information 192
of any complainant, customer, or account holder. 193
3. Disclose the identity of a confidential source. 194
4. Disclose investigative techniques or procedures. 195
5. Reveal a trade secret as defined in s. 688.002. 196
Section 14. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section 197
548.062, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 198
548.062 Public records exemption.— 199
(1) As used in this section, the term "proprietary 200

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confidential business information" means information that: 201
(e) Concerns any of the following: 202
1. The number of ticket sales for a match; 203
2. The amount of gross receipts after a match; 204
3. A trade secret, as defined in s. 688.002; 205
3.4. Business plans; 206
4.5. Internal auditing controls and reports of internal 207
auditors; or 208
5.6. Reports of external auditors. 209
Section 15. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 210
559.5558, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 211
559.5558 Public records exemption; investigations and 212
examinations.— 213
(2) 214
(b) Information made confidential and exempt pursuant to 215
this section is no longer confidential and exempt once the 216
investigation or examination is completed or ceases to be active 217
unless disclosure of the information would: 218
1. Jeopardize the integrity of another active 219
investigation or examination. 220
2. Reveal the personal identifying information of a 221
consumer, unless the consumer is also the complainant. A 222
complainant's personal identifying information is subject to 223
disclosure after the investigation or examination is completed 224
or ceases to be active. However, a complainant's personal 225

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financial and health information remains confidential and 226
exempt. 227
3. Reveal the identity of a confidential source. 228
4. Reveal investigative or examination techniques or 229
procedures. 230
5. Reveal trade secrets, as defined in s. 688.002. 231
Section 16. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 232
569.215, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 233
569.215 Confidential records relating to tobacco 234
settlement agreement.— 235
(2) As used in this section, the term "proprietary 236
confidential business information" means information, regardless 237
of form or characteristics, which is owned or controlled by a 238
tobacco company that is a signatory to the settlement agreement, 239
as amended, in the case of State of Florida v. American Tobacco 240
Company, No. 95-1466AH, in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth 241
Judicial Circuit, in and for Palm Beach County, is intended to 242
be and is treated by a tobacco company as private in that the 243
disclosure of the information would cause harm to the company's 244
business operations, and has not been disclosed unless disclosed 245
pursuant to a statutory provision, an order of a court or 246
administrative body, or private agreement that provides that the 247
information will not be released to the public. The term 248
includes, but is not limited to: 249
(a) Trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002. 250

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Section 17. Paragraph (g) of subsection (3) of section 251
627.0628, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 252
627.0628 Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection 253
Methodology; public records exemption; public meetings 254
exemption.— 255
(3) ADOPTION AND EFFECT OF STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.— 256
(g)1. A trade secret, as defined in s. 688.002, which is 257
used in designing and constructing a hurricane or flood loss 258
model and which is provided pursuant to this section, by a 259
private company, to the commission, office, or consumer advocate 260
appointed pursuant to s. 627.0613 is confidential and exempt 261
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 262
Constitution. 263
1.2.a. That portion of a meeting of the commission or of a 264
rate proceeding on an insurer's rate filing at which a trade 265
secret, as defined in s. 688.002, which is used in designing and 266
constructing a hurricane or flood loss model and which is 267
provided pursuant to this section, by a private company, to the 268
commission, office, or consumer advocate appointed pursuant to 269
s. 627.0613 made confidential and exempt by this paragraph is 270
discussed is exempt from s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the 271
State Constitution. The closed meeting must be recorded, and no 272
portion of the closed meeting may be off the record. 273
2.b. The recording of a closed portion of a meeting is 274
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 275

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Constitution. 276
Section 18. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and subsection 277
(4) of section 1004.4472, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 278
1004.4472 Florida Institute for Human and Machine 279
Cognition, Inc.; public records exemption; public meetings 280
exemption.— 281
(2) The following information held by the corporation or 282
its subsidiary is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 283
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution: 284
(a) Material relating to methods of manufacture or 285
production, potential trade secrets, patentable material, actual 286
trade secrets as defined in s. 688.002 or proprietary 287
information received, generated, ascertained, or discovered 288
during the course of research conducted by or through the 289
corporation or a subsidiary, and business transactions resulting 290
from such research. 291
(4) That portion of a meeting of the corporation or a 292
subsidiary at which information is presented or discussed which 293
is confidential and exempt pursuant to subsection (2) or s. 294
119.0715 is exempt from s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the 295
State Constitution. 296
Section 19. This act shall take effect upon becoming a 297
law. 298