The 2023 Florida Statutes (including Special Session C)

Title XXVII
RAILROADS AND OTHER REGULATED UTILITIES

Chapter 364
COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

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F.S. 364.183

364.183 Access to company records.—

(1) The commission shall have access to all records of a telecommunications company which are reasonably necessary for the disposition of matters within the commission’s jurisdiction. The commission may require a telecommunications company to file records, reports or other data directly related to matters within the commission’s jurisdiction in the form specified by the commission and may require such company to retain such information for a designated period of time. Upon request of the company or other person, any records received by the commission which are claimed by the company or other person to be proprietary confidential business information shall be kept confidential and shall be exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.

(2) Discovery in any docket or proceeding before the commission shall be in the manner provided for in Rule 1.280 of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. Upon a showing by a company or other person and a finding by the commission that discovery will require the disclosure of proprietary confidential business information, the commission shall issue an appropriate protective order designating the manner for handling such information during the course of the proceeding and for protecting such information from disclosure outside the proceeding. Such proprietary confidential business information shall be exempt from s. 119.07(1). Any records provided pursuant to a discovery request for which proprietary confidential business information status is requested shall be treated by the commission and the Office of the Public Counsel and any other party subject to the public records law as confidential and shall be exempt from s. 119.07(1), pending a formal ruling on such request by the commission or the return of the records to the person providing the records. Any record which has been determined to be proprietary confidential business information and is not entered into the official record of the proceeding shall be returned to the person providing the record within 60 days after the final order, unless the final order is appealed. If the final order is appealed, any such record shall be returned within 30 days after the decision on appeal. The commission shall adopt the necessary rules to implement this subsection.

(3) The term “proprietary confidential business information” means information, regardless of form or characteristics, which is owned or controlled by the person or company, is intended to be and is treated by the person or company as private in that the disclosure of the information would cause harm to the ratepayers or the person’s or company’s business operations, and has not been disclosed unless disclosed pursuant to a statutory provision, an order of a court or administrative body, or private agreement that provides that the information will not be released to the public. The term includes, but is not limited to:

(a) Trade secrets.

(b) Internal auditing controls and reports of internal auditors.

(d) Information concerning bids or other contractual data, the disclosure of which would impair the efforts of the company or its affiliates to contract for goods or services on favorable terms.

(e) Information relating to competitive interests, the disclosure of which would impair the competitive business of the provider of information.

(f) Employee personnel information unrelated to compensation, duties, qualifications, or responsibilities.

(4) Any finding by the commission that a record contains proprietary confidential business information is effective for a period set by the commission not to exceed 18 months, unless the commission finds, for good cause, that the protection from disclosure shall be for a specified longer period. The commission shall order the return of a record containing proprietary confidential business information when such record is no longer necessary for the commission to conduct its business. At that time, the commission shall order any other person holding such record to return it to the person providing the record. Any record containing proprietary confidential business information which has not been returned at the conclusion of the period set pursuant to this subsection shall no longer be exempt from s. 119.07(1) unless the telecommunications company or affected person shows, and the commission finds, that the record continues to contain proprietary confidential business information. Upon such finding, the commission may extend the period for confidential treatment for a period not to exceed 18 months unless the commission finds, for good cause, that the protection from disclosure shall be for a specified longer period. During commission consideration of an extension, the record in question remains exempt from s. 119.07(1). The commission shall adopt rules to implement this subsection, which shall include notice to the telecommunications company or affected person regarding the expiration of confidential treatment.

History.—ss. 1, 5, ch. 82-51; ss. 6, 7, ch. 89-163; ss. 23, 48, 49, ch. 90-244; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 18, ch. 95-403; s. 167, ch. 96-406; s. 26, ch. 2011-36.

F.S. 364.183 on Google Scholar

F.S. 364.183 on Casetext

Amendments to 364.183

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 364.183

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 364.183.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases from cite.case.law:

HILL, v. PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA,, 701 So. 2d 1218 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1997)

. . . Thus, once the exceptions set forth in section 364.183(3) are considered in conjunction with the Public . . . Records Act, the Commission’s conclusions that section 364.183(8) should be narrowly construed and that . . .

SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, v. J. DEASON,, 632 So. 2d 1377 (Fla. 1994)

. . . Based on the language of section 364.183, Florida Statutes (1991), the PSC ordered Southern Bell to provide . . . Subsection 364.183(1) provides in part: The commission shall have reasonable access to all company records . . . In our eyes, however, the issue presented by this case is whether section 364.183 provides the PSC with . . . subsidized by ratepayers, the company’s regulated rates, or by a company’s affiliates. §§ 364.01 and 364.183 . . . We hold that section 364.183(1), Florida Statutes (1991), does not apply to documents that are sought . . .

SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, v. M. BEARD, M. L. L. MCK. J., 597 So. 2d 873 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1992)

. . . Commission), denying appellant’s request to classify certain documents as confidential, pursuant to Section 364.183 . . . produced during discovery constituted “proprietary confidential business information” under section 364.183 . . . motion for protective order wherein Bell sought confidential treatment of the documents under section 364.183 . . . audit ... entitled to be treated as proprietary confidential business information pursuant to Section 364.183 . . . Thus, once the exceptions set forth in section 364.183(3) are considered in conjunction with the Public . . .

FLORIDA SOCIETY OF NEWSPAPER EDITORS, INC. v. FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION AT T GTE, 543 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1989)

. . . The central issue here is whether the Commission’s determination, under sections 364.183 and 366.093, . . . But sections 364.183 and 366.093 are worded differently from other exemption provisions. . . . under rule 25-22.006 to challenge the Commission’s determinations of confidentiality under sections 364.183 . . . concur. .Southern Bell produced the documents after it had obtained a protective order under section 364.183 . . . Corporation, respectively, in which there was discussion of documents declared confidential under sections 364.183 . . .