(1) This section may be cited as the “Transparency Florida Act.”
(2) As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Committee” means the Legislative Auditing Committee.
(b) “Contract” means a written agreement or purchase order issued for the purchase of goods or services or a written agreement for the receipt of state or federal financial assistance.
(c) “Governmental entity” means a state, regional, county, municipal, special district, or other political subdivision whether executive, judicial, or legislative, including, but not limited to, a department, division, bureau, commission, authority, district, or agency thereof, or public school, Florida College System institution, state university, or associated board.
(d) “Website” means a site on the Internet which is easily accessible to the public at no cost and does not require the user to provide information.
(3) The Executive Office of the Governor, in consultation with the appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, shall establish and maintain a single website that provides access to all other websites required by this section. Such single website and other websites must:
(a) Be constructed for usability that, to the extent possible, provides an intuitive user experience.
(b) Provide a consistent visual design, interaction or navigation design, and information or data presentation.
(c) Be deployed in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(d) Be compatible with all major web browsers.
(4) The Executive Office of the Governor, in consultation with the appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, shall establish and maintain a website that provides information relating to the approved operating budget for each branch of state government and state agency.
(a) At a minimum, the information must include:
1. Disbursement data for each appropriation by the object code associated with each expenditure established within the Florida Accounting Information Resource Subsystem. Expenditure data must include the name of the payee, the date of the expenditure, the amount of the expenditure, and the statewide document number. Such data must be searchable by the name of the payee, the paying agency, and fiscal year, and must be downloadable in a format that allows offline analysis.
2. For each appropriation, any adjustments, including vetoes, approved supplemental appropriations included in legislation other than the General Appropriations Act, budget amendments, other actions approved pursuant to chapter 216, and other adjustments authorized by law.
3. Status of spending authority for each appropriation in the approved operating budget, including released, unreleased, reserved, and disbursed balances.
4. Position and rate information for positions provided in the General Appropriations Act or approved through an amendment to the approved operating budget and position information for positions established in the legislative branch.
5. Allotments for planned expenditures of state appropriations established by state agencies in the Florida Accounting Information Resource Subsystem, and the current balances of such allotments.
6. Trust fund balance reports, including cash available, investments, and receipts.
7. General revenue fund balance reports, including revenue received and amounts disbursed.
8. Fixed capital outlay project data, including original appropriation and disbursements throughout the life of the project.
9. A 10-year history of appropriations indicated by agency.
10. Links to state audits or reports related to the expenditure and dispersal of state funds.
11. Links to program or activity descriptions for which funds may be expended.
(b) All data provided through the website must be data currently available in the state’s financial management information system referenced in s. 215.93. The Office of Policy and Budget in the Executive Office of the Governor shall ensure that all data added to the website remains accessible to the public for 10 years.
(5) The Executive Office of the Governor, in consultation with the appropriations committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, shall establish and maintain a website that provides information relating to fiscal planning for the state.
(a) At a minimum, the information must include:
1. The long-range financial outlook adopted by the Legislative Budget Commission.
2. The instructions to the agencies relating to legislative budget requests, capital improvement plans, and long-range program plans.
3. The legislative budget requests submitted by each state agency or branch of state government, and any amendments to such requests.
4. The capital improvement plans submitted by each state agency or branch of state government.
5. The long-range program plans submitted by each state agency or branch of state government.
6. The Governor’s budget recommendation submitted pursuant to s. 216.163.
(b) The data must be searchable by the fiscal year, agency, appropriation category, and keywords.
(c) The Office of Policy and Budget in the Executive Office of the Governor shall ensure that all data added to the website remains accessible to the public for 10 years.
(6) The Department of Management Services shall establish and maintain a website that provides current information relating to each employee or officer of a state agency, a state university, a Florida College System institution, or the State Board of Administration, regardless of the appropriation category from which the person is paid.
(a) For each employee or officer, the information must include, at a minimum, his or her:
1. Name and salary or hourly rate of pay.
2. Position number, class code, and class title.
3. Employing agency and budget entity.
(b) The information must be searchable by state agency, state university, Florida College System institution, and the State Board of Administration, and by employee name, salary range, or class code and must be downloadable in a format that allows offline analysis.
(7) By November 1 of each year, the committee shall recommend to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives:
(a) Additional information to be added to a website, such as whether to expand the scope of the information provided to include state universities, Florida College System institutions, school districts, charter schools, charter technical career centers, local government units, and other governmental entities.
(b) A schedule for adding information to the website by type of information and governmental entity, including timeframes and development entity.
(c) A format for collecting and displaying the additional information.
(8) The manager of each website described in subsections (4), (5), and (6) shall submit to the committee information relating to the cost of creating and maintaining such website, and the number of times the website has been accessed.
(9) The committee shall coordinate with the Financial Management Information Board in developing recommendations for including information on the website which is necessary to meet the requirements of s. 215.91(8).
(10) Functional owners as described in s. 215.94 and other governmental entities shall provide information necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section.
(11) Each water management district shall provide a monthly financial statement in the form and manner prescribed by the Department of Financial Services to the district’s governing board and make such monthly financial statement available for public access on its website.
(12) This section does not require or permit the disclosure of information that is considered confidential under state or federal law.
(13) The committee shall prepare an annual report detailing progress in establishing the single website and providing recommendations for enhancement of the content and format of the website and related policies and procedures. The report shall be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by November 1.
(14) The Chief Financial Officer shall establish and maintain a secure contract tracking system available for viewing and downloading by the public through a secure website. The Chief Financial Officer shall use appropriate Internet security measures to ensure that no person has the ability to alter or modify records available on the website.
(a) Within 30 calendar days after executing a contract, each state entity shall post the following information relating to the contract on the contract tracking system:
1. The names of the contracting entities.
2. The procurement method.
3. The contract beginning and ending dates.
4. The nature or type of the commodities or services purchased.
5. Applicable contract unit prices and deliverables.
6. Total compensation to be paid or received under the contract.
7. All payments made to the contractor to date.
8. Applicable contract performance measures.
9. If a competitive solicitation was not used to procure the goods or services, the justification of such action, including citation to a statutory exemption or exception from competitive solicitation, if any.
10. Electronic copies of the contract and procurement documents that have been redacted to exclude confidential or exempt information.
(b) Within 30 calendar days after an amendment to an existing contract, the state entity that is a party to the contract must update the information described in paragraph (a) in the contract tracking system. An amendment to a contract includes, but is not limited to, a renewal, termination, or extension of the contract or a modification of the terms of the contract.
(c) By January 1, 2014, each state entity shall post to the contract tracking system the information required in paragraph (a) for each existing contract that was executed before July 1, 2013, with payment from state funds made after June 30, 2013.
(d)1. Records made available on the contract tracking system may not reveal information made confidential or exempt by law.
2. Each state entity that is a party to a contract must redact confidential or exempt information from the contract and procurement documents before posting an electronic copy on the contract tracking system. If a state entity that is a party to the contract becomes aware that an electronic copy of a contract or a procurement document has been posted but has not been properly redacted, the state entity must immediately notify the Chief Financial Officer and must immediately remove the contract or procurement document from the contract tracking system. Within 7 business days, the state entity must post a properly redacted copy of the contract or procurement document on the contract tracking system.
3.a. If a party to a contract, or an authorized representative of a party to a contract, discovers that an electronic copy of a contract or procurement document has been posted to the contract tracking system but has not been properly redacted, the party or representative may request the state entity that is a party to the contract to redact the confidential or exempt information. Upon receipt of the request, the state entity shall redact the confidential or exempt information.
b. A request to redact confidential or exempt information must be made in writing and delivered by mail, facsimile, electronic transmission, or in person to the state entity that is a party to the contract. The request must identify the specific document, the page numbers that include the confidential or exempt information, the information that is confidential or exempt, and the applicable statutory exemption. A fee may not be charged for a redaction made pursuant to the request.
c. A party to a contract may petition the circuit court for an order directing compliance with this paragraph.
4. The contract tracking system shall display a notice of the right of an affected party to request redaction of confidential or exempt information contained on the system.
5.a. The Chief Financial Officer, the Department of Financial Services, or an officer, employee, or contractor thereof, is not responsible for redacting confidential or exempt information from an electronic copy of a contract or procurement document posted by another state entity on the system.
b. The Chief Financial Officer, the Department of Financial Services, or an officer, employee, or contractor thereof, is not liable for the failure of a state entity to redact the confidential or exempt information.
(e)1. The posting of information on the contract tracking system or the provision of contract information on a website for public viewing and downloading does not supersede the duty of a state entity to respond to a public records request or subpoena for the information.
2. A request for a copy of a contract or procurement document or certified copy of a contract or procurement document shall be made to the state entity that is party to the contract. The request may not be made to the Chief Financial Officer, the Department of Financial Services, or an officer, employee, or contractor thereof, unless the Chief Financial Officer or the department is a party to the contract.
3. A subpoena for a copy of a contract or procurement document or certified copy of a contract or procurement document must be served on the state entity that is a party to the contract and that maintains the original documents. The Chief Financial Officer, the Department of Financial Services, or an officer, employee, or contractor thereof, may not be served a subpoena for those records unless the Chief Financial Officer or the department is a party to the contract.
(f) The Chief Financial Officer may regulate and prohibit the posting of records that could facilitate identity theft or fraud, such as signatures; compromise or reveal an agency investigation; reveal the identity of undercover personnel; reveal proprietary business information or trade secrets; reveal an individual’s medical information; or reveal another record or information that the Chief Financial Officer believes may jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the public. However, such action by the Chief Financial Officer does not supersede the duty of a state entity to provide a copy of a public record upon request.
(g) The Chief Financial Officer may adopt rules to administer this subsection.
(h) For purposes of this subsection, the term:
1. “Procurement document” means any document or material provided to the public or any vendor as part of a formal competitive solicitation of goods or services undertaken by a state entity, and a document or material submitted in response to a formal competitive solicitation by any vendor who is awarded the resulting contract.
2. “State entity” means an official, officer, commission, board, authority, council, committee, or department of the executive branch of state government; a state attorney, public defender, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, capital collateral regional counsel, and the Justice Administrative Commission; the Public Service Commission; and any part of the judicial branch of state government.
(i) In lieu of posting in the contract tracking system administered by the Chief Financial Officer, the Department of Legal Affairs and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may post the information described in paragraphs (a) through (c) to its own agency-managed website. The data posted on the agency-managed website must be downloadable in a format that allows offline analysis.
(j) The requirement under paragraphs (a) through (c) that each agency post information and documentation relating to contracts on the tracking system does not apply to any record that could reveal attorney work product or strategy.
History.—s. 2, ch. 2009-74; s. 2, ch. 2011-49; s. 1, ch. 2013-54; s. 8, ch. 2017-3; s. 11, ch. 2019-15; s. 2, ch. 2019-103; s. 11, ch. 2021-51.
Structure Florida Statutes
Title XIV - Taxation and Finance
Chapter 215 - Financial Matters: General Provisions
215.02 - Manner of Paying Money Into the Treasury.
215.03 - Party to Be Reimbursed on Reversal of Judgment for State.
215.04 - Department of Financial Services to Report Delinquents.
215.05 - Department of Financial Services to Certify Accounts of Delinquents.
215.06 - Certified Accounts of Delinquents as Evidence.
215.07 - Preference of State in Case of Insolvency.
215.08 - Delinquent Collectors to Be Reported to State Attorney.
215.09 - Delinquent Collectors; Forfeiture of Commissions.
215.10 - Delinquent Collectors; Suspension.
215.11 - Defaulting Officers; Department of Financial Services to Report to Clerk.
215.12 - Defaulting Officers; Duty of Clerk.
215.15 - School Appropriations to Have Priority.
215.179 - Solicitation of Payment.
215.18 - Transfers Between Funds; Limitation.
215.195 - Agency Deposits Relating to the Statewide Cost Allocation Plan.
215.196 - Architects Incidental Trust Fund; Creation; Assessment.
215.197 - Federal Grants Trust Fund.
215.198 - Operating Trust Fund.
215.199 - Audit and Warrant Clearing Trust Fund.
215.20 - Certain Income and Certain Trust Funds to Contribute to the General Revenue Fund.
215.211 - Service Charge; Elimination or Reduction for Specified Proceeds.
215.22 - Certain Income and Certain Trust Funds Exempt.
215.23 - When Contributions to Be Made.
215.24 - Exemptions Where Federal Contributions or Private Grants.
215.245 - Contracts With Federal Government; Indemnification Authorized in Certain Circumstances.
215.25 - Manner of Contributions; Rules and Regulations.
215.26 - Repayment of Funds Paid Into State Treasury Through Error.
215.31 - State Funds; Deposit in State Treasury.
215.311 - State Funds; Exceptions.
215.32 - State Funds; Segregation.
215.3206 - Trust Funds; Termination or Re-Creation.
215.3207 - Trust Funds; Establishment; Criteria.
215.3208 - Trust Funds; Legislative Review.
215.321 - Regulatory Trust Fund.
215.34 - State Funds; Noncollectible Items; Procedure.
215.35 - State Funds; Warrants and Their Issuance.
215.36 - State Funds; Laws Not Repealed.
215.405 - State Agencies and the Judicial Branch Authorized to Collect Costs of Fingerprinting.
215.42 - Purchases From Appropriations, Proof of Delivery.
215.425 - Extra Compensation Claims Prohibited; Bonuses; Severance Pay.
215.43 - Public Bonds, Notes, and Other Securities.
215.431 - Issuance of Bond Anticipation Notes.
215.44 - Board of Administration; Powers and Duties in Relation to Investment of Trust Funds.
215.4401 - Board of Administration; Public Record Exemptions.
215.441 - Board of Administration; Appointment of Executive Director.
215.442 - Executive Director; Reporting Requirements; Public Meeting.
215.444 - Investment Advisory Council.
215.45 - Sale and Exchange of Securities.
215.47 - Investments; Authorized Securities; Loan of Securities.
215.4701 - Trademarks, Copyrights, or Patents.
215.4702 - Investments in Publicly Traded Companies Operating in Northern Ireland.
215.471 - Divestiture by the State Board of Administration; Reporting Requirements.
215.472 - Prohibited Investments.
215.473 - Divestiture by the State Board of Administration; Sudan; Iran.
215.474 - Analyses of Technology and Growth Investments.
215.475 - Investment Policy Statement.
215.4755 - Certification and Disclosure Requirements for Investment Advisers and Managers.
215.48 - Consent and Ratification of Appropriate Board, Agency, or of the Judicial Branch.
215.49 - Making Funds Available for Investment.
215.50 - Custody of Securities Purchased; Income.
215.51 - Investment Accounts; Changes, Notice, Etc.
215.515 - Investment Accounts; Charges for Services.
215.52 - Rules and Regulations.
215.53 - Powers of Existing Officers and Boards, the Judicial Branch, and Agencies Not Affected.
215.55 - Federal Use of State Lands Trust Fund; County Distribution.
215.551 - Federal Use of State Lands Trust Fund; County Distribution; Requests by Counties.
215.555 - Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
215.5551 - Reinsurance to Assist Policyholders Program.
215.557 - Reports of Insured Values.
215.5586 - My Safe Florida Home Program.
215.5588 - Florida Disaster Recovery Program.
215.559 - Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program.
215.5595 - Insurance Capital Build-Up Incentive Program.
215.55952 - Annual Report on Economic Impact of a 1-in-100-Year Hurricane.
215.56005 - Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation.
215.5601 - Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund.
215.5602 - James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program.
215.56021 - Exemptions From Public Records and Public Meetings Requirements; Peer Review Panels.
215.58 - Definitions Relating to State Bond Act.
215.59 - State Bonds, Revenue Bonds; Issuance.
215.60 - State Bonds for Financing Road Acquisition and Construction.
215.605 - State Bonds for Right-of-Way Acquisition or Bridge Construction.
215.61 - State System of Public Education Capital Outlay Bonds.
215.615 - Fixed-Guideway Transportation Systems Funding.
215.616 - State Bonds for Federal Aid Highway Construction.
215.617 - Bonds for State-Funded Infrastructure Bank.
215.619 - Bonds for Everglades Restoration.
215.62 - Division of Bond Finance.
215.64 - Powers of the Division.
215.65 - Bond Fee Trust Fund, Expenditures; Schedule of Fees.
215.655 - Arbitrage Compliance Program, Expenditures; Schedule of Fees.
215.66 - Request for Issuance of Bonds; Procedure Requirements.
215.67 - Issuance of State Bonds.
215.68 - Issuance of Bonds; Form; Maturity Date, Execution, Sale.
215.69 - State Board of Administration to Administer Funds.
215.70 - State Board of Administration to Act in Case of Defaults.
215.71 - Application of Bond Proceeds.
215.72 - Covenants With Bondholders.
215.73 - Approval of Bond Issue by State Board of Administration.
215.75 - Bonds Securities for Public Bodies.
215.76 - Exemption of Bonds From Taxation.
215.82 - Validation; When Required.
215.821 - Issuance of Bonds by State Agencies.
215.83 - Construction of State Bond Act.
215.835 - Rulemaking Authority.
215.84 - Government Bonds; Maximum Rate of Interest.
215.845 - Certain Special Laws Establishing Interest Rates on Bonds Prohibited.
215.85 - Direct Deposit of Public Funds.
215.86 - Management Systems and Controls.
215.91 - Florida Financial Management Information System; Board; Council.
215.92 - Definitions Relating to Florida Financial Management Information System Act.
215.93 - Florida Financial Management Information System.
215.94 - Designation, Duties, and Responsibilities of Functional Owners.
215.95 - Financial Management Information Board.
215.96 - Coordinating Council and Design and Coordination Staff.
215.962 - Standards for State Agency Use of Card-Based Technology.
215.965 - Disbursement of State Moneys.
215.966 - Refinancing of Bonds.
215.97 - Florida Single Audit Act.
215.971 - Agreements Funded With Federal or State Assistance.
215.98 - State Debt Fiscal Responsibility.
215.981 - Audits of State Agency Direct-Support Organizations and Citizen Support Organizations.