159 new Florida laws go into effect Friday, MMA has part
159 new Florida laws go into effect Friday, MMA has part
159 new laws will go into effect in Florida on Friday. They range from the latest record-setting state budget to a public records exemption for taped, mixed-martial arts and boxing bouts.
Lawmakers sent 272 bills to Gov. Rick Scott during the regular legislative session, which ended in March. Scott vetoed three and signed the rest.
Of the bills approved by Scott, a handful still require approval from local voters before coming law, 25 won’t be enacted until October 1, and 67 instantly went into effect after the governor signed them.
The laws take effect July 1.
The one regarding the public records exemption for taped, mixed martial arts and boxing bouts is below.
Public records
HB 381 keeps private the results of the taped matches controlled by the Florida State Boxing Commission before they are publicly aired.
View Full Bill By Clicking Here
The bill states that the change is made in order to protect the promoter from a loss of financial gain. Two seasons ago, the UFC filmed The Ultimate Fighter Season 21 in Florida when two South Florida gyms, The Blackzilians and American Top Team went head-to-head. The results of the show are not made public before the Ultimate Fighter airs on television. This law helps ensure that. Makes one wonder if more reality based boxing and mixed martial arts shows are headed to the Sunshine State in the near future.
Bill excerpt
“The Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that proprietary confidential business information provided by a promoter to the Florida State Boxing Commission be made confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The disclosure of proprietary confidential business information could injure a promoter in the marketplace by giving the
promoter’s competitors insights into the promoter’s financial status and business plan, thereby putting the promoter at a competitive disadvantage. The Legislature also finds that the harm to a promoter in disclosing proprietary confidential business information significantly outweighs any public benefit
derived from the disclosure of such information. Therefore, extending the public records exemption to proprietary confidential business information provided by a promoter to the commission, no matter if the information is provided in a report or otherwise, ensures that the public records exemption is
maintained and not undermined. For these reasons, the Legislature declares that any proprietary confidential business information provided by a promoter to the Florida State Boxing Commission is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution.”
Media Opposition
Earlier this year, letters of opposition were sent to Jake Raburn in Florida’s House of Representatives. Media asked that the bill not be signed because “legislation is grossly overreaching and lacks sufficient justification to warrant creating an exception to the public’s constitutional right of access.”
