MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2002 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative Simpson
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT FROM THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT OF 1983 CERTAIN RECORDS CONTAINING INFORMATION WHICH HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY AN ENTITY IN THE COURSE OF NEGOTIATING AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR INDUSTRIAL PROJECT; TO AMEND SECTION 79-23-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT FROM THE ACT COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF A PROPRIETARY NATURE VOLUNTARILY SUBMITTED TO A PUBLIC BODY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 25-61-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-61-9. (1) Records other than those described in subsection (7) of this section or in Section 79-23-1(1), furnished to public bodies by third parties which contain trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information, shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under this chapter until notice to said third parties has been given, but such records shall be released within a reasonable period of time unless the said third parties shall have obtained a court order protecting such records as confidential.
(2) If any public record which is held to be exempt from disclosure pursuant to this chapter contains material which is not exempt pursuant to this chapter, the public body shall separate the exempt material and make the nonexempt material available for examination and/or copying as provided for in this chapter.
(3) Trade secrets and confidential commercial and financial information of a proprietary nature developed by a college or university under contract with a firm, business, partnership, association, corporation, individual or other like entity shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under this chapter.
(4) Misappropriation of a trade secret shall be governed by the provisions of the Mississippi Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Sections 75-26-1 through 75-26-19.
(5) A waste minimization plan and any updates developed by generators and facility operators under the Mississippi Comprehensive Multimedia Waste Minimization Act of 1990 shall be retained at the facility and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under this chapter.
(6) Data processing software obtained by an agency under a licensing agreement that prohibits its disclosure and which software is a trade secret, as defined in Section 75-26-3, and data processing software produced by a public body which is sensitive must not be subject to inspection, copying or reproduction under this chapter.
As used in this subsection, "sensitive" means only those portions of data processing software, including the specifications and documentation, used to:
(a) Collect, process, store, and retrieve information which is exempt under this chapter.
(b) Control and direct access authorizations and security measures for automated systems.
(c) Collect, process, store, and retrieve information, disclosure of which would require a significant intrusion into the business of the public body.
(7) Records of a public body containing information provided by an entity in the course of negotiating a proposed economic development or industrial project between the public body and the entity, including the execution of any agreements or contracts related to the project, shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 79-23-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
79-23-1. (1) Commercial and financial information of a proprietary nature * * * submitted to a public body, as defined by paragraph (a) of Section 25-61-3, by a firm, business, partnership, association, corporation, individual or other like entity, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed to deny access to such information submitted to a regulatory agency by a public utility that is related to the establishment of, or changes in, rates regulated by such agency.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to deny a public utility the right to protect trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information, as provided in subsection (1) of Section 25-61-9.
(3) Trade secrets and confidential commercial and financial information of a proprietary nature developed by a college or university under contract with a firm, business, partnership, association, corporation, individual or other like entity shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.
(4) Misappropriation of a trade secret shall be governed by the provisions of Mississippi Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Sections 75-26-1 through 75-26-19.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.