Three Public Record Exemptions Land on Gov. Rick Scott's Desk

Three bills that would keep donations to publicly owned performing arts centers and the Florida Historic Capitol anonymous and exempt some biotech research meeting information from the states Sunshine Law have reached the governors desk.

Senate Bill 1856 exempts discussions and recommendations of applications for biomedical research grants submitted through the James and Esther King Biomedical Research and the William G. Bill Bankhead Jr. and David Coley Cancer Research programs.

SB 570 would allow donors to publicly owned performing arts centers to remain anonymous.

SB 374 does the same for those giving to the direct-support organization of the Florida Historic Capitol and the Legislative Research Center and Museum.

Allowing anonymity may encourage more private entities to donate, according to a state staff analysis.

The Florida Department of States Division of Cultural Affairs estimates that the arts and culture organizations create $5 in revenue for the public sector for every $1 that federal, state, and local governments invest.

Gov. Rick Scott has until March 30 to sign the bills.

The First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee has a declared neutral position on all three bills.