Amazon.com says it’s up to the competing cities to go public with their individual bids to lure the company’s second North American headquarters, which it calls HQ2.
Amazon has confirmed that cities are free to decide the level of public disclosure about their proposals.
That level remains flat in Jacksonville.
Marsha Oliver, a spokeswoman for Mayor Lenny Curry, stated last week that Amazon has a confidentiality agreement in place with the state, which exempts all documents and information from public record under Florida Statute 288.075.
A public records request Friday to the city yielded the same response.
The statute states in part that if a private corporation requests in writing that an economic development agency maintain the confidentiality of information regarding plans to expand in the state, the information is confidential and exempt from public records laws.
In the Request for Proposals, Amazon asked that bids be marked “confidential” if sent by hard copy or else submitted to a password-protected website URL or a USB.
While an Amazon spokesman said community officials have signed nondisclosure agreements because the company shared some internal information, cities can disclose what they want about details regarding their own activities and proposals.
The city of Jacksonville has not released information about its bid made last week for the headquarters, which Amazon said would bring $5 billion in capital investment and 50,000 jobs to the chosen location.
The Miami Herald reported that the state submitted four proposals — from the Miami area, Orlando, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville — as a package.
Other Florida counties also submitted bids, according to media reports.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity referred questions Tuesday to Enterprise Florida, which issued a statement through spokeswoman Megan Bailey:
“Enterprise Florida is assisting our Florida communities with their proposals for Amazon. Enterprise Florida’s goal is to make sure that interested communities are well represented.
“Florida has much to offer with our business-friendly environment, low taxes, high-quality education opportunities, historically low crime rates, and talented workforce.
“There is no reason why Florida should not be the frontrunner for Amazon’s new headquarters,” it concluded.
Barbara Petersen, president of the Tallahassee-based First Amendment Foundation, was not available to comment.
Amazon tweeted Monday that it received 238 proposals from across North America for what it calls HQ2. “The team is excited to review each of them!” it said.
The Wall Street Journal reported proposals came from 54 states, provinces, districts and territories, including Puerto Rico and locations in Mexico and Canada.
Seven states did not submit bids: North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Vermont, Montana, Hawaii and Arkansas.
Arkansas is home to Amazon competitor Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The other six didn’t meet, or barely met, the requirement of a population center of 1 million people, the paper said.
Some areas shared bid information, such as Newark’s $7 billion package over a decade in New Jersey.
Chicago bid $2.2 billion of incentives.
Amazon opened four facilities in Jacksonville that together will hire more than 5,000 people.
Two fulfillment centers operate in Northwest and West Jacksonville, a sortation center opened in Westside Industrial Park and a delivery station operates in North Jacksonville.
In a statement Oct. 6, before the Oct. 19 deadline to submit a bid, Curry said his administration wanted to see Amazon’s presence grow in Jacksonville.
He did not elaborate about the proposal or incentives package it would include.
“I strongly believe Jacksonville has all the attributes that make for a great place to do business —including a strong labor force, a low cost of doing business, and a great quality of life.”
He said he and his team “are committed to doing everything we can to bring jobs and economic opportunities to Jacksonville.”