Records and files as public records.

(1) The records and files in the office of the department appertaining to parts I and II of this chapter shall be available in Tallahassee to the public at any time during business hours. The department shall prepare and make available a list each month of all current licensed terminal suppliers, importers, exporters, and wholesalers which also shall include all new licenses issued and all licenses canceled during the past 12 months. Such list shall be used to verify license numbers of purchasers issuing exemption certificates or affidavits.

(2) Nothing herein shall be construed as requiring the department to provide as a public record any information concerning audits in progress or those records and files of the department described in this section which are currently the subject of pending investigation by the Department of Revenue or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is specifically provided that the foregoing information shall be exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall be considered confidential pursuant to s. 213.053; however, the department may make available to the executive director of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or his or her designee, exclusively for official purposes in administering chapter 207, any information concerning any audit in progress, and the provisions of s. 213.053(8) requiring a written agreement and maintenance of confidentiality by the recipient, and the penalty for breach of confidentiality, shall apply if the department makes such information available. Any officer, employee, or former officer or employee of the department who divulges any such information in any manner except for such official purposes or under s. 213.053 is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.