A Florida House panel on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill to repeal a law that keeps the identities of applicants in presidential searches at state universities and colleges confidential.

HB 1321, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Salzman, would eliminate a 2022 exemption to Florida’s public-records and public-meetings laws, which allows the names of presidential applicants to remain private until finalists are selected. The bill, advanced by the House Education Administration Subcommittee, would also remove the requirement that university presidents be confirmed by the Board of Governors.

The measure would require the chair of a university or college board of trustees to form a search committee to review applicants. Members who report directly to the president would be barred from serving, along with Florida’s commissioner of education, State Board of Education members, and Board of Governors members.

The bill also introduces term limits for key education boards. Board of Governors members would be limited to a single seven-year term, while university board members could serve up to two consecutive five-year terms.

Under current law, only the names of finalists for university and college presidencies are made public. Lawmakers who backed the 2022 exemption argued it would help attract candidates who might otherwise hesitate to apply due to concerns about job security at their current institutions.