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The names of everyone applying to be a university or state college President in Florida will no longer be public under legislation approved along party lines Tuesday morning in the State Capitol.

This is the sixth year the legislation has been filed.

Only the names of finalists would become public, which records advocates say doesn’t tell the public enough.

State lawmakers want to keep the names of people applying for university or state college presidencies out of the public record, at least initially.

Their argument, candidates don’t want their current bosses to know they applied for another job.

“What we really want is a broader pool of applicants,” said Senate sponsor Jeff Brandes.

But opponents, including FSU faculty union president Matthew Lata, contradicted lawmakers.

He said being considered for a new job is actually a plus in academia.

“Being recruited is a part of what we do, and its a part of what cements our national reputation,” said Lata.

The First Amendment Foundation worries the public will never know if politics overshadowed a quality leader.

“So we won’t know if there was a lovely, diverse pool of applicants of women, of people of color. We won’t have any of that information. We’ll only know about these last candidates,” said Pam Marsh, President of the Foundation.

The legislation has never been able to get the two thirds vote required to enact a new public records exemption.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Let’s leave things the way they are because its been working,” said Lata.

Committee Chair Joe Gruters said the legislation doesn’t undermine current university leaders, but it could prove beneficial.

“I think we’ve been pretty lucky with our picks, so the other side works, and however, I just think you are limiting the pool,” said Gruters.

Over the six years the bill has been introduced, it has passed both chambers on majority votes, but never by the two thirds votes needed to enact new restrictions on public records.

Under the legislation only finalists names become public at least 21 days before a vote, but opponents say the final recommendation could be just one candidate.