| 15 | 15 | | An act relating to public records; amending s. 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | 943.0582, F.S.; providing an exemption from public 3 |
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| 17 | 17 | | records requirements for a nonjudicial record of the 4 |
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| 18 | 18 | | arrest of a minor who has successfully completed a 5 |
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| 19 | 19 | | diversion program; providing for retroactive 6 |
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| 20 | 20 | | application; providing for future legislative review 7 |
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| 21 | 21 | | and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of 8 |
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| 22 | 22 | | public necessity; providing a contingent effective 9 |
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| 23 | 23 | | date. 10 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 11 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 13 |
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| 27 | 27 | | Section 1. Subsection (5) is added to section 943.0582, 14 |
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| 28 | 28 | | Florida Statutes, to read: 15 |
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| 29 | 29 | | 943.0582 Diversion program expunction. — 16 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (5) A nonjudicial record of the arrest of a minor who has 17 |
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| 31 | 31 | | successfully completed a diversion program which is sealed or 18 |
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| 32 | 32 | | expunged under this section and which is retained by the 19 |
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| 33 | 33 | | department is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 20 |
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| 34 | 34 | | 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, except that the record 21 |
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| 35 | 35 | | may be made available to criminal justice agencies only for the 22 |
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| 36 | 36 | | purposes specified in subparagraph (2)(b)1. The exemption under 23 |
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| 37 | 37 | | this subsection applies to records held by the department 24 |
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| 38 | 38 | | before, on, or after July 1, 2022. This subsection is subject to 25 |
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| 46 | 46 | | Page 2 of 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S |
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| 48 | 48 | | |
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| 49 | 49 | | |
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| 50 | 50 | | |
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| 51 | 51 | | the Open Government Suns et Review Act in accordance with s. 26 |
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| 52 | 52 | | 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2027, unless 27 |
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| 53 | 53 | | reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 28 |
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| 54 | 54 | | Legislature. 29 |
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| 55 | 55 | | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 30 |
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| 56 | 56 | | necessity that the nonjudicial re cord of the arrest of a minor 31 |
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| 57 | 57 | | who successfully completed a diversion program for minors which 32 |
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| 58 | 58 | | is sealed or expunged pursuant to s. 943.0582, Florida Statutes, 33 |
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| 59 | 59 | | be made confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida 34 |
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| 60 | 60 | | Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of t he State Constitution. The 35 |
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| 61 | 61 | | purpose of diversion programs is to redirect youth from the 36 |
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| 62 | 62 | | justice system with opportunities for programming, 37 |
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| 63 | 63 | | rehabilitation, and restoration. This purpose is undermined if 38 |
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| 64 | 64 | | the nonjudicial record of arrest is not confidential an d exempt. 39 |
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| 65 | 65 | | The presence of a nonjudicial record of arrest of a minor who 40 |
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| 66 | 66 | | completed a diversion program can jeopardize his or her ability 41 |
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| 67 | 67 | | to obtain education, employment, and other opportunities 42 |
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| 68 | 68 | | necessary to become a productive, contributing, self -sustaining 43 |
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| 69 | 69 | | member of society. Such negative consequences are unwarranted in 44 |
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| 70 | 70 | | cases in which the minor was successfully diverted from further 45 |
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| 71 | 71 | | delinquency proceedings through the completion of a diversion 46 |
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| 72 | 72 | | program. For these reasons, the Legislature finds that it is a 47 |
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| 73 | 73 | | public necessity that the criminal history records of minors 48 |
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| 74 | 74 | | which have received an expunction due to the successful 49 |
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| 75 | 75 | | completion of a diversion program be confidential and exempt 50 |
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