CS/HB 773 2022
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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to public records; amending s. 2
119.071, F.S.; defining the term "law enforcement 3
geolocation information"; providing an exemption from 4
public records requirements for law enforcement 5
geolocation information held by a law enforcement 6
agency; providing for retroactive application; 7
providing exceptions; providing for future legislative 8
review and repeal of the exemption; providing a 9
statement of public necessity; providing an effective 10
date. 11
12
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13
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Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (4) of 15
section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read: 16
119.071 General exemptions from ins pection or copying of 17
public records.— 18
(4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION. — 19
(e)1. As used in this paragraph, the term "law enforcement 20
geolocation information" means information collected using a 21
global positioning system or another mapping, locational, or 22
directional information system that allows tracking of the 23
location or movement of a law enforcement officer or a law 24
enforcement vehicle. 25
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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
2. Law enforcement geolocation information held by a law 26
enforcement agency is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 2 4(a), 27
Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption applies to such 28
information held by an agency before, on, or after the effective 29
date of the exemption. 30
3. The exemption in this paragraph does not apply if: 31
a. A federal, state, or local governmen t entity requests 32
law enforcement geolocation information in furtherance of its 33
official duties. 34
b. A person files a petition with the circuit court in the 35
jurisdiction where the agency having custody of the requested 36
law enforcement geolocation informat ion is located specifying 37
the reasons and public necessity for requesting such information 38
and the court, upon a showing of good cause, issues an order 39
authorizing the release of the law enforcement geolocation 40
information. In determining good cause, the c ourt shall consider 41
whether such disclosure is necessary for the public evaluation 42
of governmental performance and whether such information is 43
available in other public records. In all cases in which the 44
court releases law enforcement geolocation informati on under 45
this sub-subparagraph, such information must be viewed or copied 46
under the direct supervision of the custodian of the record or 47
his or her designee. 48
c. Law enforcement geolocation information is requested 49
for use in a criminal or administrative proceeding. This sub -50
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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
subparagraph does not prohibit a court in a criminal or 51
administrative proceeding, upon a showing of good cause, from 52
restricting or otherwise controlling the disclosure of such 53
information. 54
d. The law enforcement geolocation informa tion is included 55
in a uniform traffic citation, crash report, homicide report, 56
arrest report, incident report, or any other official report 57
issued by an agency. 58
4. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset 59
Review Act in accordance with s. 1 19.15 and shall stand repealed 60
on October 2, 2027, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 61
through reenactment by the Legislature. 62
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 63
necessity that geolocation information of law enforcement 64
officers and law enforcement vehicles be made exempt from s. 65
119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 66
State Constitution so that the safety of this state's law 67
enforcement officers and the privacy of this state's residents 68
may be reasonably assured. The Legislature recognizes that the 69
regular and unregulated release of law enforcement geolocation 70
information can pose a danger to officers while on patrol, can 71
potentially result in the exposure of law enforcement officers' 72
residences, can release other wise exempt surveillance and 73
investigative techniques, and can inadvertently disclose 74
information about private residents which would otherwise be 75
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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
exempt. Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is a public 76
necessity that law enforcement geolocation infor mation be made 77
exempt from public record requirements and that such exemption 78
be applied retroactively. 79
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 80