CS/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
authorizing the release of the exempt information in 8
certain circumstances; providing for future 9
legislative review an d repeal of the exemption; 10
providing a statement of public necessity; providing 11
an effective date. 12
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
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Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (4) of 16
section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read: 17
119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of 18
public records.— 19
(4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION. — 20
(e)1. As used in this paragraph, the term "law enforcement 21
geolocation information" means information collected using a 22
global positioning system or another mapping, locational, or 23
directional information system that allows tracking of the 24
location or movement of a law enforcement officer or a law 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
enforcement vehicle. 26
2. Law enforcement geolocation information held by a law 27
enforcement agency is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), 28
Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption applies to such 29
information held by an agency before, on, or after the effective 30
date of the exemption. 31
3. The exempt information shall be released in t he 32
following instances: 33
a. A federal, state, or local government entity requests 34
law enforcement geolocation information in furtherance of its 35
official duties. 36
b. A person files a petition with the circuit court in the 37
jurisdiction where the agency hav ing custody of the requested 38
law enforcement geolocation information is located specifying 39
the reasons and public necessity for requesting such information 40
and the court, upon a showing of good cause, issues an order 41
authorizing the release of the law enfo rcement geolocation 42
information. In determining good cause, the court shall consider 43
whether such disclosure is necessary for the public evaluation 44
of governmental performance and whether such information is 45
available in other public records. In all cases in which the 46
court releases law enforcement geolocation information under 47
this sub-subparagraph, such information must be viewed or copied 48
under the direct supervision of the custodian of the record or 49
his or her designee. 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
c. Law enforcement geolocation information is requested 51
for use in a criminal or administrative proceeding. This sub -52
subparagraph does not prohibit a court in a criminal or 53
administrative proceeding, upon a showing of good cause, from 54
restricting or otherwise controlling the disclosure of such 55
information. 56
d. The law enforcement geolocation information is included 57
in a uniform traffic citation, crash report, homicide report, 58
arrest report, incident report, or any other official report 59
issued by an agency. 60
4. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset 61
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 62
on October 2, 2027, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 63
through reenactment by the Legislature. 64
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 65
necessity that geolocation information of law enforcement 66
officers and law enforcement vehicles be made exempt from s. 67
119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 68
State Constitution so that the safety of this state's law 69
enforcement officers and the privacy of this state's residents 70
may be reasonably assured. The Legislature recognizes that the 71
regular and unregulated release of law enforcement geolocation 72
information can pose a danger to officers while on patrol, can 73
potentially result in the ex posure of law enforcement officers' 74
residences, can release otherwise exempt surveillance and 75
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investigative techniques, and can inadvertently disclose 76
information about private residents which would otherwise be 77
exempt. Therefore, the Legislature finds tha t it is a public 78
necessity that law enforcement geolocation information be made 79
exempt from public record requirements and that such exemption 80
be applied retroactively. 81
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 82