This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: h1121.TIE
DATE: 1/22/2022
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 1121 Pub. Rec./Crash Reports and Traffic Citations
SPONSOR(S): Brannan
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/SB 1614
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee Johnson Keating
2) Government Operations Subcommittee
3) Commerce Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Under current law, motor vehicle crash reports held by agencies that regularly receive or prepare motor vehicle
crash reports are exempt from disclosure as public records for 60 days after the reports have been filed. The
statute provides a list of entities that may receive crash reports during that 60-day period. Under current law,
traffic citations are considered public records.
The bill revises the public record exemption for written crash reports to:
Provide that the exemption applies to crash reports held by any agency subject to the public record law.
Create a permanent exemption for such crash reports beyond the current 60-day limit.
Revise the list of entities to which the report may be made available.
Require certain entities to enter into memoranda of understanding in order to obtain such information;
Revise conditions required to access the report.
Exempt certain computerized crash report data.
The bill also creates a public record exemption for certain driver information contained in a traffic citation and
authorizes the release of this information as provided in the federal Driver Privacy Protection Act.
The bill also provides these the public record exemptions are subject to repeal under the Open Government
Sunset Review Act unless the Legislature reviews and reenacts the exemptions by specified dates.
The bill provides a public necessity statement for each exemption as required by the Florida Constitution.
Article I, s. 24(c) of the Florida Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the members present and
voting for final passage of a newly created or expanded public record or public meeting exemption.
The bill creates a public record exemption; thus, it requires a two-thirds vote for final passage.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2022.
STORAGE NAME: h1121.TIE PAGE: 2
DATE: 1/22/2022
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Current Situation
Public Records
Article I, s. 24(a) of the Florida Constitution sets forth the state’s public policy regarding access to
government records. This section guarantees every person a right to inspect or copy any public record
of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. The Legislature, however, may
provide by general law for the exemption of records from the requirements of art. I, s. 24(a) of the
Florida Constitution.
1
The general law must state with specificity the public necessity justifying the
exemption
2
and must be no broader than necessary to accomplish its purpose.
3
Public policy regarding access to government records is addressed further in s. 119.07(1)(a), F.S.,
which guarantees every person a right to inspect and copy any state, county, or municipal record,
unless the record is exempt. Furthermore, the Open Government Sunset Review Act
4
provides that a
public record or public meeting exemption may be created or maintained only if it serves an identifiable
public purpose. In addition, it may be no broader than necessary to meet one of the following purposes:
Allow the state or its political subdivisions to effectively and efficiently administer a
governmental program, which administration would be significantly impaired without the
exemption.
Protect sensitive personal information that, if released, would be defamatory or would
jeopardize an individual’s safety; however, only the identity of an individual may be exempted
under this provision.
Protect trade or business secrets.
5
Federal Driver Privacy Protection Act
Motorist personal information, when held by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
(DHSMV) in motor vehicle records, is confidential pursuant to the federal Driver Privacy Protection Act
(DPPA).
6
Personal information covered by the DPPA include: social security number, driver license or
identification card number, name, address, telephone number and a person’s medical or disability
information.
7
Under DPPA, personal information in motor vehicle and driver license records may be released for the
following purposes:
8
For use by any government agency, including any court or law enforcement agency, in carrying
out its functions, or any private person or entity acting on behalf of a government agency in
carrying out its functions;
For use in connection with matters of motor vehicle or driver safety and theft; motor vehicle
emissions; motor vehicle product alterations, recalls, or advisories; performance monitoring of
motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts and dealers; motor vehicle market research activities; and
removal of non-owner records from the original owner records of motor vehicle manufacturers;
1
Article I, s. 24(c), FLA. CONST.
2
This portion of a public record exemption is commonly referred to as a “public necessity statement.”
3
Article I. s. 24(c), FLA. CONST.
4
S. 119.15, F.S.
5
S. 119.15(6)(b), F.S.
6
18 U.S.C. ss. 2721 et seq., and s. 119.0712(2), F.S.
7
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), Privacy Statement Driver Privacy Protection Act, available at
https://www.flhsmv.gov/privacy-statement/driver-privacy-protection-act/ (last visited on Jan. 13, 2022).
8
18 U.S.C. ss. 2721 et seq., and s. 119.0712(2), F.S. ; Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles forms HSMV 90511
(Revised 11/19) available at https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/90511.pdf (last visited Jan. 13, 2022) and HSMV 90510 (Revised 03/19)
available at https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/90510.pdf (last visited Jan. 13, 2022). STORAGE NAME: h1121.TIE PAGE: 3
DATE: 1/22/2022
For use in the normal course of business by a legitimate business or its agents, employees, or
contractors, to verify the accuracy of personal information submitted by the individual, and if
such information is incorrect, to obtain the correct information, but only for the purposes of
preventing fraud by, pursuing legal remedies against, or recovering on a debt or security
interest against, the individual;
For use in connection with any civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitral proceeding in any court
or agency or before any self-regulatory body, including service of process, investigation in
anticipation of litigation, and execution or enforcement of judgments and orders, or pursuant to
an order of a court;
For use in research activities and producing statistical reports;
For use by any insurer or insurance support organization, or by a self-insured entity, or its
agents, employees, or contractors, in connection with claims investigation activities, antifraud
activities, rating, or underwriting;
For use in providing notice to the owners of towed or impounded vehicles;
For use by any licensed private investigative agency or licensed security service for any
purpose permitted by DPPA;
For use by an employer or its agent or insurer to obtain or verify information relating to a holder
of a commercial driver's license;
For use in connection with the operation of private toll facilities;
For any other use in response to requests for individual motor vehicle records if the state has
obtained the express consent of the person to whom such personal information pertains;
For bulk distribution for surveys, marketing, or solicitations if the state has obtained the express
consent of the person to whom such personal information pertains;
For use by any requester, if the requester demonstrates it has obtained the written consent of
the individual to whom the information pertains; and
For any other use specifically authorized under the law of the state that holds the record, if such
use is related to the operation of a motor vehicle or public safety.
Information that is not covered by DPPA is non-personal information. Under Florida law, such non-
personal information contained in motor vehicle and driver license records, such as vehicular crash
records, driving violations, and driver status information is considered public information.
9
Motor Vehicle Crash Reports in Florida
Florida law requires written reports of motor vehicle crashes, which must contain the following
information:
The date, time, and location of the crash.
A description of the vehicles involved.
The names and addresses of the parties involved, including all drivers and passengers, and the
identification of the vehicle in which each was a driver or a passenger.
The names and addresses of witnesses.
The name, badge number, and law enforcement agency of the officer investigating the crash.
The names of the insurance companies for the respective parties involved in the crash.
10
An investigating law enforcement agency must submit a written crash report to DHSMV within 10 days
after completing the investigation of a traffic crash that results in death or personal injury, involves a
violation of leaving the scene or driving under the influence, renders a vehicle inoperable to a degree
that a wrecker must remove it from the scene, or involves a commercial motor vehicle.
11
Approximately
94 percent of crash reports are submitted by law enforcement agencies to DHSMV electronically, while
about six percent of reports are submitted to DHSMV on paper and must be scanned and converted
into an electronic format.
12
9
DHSMV, supra note 7.
10
Ss. 316.066(1)(b) and (c), F.S.
11
S. 316.066(1)(a), F.S.
12
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle (DHSMV), Agency Analysis of 2022 Senate Bill 1614 p..2 (Jan 14, 2022). STORAGE NAME: h1121.TIE PAGE: 4
DATE: 1/22/2022
Crash reports contain various personal information about the parties to a crash, witnesses, and others
whose property is damaged in a crash, including names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth,
driver license numbers, and certain insurance information.
13
In 2001, the Legislature limited access to crash reports during the 60-day period after a crash report is
filed.
14
During that 60-day period, crash reports may only be released to parties involved in the crash,
their legal representatives, their licensed insurance agents, their insurers or insurers to which they have
applied for coverage, persons under contract with such insurers to provide claims or underwriting
information, prosecutorial authorities, law enforcement agencies, the Department of Transportation,
county traffic operations, victim services programs, radio and television stations, and certain
newspapers.
15
Additionally, any local, state, or federal agency authorized by law to have access to crash reports must
be granted such access in the furtherance of its statutory duties.
16
To access a crash report within the 60-day time frame, a person must demonstrate his or her
qualifications to access that information and file a written sworn statement with the state or local
agency in possession of the information stating that information from the report will not be used for any
commercial solicitation of accident victims, or knowingly disclosed to any third party for the purpose of
such solicitation, during the period of time that the information remains confidential and exempt.
17
According to the public necessity statement supporting this exemption, the 60-day exemption was
created to protect the public from unscrupulous individuals who promote the filing of fraudulent
insurance claims by obtaining such information immediately after a crash and exploiting the individual
at a time of emotional distress.
18
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP)
19
routinely receives public records requests for its crash reports. In
addition, DHSMV routinely makes crash reports available to the public through the Florida Crash
Portal.
20
The portal comprises crash reports transmitted by FHP, county sheriff offices, local police
departments, and other law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Crash reports provided by
DHSMV are subject to a statutory fee of $10 per report.
21
To facilitate releasing crash reports to authorized persons within the 60-day exemption period, DHSMV
has prescribed a Sworn Statement to Obtain Traffic Crash Report Information (DHSMV Form 94010).
22
In lieu of the printed form, users of the Florida Crash Portal may electronically submit the sworn
statement when obtaining a crash report through the portal.
23
In addition to providing crash reports in their original format, crash reports transmitted to the Florida
Crash Portal are maintained in a computerized database. The database contains all of the original
report elements except for the law enforcement officer’s narrative description of the crash and any
crash diagrams.
24
In 2021, 671,993 crash reports were completed in Florida, which included information on 1,839,532
individuals (drivers, passengers, witnesses, and pedestrians).
25
13
See, e.g., DHSMV, Uniform Traffic Crash Report Manual (90010S) (Rev. Feb. 5, 2019), available at
https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/courts/crash/CrashManualComplete.pdf. (last visited Jan 18. 2022).
14
Ch. 2001-163, Laws of Fla.
15
S. 316.066(2)(b), F.S.
16
S. 316.066(2)(c),F.S.
17
S. 316.066(2)(d), F.S.
18
CH. 2001-163, Laws of Fla.
19
The Florida Highway Patrol is a division of DHSMV.
20
DHSMV, Florida Crash Portal, at https://www.flhsmv.gov/traffic-crash-reports (last visited Jan. 18, 2022).
21
S. 321.23(2)(a), F.S.; DHSMV, Agency Analysis of 2022 Senate Bill 1614. P.3.
22
See DHSMV, Sworn Statement to Obtain Traffic Crash Report Information (HSMV Form 94010), available at
https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/94010.pdf.
23
DHSMV, Agency Analysis of 2022 Senate Bill 1614. P.3.
24
Id.
25
E-mail from Kevin Jacobs, DSHMV Legislative Affairs Director, RE. 1125 Question. (Jan 14, 2022) STORAGE NAME: h1121.TIE PAGE: 5
DATE: 1/22/2022
Uniform Traffic Citations
Under Florida law, DHSMV has the duty of prescribing and providing to every traffic enforcement
agency in the state prenumbered traffic citation books.
26
In lieu of using printed citation books, traffic
enforcement agencies may produce uniform traffic citations by electronic means.
27
FHP is among the
agencies who routinely prepare citations electronically.
28
Traffic citations contain various personal information about drivers who are issued citations, including
their names, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, and driver license numbers.
29
Traffic enforcement agencies, including FHP, submit traffic citations to the clerks of court. The clerks
routinely provide searchable traffic court dockets on their Internet websites, which typically allow for
viewing and downloading of unredacted copies of uniform traffic citations.
30
Electronic citation data is also transmitted to the clerks through the Comprehensive Case Information
System maintained by the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers, Inc.
31
Uniform traffic
citation, arrest, disposition, and criminal financial obligation files are electronically transmitted by the
clerks to DHSMV through the Traffic Citation Accounting and Transmission System. These files are
used by DHSMV to post court dispositions to the driver history records of individual drivers.
32
Under current law, all traffic citations, including all personal identifying information on the citations, is a
public record and can be freely distributed.
In 2021, 2,428,821 traffic citations were issued in Florida.
33
Effect of the Bill
Motor Vehicle Crash Reports
The bill makes motor vehicle crash reports confidential and exempt from public disclosure on a
permanent basis. This exemption applies to crash reports held by any agency as defined in s. 119.011,
F.S.
34
The bill retains the existing list of entities that are eligible to receive copies of crash reports despite the
exemption and adds to that list the Department of Health, municipal traffic operations, and any private
person acting on behalf of a federal, state, or local government agency in carrying out its functions.
The bill removes radio stations, television stations, and newspapers, from the list of entities eligible to
receive crash reports but authorizes an agency to provide news media with summary reports of
crashes, comprising specified details about the crashes, including whether traffic citations were issued
or arrests were made.
The bill also makes confidential certain personal information in computerized crash report data but
allows the release of data extracts that exclude personal information.
26
S 316.650(1)(a), Fla. Stat.
27
S 316.650(1)(c), Fla. Stat.
28
DHSMV, Agency Analysis of 2022 Senate Bill 1614 p.3 (Jan 14, 2022).
29
See, e.g., DHSMV, Uniform Traffic Citation Procedures Manual (Rev. Nov. 2019), available at
https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/courts/utc/UTCCombinedManual.pdf. (last visited Jan. 18, 2022).
30
DHSMV, Agency Analysis of 2022 Senate Bill 1614 p.3 (Jan 14, 2022).
31
See s 28.2405, F.S.
32
DHSMV, Agency Analysis of 2022 Senate Bill 1614 p.3 (Jan 14, 2022).
33
E-mail from Kevin Jacobs, DSHMV Legislative Affairs Director, RE. 1125 Question. (Jan 14, 2022)
34
Section 119.011(2), F.S., defines the term “agency” to mean any state, county, district, authority, or municipal officer, department,
division, board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created or established by law including, for the purposes of
this chapter, the Commission on Ethics, the Public Service Commission, and the Office of Public Counsel, and any other public or
private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf of any public agency. STORAGE NAME: h1121.TIE PAGE: 6
DATE: 1/22/2022
The bill requires persons requesting a crash report to submit a sworn statement attesting to the
person’s eligibility to receive the report. It further restricts persons who obtain crash reports from
disclosing personal information from the reports to third parties who are not themselves eligible to
obtain the crash reports. The bill also allows federal, state, and local governmental agencies, and
private persons acting on their behalf, to obtain crash reports.
The bill authorizes eligible private entities, in lieu of the sworn statements, to obtain crash reports
through memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the agency. It also requires governmental agencies
obtaining crash reports to do so through MOUs.
The bill provides that if crash reports are created by or submitted to an agency electronically as data
elements within a computerized database, or if personal information from a crash report is entered into
a computerized database, such crash report data is confidential and exempt under the same terms as
the written crash report. This does not prevent an agency from disclosing:
A crash report which is rendered as an individual report in its original format, whether printed as
a paper document or provided in electronic format such as a portable document format or
tagged image file format.
Extracts of crash report data if all personal information is omitted from the extracts.
This exemption applies retroactively to records already held by an agency and prospectively to future
records. This exemption stands repealed on October 2, 2026, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
through reenactment by the Legislature, pursuant to the Open Government Sunset Review Act.
The bill removes obsolete statutory language prohibiting some free newspapers from receiving certain
crash report information. This language was repealed on October 2, 2019, under the Open Government
Sunset Review Act since this part of the public records exemption was not saved from repeal through
reenactment by the Legislature.
The bill revises current penalty provisions to broaden the definition of the term agency, providing that
the term is as defined in s. 119.011, F.S., and provides for violations of a MOU.
The bill provides a public necessity statement as required by art. I, s. 24(c) of the Florida Constitution.
The statement provides that:
Crash reports reveal significant personal information, not only about drivers involved in a crash
but also about motor vehicle owners, motor vehicle passengers, and other witnesses and about
owners of nonvehicle property damaged in a crash.
Use of the Internet and related technologies allows those with malicious purposes to exploit the
use of personal information, such as a motorist's date of birth, driver license number, and
address, threatening motorist privacy and security.
Increasing use of information technology for the preparation, submission, and management of
crash reports has led agencies to hold vast repositories of computerized crash report data,
which includes such personal information.
Motorist personal information, when held by DHSMV in motor vehicle records, is confidential
pursuant to the federal DIPPA and s. 119.0712(2), F.S.
Restrictions on disclosure of motorist personal information have not applied to personal
information contained in crash reports.
When crash reports and computerized crash report data are made available to the public,
because they comprise much of the same personal information contained in motor vehicle
records, the protections afforded by the federal DPPA are undermined, eroding the privacy and
safety of motorists.
Uniform Traffic Citations
The bill creates a public record exemption for driver information contained in a traffic citation. The bill
defines the term “driver information” to mean a driver’s date of birth, driver license number, address STORAGE NAME: h1121.TIE PAGE: 7
DATE: 1/22/2022
(excluding the five-digit zip code), telephone number, motor vehicle license plate number, and trailer
tag number. The term does not include the driver’s name.
The bill authorizes an agency to release the covered driver information in accordance with DPPA in the
same manner as the release of personal information contained in a motor vehicle record.
An agency may release driver information in accordance with any of the permissible uses listed in
DPPA in the same manner applicable to the release of personal information contained in a motor
vehicle record pursuant to s. 119.0712(2)(b), F.S.
This exemption applies retroactively to records already held by an agency and prospectively to future
records. This exemption is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act and stands repealed
on October 2, 2027, unless reviewed and saved from repeal by the Legislature.
The bill provides a public necessity statement as required by art. I, s. 24(c) of the Florida Constitution.
The statement provides that:
Uniform traffic citations reveal signification personal information about drivers issued a
citation.
Use of the Internet and related technologies allows those with malicious purpose to exploit
the use of personal information, such as a motorist’s date of birth, driver license number,
and address, threatening motorist’s privacy and security
Motorist personal information, when held by DHSMV in motor vehicle records, is confidential
pursuant to DPPA and s. 119.0712(2), F.S.
Restrictions on disclosure of motorist personal information have not applied to driver
information contained in uniform traffic citations.
When driver information contained in uniform traffic citations is made available to the public,
the protections are afforded by federal DPPA are undermined, eroding the privacy and
safety of motorists.
Effective Date
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2022.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1 Amends s. 316.066, F.S., relating to written reports of crashes.
Section 2 Amends s. 316.605, F.S., relating to traffic citations.
Section 3 Provides statements of public necessity.
Section 4 Provides an effective date.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
Indeterminate. Under current law, DSHMV-provided crash reports are subject to a statutory fee of
$10 per report.
35
It is not known how many crash reports subject to the statutory fee would be
exempt from disclosure as public records under the bill.
2. Expenditures:
35
S. 321.23(2)(a), F.S. STORAGE NAME: h1121.TIE PAGE: 8
DATE: 1/22/2022
The bill may have an insignificant negative fiscal impact on various state agencies because state
agency staff responsible for complying with public record requests may require training related to
the newly created public record exemption. These costs, however, would be absorbed, as they are
part of the day-to-day responsibilities of each state agency.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
The bill may have an insignificant negative fiscal impact on local government agencies because
agency staff responsible for complying with public record request may require training related to the
newly created public record exemption. These costs, however, would be absorbed, as they are part
of the day-to-day responsibilities of each agency.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not applicable. This bill does not appear to require counties or municipalities to spend funds or take
action requiring the expenditure of funds; reduce the authority that counties or municipalities have to
raise revenues in the aggregate; or reduce the percentage of state tax shared with counties or
municipalities.
2. Other:
Vote Requirement
Article I, s. 24(c) of the Florida Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the members present and
voting for final passage of a newly created or expanded public record or public meeting exemption.
The bill creates a public record exemption; thus, it requires a two-thirds vote for final passage.
Public Necessity Statement
Article I, s. 24(c) of the Florida Constitution requires a public necessity statement for a newly created
or expanded public record or public meeting exemption. The bill includes a public necessity
statement for each newly created exemption in the bill.
Breadth of Exemption
Article I, s. 24(c) of the Florida Constitution requires a newly created or expanded public record or
public meeting exemption to be no broader than necessary to accomplish the stated purpose of the
law.
The bill provides a public record exemption for all information included in motor vehicle crash reports.
This exemption appears to be broader than necessary because the bill makes confidential and
exempt the entire crash report and not just the personal identifying information contained in the crash
report.
STORAGE NAME: h1121.TIE PAGE: 9
DATE: 1/22/2022
The bill provides a public record exemption for specified driver information in traffic citations. This
exemption does not appear to be broader than necessary since it exempts only the driver
information, as defined in the bill, contained on the citation.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
This bill does not require or authorize rulemaking.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
While the bill refers to the definition of the term “agency” as it applies to public records law for purposes
of the crash reports exemption, it does not define the term “agency” for purposes of the public record
exemption for traffic citations.
The bill provides for legislative review and repeal of the traffic citations exemption on October 2, 2027,
consistent with the Open Government Sunset Review Act. However, the bill provides for repeal of the
crash reports exemption on October 2, 2026, one year earlier than required by the Open Government
Sunset Review Act.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
Not applicable.