HB 1157 2022
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hb1157-00
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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 ss. 2
394.464 and 397.6760, F.S.; exempting from public 3
records requirements a respondent's name in certain 4
documents at trial and on appeal; expanding exemptions 5
from public records requirements for certain 6
petitions, court orders, and related records to 7
include applications for voluntary and involuntary 8
mental health examinations and substance abuse 9
treatment; expanding exceptions authorizing the 10
disclosure of such personal identifying information 11
and records to include certain service providers; 12
authorizing a court to use a respondent's name for 13
certain purposes; revising applicability to include 14
appeals pending or file d on or after a specified date; 15
revising the date for future legislative review and 16
repeal of the exemptions; providing a statement of 17
public necessity; providing a contingent effective 18
date. 19
20
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21
22
Section 1. Section 394.464, Florida Statutes, is amended 23
to read: 24
394.464 Court records; confidentiality. — 25
HB 1157 2022
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hb1157-00
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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
(1) A respondent's name, at trial and on appeal, and all 26
petitions or applications for voluntary and involuntary 27
admission for mental health examinations or treatment, court 28
orders, and related records that are filed with or by a court 29
under this part are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) 30
and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. Pleadings and 31
other documents made confidential and exempt by this section may 32
be disclosed by the clerk of the court, upon request, to any of 33
the following: 34
(a) The petitioner. 35
(b) The petitioner's attorney. 36
(c) The respondent. 37
(d) The respondent's attorney. 38
(e) The respondent's guardian or guar dian advocate, if 39
applicable. 40
(f) In the case of a minor respondent, the respondent's 41
parent, guardian, legal custodian, or guardian advocate. 42
(g) The respondent's treating health care practitioner and 43
service provider. 44
(h) The respondent's health ca re surrogate or proxy. 45
(i) The Department of Children and Families, without 46
charge. 47
(j) The Department of Corrections, without charge, if the 48
respondent is committed or is to be returned to the custody of 49
the Department of Corrections from the Department of Children 50
HB 1157 2022
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hb1157-00
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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
and Families. 51
(k) A person or entity authorized to view records upon a 52
court order for good cause. In determining if there is good 53
cause for the disclosure of records, the court must weigh the 54
person or entity's need for the information against potential 55
harm to the respondent from the disclosure. 56
(2) This section does not preclude the clerk of the court 57
from submitting the information required by s. 790.065 to the 58
Department of Law Enforcement. 59
(3) The clerk of the court may not publish personal 60
identifying information on a court docket or in a publicly 61
accessible file, but the court may use a respondent's name to 62
schedule and adjudicate cases, which includes transmitting a 63
copy of any court order to the parties . 64
(4) A person or entity receiving information pursuant to 65
this section shall maintain that information as con fidential and 66
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 67
Constitution. 68
(5) The exemption under this section applies to all 69
documents filed with a court before, on, or after July 1, 2019 , 70
and appeals pending or filed on or after July 1, 20 22. 71
(6) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset 72
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 73
on October 2, 2027 2024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 74
through reenactment by the Legislature. 75
HB 1157 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
Section 2. Section 3 97.6760, Florida Statutes, is amended 76
to read: 77
397.6760 Court records; confidentiality. — 78
(1) A respondent's name, at trial and on appeal, and all 79
petitions or applications for voluntary and involuntary 80
substance abuse treatment or assessment and stabil ization, court 81
orders, and related records that are filed with or by a court 82
under this part or part IV are confidential and exempt from s. 83
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 84
Pleadings and other documents made confidential and exempt by 85
this section may be disclosed by the clerk of the court, upon 86
request, to any of the following: 87
(a) The petitioner. 88
(b) The petitioner's attorney. 89
(c) The respondent. 90
(d) The respondent's attorney. 91
(e) The respondent's guardian or guardian ad vocate, if 92
applicable. 93
(f) In the case of a minor respondent, the respondent's 94
parent, guardian, legal custodian, or guardian advocate. 95
(g) The respondent's treating health care practitioner and 96
service provider. 97
(h) The respondent's health care surr ogate or proxy. 98
(i) The Department of Children and Families, without 99
charge. 100
HB 1157 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
(j) The Department of Corrections, without charge, if the 101
respondent is committed or is to be returned to the custody of 102
the Department of Corrections from the Department of C hildren 103
and Families. 104
(k) A person or entity authorized to view records upon a 105
court order for good cause. In determining if there is good 106
cause for the disclosure of records, the court must weigh the 107
person or entity's need for the information against p otential 108
harm to the respondent from the disclosure. 109
(2) This section does not preclude the clerk of the court 110
from submitting the information required by s. 790.065 to the 111
Department of Law Enforcement. 112
(3) The clerk of the court may not publish perso nal 113
identifying information on a court docket or in a publicly 114
accessible file, but the court may use a respondent's name to 115
schedule and adjudicate cases, which includes transmitting a 116
copy of any court order to the parties . 117
(4) A person or entity recei ving information pursuant to 118
this section shall maintain that information as confidential and 119
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 120
Constitution. 121
(5) The exemption under this section applies to all 122
documents filed with a court before , on, or after July 1, 2017 , 123
and appeals pending or filed on or after July 1, 2022 . 124
(6) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset 125
HB 1157 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
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 126
on October 2, 2027 2022, unless reviewed and sa ved from repeal 127
through reenactment by the Legislature. 128
Section 3. The Legislature finds that it is a public 129
necessity that applications for voluntary and involuntary mental 130
health examinations and substance abuse treatment which are 131
filed with or by a court and a respondent's name, which is 132
published on a court docket and maintained by the clerk of the 133
court, under part I of chapter 394 and parts IV and V of chapter 134
397, Florida Statutes, be made confidential and exempt from 135
disclosure under s. 119.07( 1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), 136
Article I of the State Constitution. The mental health and 137
substance abuse impairments of a person are medical conditions 138
that should be protected from dissemination to the public. A 139
person's health and sensitive persona l information regarding his 140
or her mental health or substance abuse impairment are intensely 141
private matters. Making such applications, petitions, orders, 142
records, and identifying information confidential and exempt 143
from disclosure will protect such person s from the release of 144
sensitive, personal information that could damage their and 145
their families' reputations. The publication of personal 146
identifying information on a physical or virtual docket, 147
regardless of whether any other record is published, defeats the 148
purpose of protections otherwise provided. Further, the 149
knowledge that such sensitive, personal information is subject 150
HB 1157 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
to disclosure could have a chilling effect on a person's 151
willingness to seek out and comply with mental health or 152
substance abuse treatment services. 153
Section 4. This act shall take effect on the same date 154
that HB 1143 or similar legislation takes effect , if such 155
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 156
extension thereof and becomes a law. 157