HB 1157 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1157-00 Page 1 of 7 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 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1157-00 Page 2 of 7 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 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1157-00 Page 3 of 7 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 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1157-00 Page 4 of 7 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 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1157-00 Page 5 of 7 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 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1157-00 Page 6 of 7 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 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1157-00 Page 7 of 7 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