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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.; providing an exemption from public 3
records requirements for the personal identifying and 4
location information of current county attorneys, 5
assistant county attorneys, deputy county attorneys, 6
city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy 7
city attorneys and the names and personal identifying 8
and location information of the spouses and children 9
of such attorneys; providing an exception; providing 10
for future legislative review and repeal of the 11
exemption; providing a statement of public necessity; 12
providing an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section 17
119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 18
119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of 19
public records.— 20
(4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION. — 21
(d)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term : 22
a. "Home addresses" means the dwelling location at which 23
an individual resides and includes the physical address, mailing 24
address, street address, parcel identification number, plot 25
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identification number, legal property description, neighborhood 26
name and lot number, GPS coordinates, and any other descriptive 27
property information that may reveal the home address. 28
b. "Telephone numbers" includes home telephone numbers, 29
personal cellular telephone numbers, personal pager telephone 30
numbers, and telephone numbers associated with personal 31
communications devices. 32
2.a. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 33
birth, and photographs of active or former sworn law enforcement 34
personnel or of active or former civilian personnel employed by 35
a law enforcement agency, including correctional and 36
correctional probation officers, personnel of the Department of 37
Children and Families whose duties include the investigation of 38
abuse, neglect, exploitation, fraud, theft, or other criminal 39
activities, personnel of the Department of Health whose duties 40
are to support the investigation of child abuse or neglect, and 41
personnel of the Department of Revenue or local governments 42
whose responsibilities include revenue collection and 43
enforcement or child support enforcement; t he names, home 44
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 45
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 46
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 47
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 48
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 49
Constitution. 50
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b. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 51
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 52
personnel of the Department of Financial Services whose duties 53
include the investigation of fraud, theft, workers' compensation 54
coverage requirements and compliance, other related criminal 55
activities, or state regulatory requirement violations; the 56
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 57
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 58
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 59
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 60
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 61
Constitution. 62
c. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 63
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 64
personnel of the Office of Financial Regulation's Bureau of 65
Financial Investigations whose duties include the investigation 66
of fraud, theft, other re lated criminal activities, or state 67
regulatory requirement violations; the names, home addresses, 68
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 69
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 70
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 71
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 72
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 73
d. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 74
and photographs of current or former firefighters certified in 75
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compliance with s. 633.408; the names, home addresses, telephone 76
numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment 77
of the spouses and children of such firefighters; and the names 78
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 79
children of such firefighters are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 80
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 81
e. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 82
numbers of current or former justices of the Supreme Court, 83
district court of appeal judges, c ircuit court judges, and 84
county court judges; the names, home addresses, telephone 85
numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 86
and children of current or former justices and judges; and the 87
names and locations of schools and day care f acilities attended 88
by the children of current or former justices and judges are 89
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 90
Constitution. 91
f. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 92
and photographs of current or former state attorneys, assistant 93
state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide 94
prosecutors; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 95
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 96
spouses and children of current or former state atto rneys, 97
assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant 98
statewide prosecutors; and the names and locations of schools 99
and day care facilities attended by the children of current or 100
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former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide 101
prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors are exempt from 102
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 103
g. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 104
numbers of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 105
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 106
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement 107
hearing officers; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 108
dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and 109
children of general magi strates, special magistrates, judges of 110
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 111
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement 112
hearing officers; and the names and locations of schools and day 113
care facilities attended by th e children of general magistrates, 114
special magistrates, judges of compensation claims, 115
administrative law judges of the Division of Administrative 116
Hearings, and child support enforcement hearing officers are 117
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 118
Constitution. 119
h. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 120
and photographs of current or former human resource, labor 121
relations, or employee relations directors, assistant directors, 122
managers, or assistant managers of any local go vernment agency 123
or water management district whose duties include hiring and 124
firing employees, labor contract negotiation, administration, or 125
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other personnel-related duties; the names, home addresses, 126
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employ ment of 127
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 128
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 129
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 130
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 131
i. The home address es, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 132
and photographs of current or former code enforcement officers; 133
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 134
and places of employment of the spouses and children of such 135
personnel; and the names and l ocations of schools and day care 136
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 137
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 138
Constitution. 139
j. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 140
employment, dates of birth, and photog raphs of current or former 141
guardians ad litem, as defined in s. 39.820; the names, home 142
addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 143
employment of the spouses and children of such persons; and the 144
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 145
by the children of such persons are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 146
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 147
k. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 148
and photographs of current or former juvenile probation 149
officers, juvenile probation supervisors, detention 150
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superintendents, assistant detention superintendents, juvenile 151
justice detention officers I and II, juvenile justice detention 152
officer supervisors, juvenile justice residential officers, 153
juvenile justice residential officer supervisors I and II, 154
juvenile justice counselors, juvenile justice counselor 155
supervisors, human services counselor administrators, senior 156
human services counselor administrators, rehabilitation 157
therapists, and social services counselors of the De partment of 158
Juvenile Justice; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 159
dates of birth, and places of employment of spouses and children 160
of such personnel; and the names and locations of schools and 161
day care facilities attended by the children of such personnel 162
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 163
Constitution. 164
l. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 165
and photographs of current or former public defenders, assistant 166
public defenders, criminal conflict and civi l regional counsel, 167
and assistant criminal conflict and civil regional counsel; the 168
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 169
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 170
former public defenders, assistant public defen ders, criminal 171
conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant criminal 172
conflict and civil regional counsel; and the names and locations 173
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 174
current or former public defenders, assistant public defenders, 175
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criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant 176
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel are exempt from s. 177
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 178
m. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 179
and photographs of current or former investigators or inspectors 180
of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation; the 181
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 182
places of employment of the spouses and children of such current 183
or former investigators and inspectors; and the names and 184
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 185
children of such current or former investigators and inspectors 186
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 187
Constitution. 188
n. The home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of 189
birth of county tax collectors; the names, home addresses, 190
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 191
the spouses and children of such tax collectors; and the names 192
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 193
children of such tax collectors are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 194
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 195
o. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 196
and photographs of current or former personnel of the Department 197
of Health whose duties include, or result in, the determination 198
or adjudication of eligibility for social security disability 199
benefits, the investigation or prosecution of complaints filed 200
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against health care practitioners, or the inspection of health 201
care practitioners or health care facilities licensed by the 202
Department of Health; the names, home addresses, telephone 203
numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 204
and children of such personnel; and the names and locations of 205
schools and day care facilities attended by the children of such 206
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 207
the State Constitution. 208
p. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 209
and photographs of current or former impaired practitioner 210
consultants who are retained by an agency or current or former 211
employees of an impaired practitioner consultant whose duties 212
result in a determination of a person's skill and safety to 213
practice a licensed profession; the nam es, home addresses, 214
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 215
the spouses and children of such consultants or their employees; 216
and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 217
attended by the children of such consultants or employees are 218
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 219
Constitution. 220
q. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 221
and photographs of current or former emergency medical 222
technicians or paramedics certified under chapter 4 01; the 223
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 224
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 225
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emergency medical technicians or paramedics; and the names and 226
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 227
children of such emergency medical technicians or paramedics are 228
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 229
Constitution. 230
r. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 231
and photographs of current or former personnel employed in an 232
agency's office of inspector general or internal audit 233
department whose duties include auditing or investigating waste, 234
fraud, abuse, theft, exploitation, or other activities that 235
could lead to criminal prosecution or administrative discipline; 236
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 237
and places of employment of spouses and children of such 238
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 239
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 240
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 241
Constitution. 242
s. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 243
and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 244
supervisors, nurses, and clinical employees of an addiction 245
treatment facility; the home addr esses, telephone numbers, 246
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 247
spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 248
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 249
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119. 07(1) and s. 250
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24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For purposes of this 251
sub-subparagraph, the term "addiction treatment facility" means 252
a county government, or agency thereof, that is licensed 253
pursuant to s. 397.401 and provides substance abuse preventi on, 254
intervention, or clinical treatment, including any licensed 255
service component described in s. 397.311(26). 256
t. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 257
and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 258
supervisors, and clinical e mployees of a child advocacy center 259
that meets the standards of s. 39.3035(2) and fulfills the 260
screening requirement of s. 39.3035(3), and the members of a 261
Child Protection Team as described in s. 39.303 whose duties 262
include supporting the investigation of child abuse or sexual 263
abuse, child abandonment, child neglect, and child exploitation 264
or to provide services as part of a multidisciplinary case 265
review team; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 266
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employme nt of the 267
spouses and children of such personnel and members; and the 268
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 269
by the children of such personnel and members are exempt from s. 270
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 271
u. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 272
employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 273
staff and domestic violence advocates, as defined in s. 274
90.5036(1)(b), of domestic violence centers certified by the 275
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Department of Children and Families under chapter 39; the names, 276
home addresses, telephone numbers, places of employment, dates 277
of birth, and photographs of the spouses and children of such 278
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 279
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 280
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 281
Constitution. 282
v. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 283
and photographs of current county attorneys, assistant county 284
attorneys, deputy county attorneys, city attorneys, assistant 285
city attorneys, and deputy city attorneys; the names, home 286
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 287
places of employment of the spouses and children of current 288
county attorneys, assistant county at torneys, deputy county 289
attorneys, city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy 290
city attorneys; and the names and locations of schools and day 291
care facilities attended by the children of current county 292
attorneys, assistant county attorneys, deputy c ounty attorneys, 293
city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy city 294
attorneys are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 295
the State Constitution. This exemption does not apply to a 296
county attorney, assistant county attorney, deputy county 297
attorney, city attorney, assistant city attorney, or deputy city 298
attorney who qualifies as a candidate for election to public 299
office. 300
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3. An agency that is the custodian of the information 301
specified in subparagraph 2. and that is not the employer of the 302
officer, employee, justice, judge, or other person specified in 303
subparagraph 2. must maintain the exempt status of that 304
information only if the officer, employee, justice, judge, other 305
person, or employing agency of the designated employee submits a 306
written and notarized request for maintenance of the exemption 307
to the custodial agency. The request must state under oath the 308
statutory basis for the individual's exemption request and 309
confirm the individual's status as a party eligible for exempt 310
status. 311
4.a. A county property appraiser, as defined in s. 312
192.001(3), or a county tax collector, as defined in s. 313
192.001(4), who receives a written and notarized request for 314
maintenance of the exemption pursuant to subparagraph 3. must 315
comply by removing the name of t he individual with exempt status 316
and the instrument number or Official Records book and page 317
number identifying the property with the exempt status from all 318
publicly available records maintained by the property appraiser 319
or tax collector. For written reque sts received on or before 320
July 1, 2021, a county property appraiser or county tax 321
collector must comply with this sub -subparagraph by October 1, 322
2021. A county property appraiser or county tax collector may 323
not remove the street address, legal description, or other 324
information identifying real property within the agency's 325
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records so long as a name or personal information otherwise 326
exempt from inspection and copying pursuant to this section are 327
not associated with the property or otherwise displayed in the 328
public records of the agency. 329
b. Any information restricted from public display, 330
inspection, or copying under sub -subparagraph a. must be 331
provided to the individual whose information was removed. 332
5. An officer, an employee, a justice, a judge, or other 333
person specified in subparagraph 2. may submit a written request 334
for the release of his or her exempt information to the 335
custodial agency. The written request must be notarized and must 336
specify the information to be released and the party authorized 337
to receive the information. Upon receipt of the written request, 338
the custodial agency must release the specified information to 339
the party authorized to receive such information. 340
6. The exemptions in this paragraph apply to information 341
held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the 342
exemption. 343
7. Information made exempt under this paragraph may be 344
disclosed pursuant to s. 28.2221 to a title insurer authorized 345
pursuant to s. 624.401 and its affiliates as defined in s. 346
624.10; a title insurance agent or title insurance agency as 347
defined in s. 626.841(1) or (2), respectively; or an attorney 348
duly admitted to practice law in this state and in good standing 349
with The Florida Bar. 350
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8. The exempt status of a home address contained in the 351
Official Records is maintained only during the period when a 352
protected party resides at the dwelling location. Upon 353
conveyance of real property after October 1, 2021, and when such 354
real property no longer constitutes a protected party's home 355
address as defined in sub -subparagraph 1.a., the protected party 356
must submit a written request to release the removed information 357
to the county recorder. The written request to release the 358
removed information must be notarized, must confirm that a 359
protected party's request for releas e is pursuant to a 360
conveyance of his or her dwelling location, and must specify the 361
Official Records book and page, instrument number, or clerk's 362
file number for each document containing the information to be 363
released. 364
9. Upon the death of a protected pa rty as verified by a 365
certified copy of a death certificate or court order, any party 366
can request the county recorder to release a protected 367
decedent's removed information unless there is a related request 368
on file with the county recorder for continued remo val of the 369
decedent's information or unless such removal is otherwise 370
prohibited by statute or by court order. The written request to 371
release the removed information upon the death of a protected 372
party must attach the certified copy of a death certificate or 373
court order and must be notarized, must confirm the request for 374
release is due to the death of a protected party, and must 375
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specify the Official Records book and page number, instrument 376
number, or clerk's file number for each document containing the 377
information to be released. A fee may not be charged for the 378
release of any document pursuant to such request. 379
10. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government 380
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 381
repealed on October 2, 2024, un less reviewed and saved from 382
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 383
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 384
necessity that the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 385
birth, and photographs of current county attorneys, assistan t 386
county attorneys, deputy county attorneys, city attorneys, 387
assistant city attorneys, and deputy city attorneys be made 388
exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), 389
Article I of the State Constitution. The Legislature further 390
finds that it is a public necessity that the names, home 391
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 392
places of employment of the spouses and children, and the names 393
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by 394
such children, of current c ounty attorneys, assistant county 395
attorneys, deputy county attorneys, city attorneys, assistant 396
city attorneys, and deputy city attorneys be made exempt from s. 397
119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 398
State Constitution. The responsibil ities of county attorneys, 399
assistant county attorneys, deputy county attorneys, city 400
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attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy city attorneys 401
regularly involve legal enforcement proceedings in areas of 402
neglect and abuse related to violations of codes and ordinances. 403
Legal enforcement proceedings have led to retribution and 404
threats by defendants and other persons on numerous occasions. 405
Such attorneys have received death threats and e -mails from 406
disgruntled persons advocating the murder of other attorne ys. 407
Other incidents have included the stalking of such attorneys and 408
their spouses and children. The Legislature finds that the 409
release of such personal identifying and location information 410
could place such attorneys and their spouses and children in 411
danger of being physically and emotionally harmed or stalked by 412
a defendant or other person. The Legislature finds that the harm 413
that may result from the release of such personal identifying 414
and location information outweighs any public benefit that may 415
be derived from the disclosure of the information, except in the 416
case of a current county attorney, assistant county attorney, 417
deputy county attorney, city attorney, assistant city attorney, 418
or deputy city attorney who qualifies as a candidate for 419
election to public office. 420
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 421