HB 1243 2023
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hb1243-00
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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 s. 2
616.242, F.S.; providing an exemption from public 3
records requirements for all investigatory records 4
made or received by the Department of Agriculture and 5
Consumer Services pursuant to an active amusement ride 6
investigation for a specified timeframe; providing for 7
future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; 8
providing a statement of public necessity; pr oviding a 9
contingent effective date. 10
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
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Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (14) of section 14
616.242, Florida Statutes, as amended by HB 1241, 2023 Regular 15
Session, is amended to read: 16
616.242 Safety standards for amusement rides. — 17
(14) ENTRY FOR INSPECTION OR INVESTIGATION. — 18
(b) The department shall prepare a written report of each 19
investigation it conducts. All investigatory records made or 20
received by the department pursuant to an i nvestigation are 21
confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I 22
of the State Constitution until such time as the investigation 23
is completed or ceases to be active. For purposes of this 24
paragraph, an investigation is considered active so lon g as the 25
HB 1243 2023
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hb1243-00
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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
department is proceeding with reasonable dispatch and has a 26
reasonable good faith belief that additional information is 27
necessary and likely to be discovered which will allow the 28
department, following an accident, to make a final determination 29
of the cause and circumstances of the accident. This paragraph 30
is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in 31
accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 32
2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment 33
by the Legislature. 34
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 35
necessity that all investigatory records made or received by the 36
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant to an 37
amusement ride investigation by the department pursuant to s. 38
616.242, Florida Statutes, be made confidential and exempt from 39
s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 40
State Constitution until the investigation is completed or 41
ceases to be active. The premature release of such records could 42
frustrate or thwart the investigation and impair the ability of 43
the department to effectively and efficiently administer s. 44
616.242, Florida Statutes. In addition, the release of such 45
records before completion of an active investigation could 46
jeopardize the ongoing investigation, thereby affecting the 47
ability of the department to effectively and efficiently 48
administer the investigation. Therefore, the Legislature finds 49
that the harm that may result from the release of investigatory 50
HB 1243 2023
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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
records made or received by the department pursuant to an 51
investigation by the department of a violation of s. 616.242, 52
Florida Statutes, outweighs the public benefit that may be 53
derived from the disclosure of the information. 54
Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date 55
that HB 1241 or similar legislation takes effect , if such 56
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 57
extension thereof and becomes a law. 58