HB 1327 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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to public records; amending s. 2
119.071, F.S.; providing definitions; providing an 3
exemption from public records requirements for 4
investigative genetic genealogy materials and 5
information; authorizing the disclosure of such 6
materials and information in certain circumstances; 7
providing retroactive application; providing for 8
future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; 9
providing a statement of public necessity; providing 10
an effective date. 11
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13
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Section 1. Paragraph (r) is added to subsection (2) of 15
section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read: 16
119.071 General exemp tions from inspection or copying of 17
public records.— 18
(2) AGENCY INVESTIGATIONS. — 19
(r)1. As used in this paragraph, the term: 20
a. "Genetic genealogy" means the use of DNA testing in 21
combination with traditional genealogical methods to infer 22
relationships between persons and determine ancestry. 23
b. "Investigative genetic genealogy" means the application 24
of genetic genealogy and law enforcement investigative 25
HB 1327 2023
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techniques to develop investigative leads in unsolved violent 26
crimes and provide investigative lea ds as to the identity of 27
unidentified human remains and living unidentified missing 28
persons. An SNP or a WGS DNA profile is developed from an 29
unknown DNA profile from a crime scene or unidentified human 30
remains and then uploaded into a web -based genealogy database, 31
which is used to detect possible genetic relationships with 32
distant relatives. 33
c. "Investigative genetic genealogy materials" means the 34
information, records, and genetic profiles created or collected 35
by or on behalf of a law enforcement agency conducting 36
investigative genetic genealogy research, and includes names and 37
personal identifying information or identifiers of persons 38
determined through the use of genealogy databases, traditional 39
genealogical methods, or other investigative means. The te rm 40
does not include: 41
(I) The identity or personal identifying information of 42
the donor of a biological sample attributable to a perpetrator, 43
with the exception of the SNP or WGS DNA profile developed from 44
the crime scene evidence; or 45
(II) A person identified through investigative genetic 46
genealogy who is a witness to or has personal knowledge related 47
to the crime under investigation, with the exception of the 48
person's SNP or WGS DNA profile. 49
d. "SNP" means single nucleotide polymorphism, which is a 50
HB 1327 2023
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variation in a single unit in a DNA sequence. 51
e. "Traditional genealogical methods" means the use of 52
genealogical databases and historical records to trace the 53
family lineage of a person. 54
f. "WGS" means whole genome sequencing, which is the 55
attempt to determine the genetic code for a person throughout 56
the entire complement of DNA, including all genes. 57
2. Investigative genetic genealogy materials and 58
information, including SNP and WGS profiles, are confidential 59
and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 60
Constitution. 61
3. Notwithstanding subparagraph 2., a law enforcement 62
agency: 63
a. May disclose such materials and information in 64
furtherance of its official duties and responsibilities or to 65
another governmental agency in the furtherance of its official 66
duties and responsibilities. 67
b. Shall disclose such materials and information pursuant 68
to a court order for furtherance of a criminal prosecution. If a 69
court orders the disclosure of such mat erials and information, 70
the recipient of the materials and information must maintain the 71
confidentiality of the materials and information and may only 72
publicly disclose the materials and information as necessary for 73
purposes of a criminal prosecution as de termined by the court. 74
4. The exemption in this paragraph applies to 75
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investigative genetic genealogy materials and information, 76
including SNP and WGS profiles, held by an agency before, on, or 77
after July 1, 2023. 78
5. This paragraph is subject to the Ope n Government Sunset 79
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 80
on October 2, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 81
through reenactment by the Legislature. 82
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 83
necessity that investigative genetic genealogy materials and 84
information, including SNP and WGS profiles, be made 85
confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and 86
s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. Investigative 87
genetic genealogy is an advanced investigative tool that uses 88
law enforcement agency investigative resources and traditional 89
genealogical research in collaboration with crime laboratories, 90
private vendor laboratories, and companies and organizations 91
that provide genealogy services and in formation to the public. 92
Investigative genetic genealogy allows law enforcement to 93
generate investigative leads on unknown perpetrators. Such 94
investigative leads aid law enforcement in determining potential 95
donors of crime scene samples, which can be confi rmed or refuted 96
by a crime laboratory for use in legal proceedings. Convictions 97
and exonerations have been aided by the use of investigative 98
genetic genealogy. The same techniques are also used in missing 99
persons and unidentified human remains cases. Inves tigative 100
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genetic genealogy is a valuable tool to solve violent crimes and 101
hold accountable perpetrators who may otherwise roam freely and 102
undetected in society. Traditional forensic DNA testing attempts 103
to identify the possible donor of a crime scene sampl e through 104
matches in law enforcement DNA databases comprised of short 105
tandem repeat DNA databases. The use of investigative genetic 106
genealogy differs from traditional law enforcement investigative 107
techniques because it uses advanced DNA testing in order to 108
develop an SNP or a WGS profile from unknown crime scene DNA. 109
Profiles consisting of SNP data from various locations in a 110
genome are made up of letters representing the building blocks 111
of DNA and, depending on the locations tested, may reveal 112
information on physical characteristics, disease predisposition, 113
and susceptibility to environmental factors such as toxins or 114
drugs. A WGS profile represents the entirety of a person's DNA 115
and the traits, health, and ancestry information the DNA 116
contains. Such SNP or WGS profiles are then uploaded into public 117
genealogy databases and used to locate personal identifying 118
information for possible relatives and ancestors who participate 119
in the databases. Persons whose names, contact information, and 120
other family associatio ns are available in these databases 121
routinely have no association with or knowledge of the 122
perpetrator or the crime law enforcement is investigating. The 123
first publicized use of investigative genetic genealogy involved 124
the Golden State Killer case in Calif ornia. The publicity 125
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surrounding law enforcement's use of genetic genealogy led 126
genealogy service providers, genealogical testing companies, 127
privacy advocates, and ethicists to express privacy concerns. 128
Private companies have since strictly limited or prec luded law 129
enforcement access to genetic genealogy databases due to fear 130
that persons biologically related to a perpetrator but 131
unassociated with the crime may be identified, harassed, and 132
even victimized. Law enforcement use has been restricted to 133
violent crimes and unidentified human remains, and companies 134
employ opt-in features for customers. Failure to properly 135
protect and limit the disclosure of investigative genetic 136
genealogy materials will hinder the ability of law enforcement 137
to use investigative gen etic genealogy to solve violent crimes 138
and provide closure to the family members of victims of these 139
heinous acts. Unidentified human remains are often homicide 140
victims, so protection of investigative genetic genealogy tools 141
and information is important in giving names to these victims as 142
well. 143
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 144