HB 1527 2023
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hb1527-00
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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 the accessibility of governmental 2
records; creating ss. 11.1431, 16.011, 17.051, and 3
19.521, F.S.; defining the terms "governmental entity" 4
and "record"; requiring governmental entities to make 5
requested records available to members of the 6
Legislature, the Attorney General, the Chief Financial 7
Officer, or the Commissioner of Agriculture, 8
respectively, within a specified timeframe upon the 9
request of such person; prohibiting members of the 10
Legislature, the Chief Financial Officer, and the 11
Commissioner of Agriculture from receiving certain 12
records during a specified period of time; requiring 13
that members of the Legislature, the Attorney General, 14
the Chief Financial Officer, and the Commissioner of 15
Agriculture ensure that any exempt or confidential and 16
exempt information in records so received remains 17
exempt or confidential and exempt; providing penalties 18
for noncompliance; requiring that members o f the 19
Legislature and such officers submit their requests to 20
governmental entities in a specified format; providing 21
for the sharing of such records; requiring 22
governmental entities to waive all fees associated 23
with providing such records when requests are properly 24
made; providing an effective date. 25
HB 1527 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
26
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27
28
Section 1. Section 11.1431, Florida Statutes, is created 29
to read: 30
11.1431 Access to governmental records. — 31
(1) As used in this section, the term: 32
(a) "Governmental entity" means the state including the 33
executive and judicial branches of government, or any political 34
subdivision of the state, including counties, municipalities, 35
districts, authorities, boards, or commissions. 36
(b) "Record" means all documents, papers, letters, maps, 37
books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, or other 38
material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made 39
or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with 40
the transaction of official business by a governmental entity. 41
(2)(a) If a member of the Legislature requests a record 42
from a governmental entity, the governmental entity must make 43
the record available without redactions to the member within 7 44
days after receiving a request made pu rsuant to subsection (3). 45
(b) A member may not receive records from a law 46
enforcement agency during the period in which the information 47
constitutes active criminal intelligence information or active 48
criminal investigative information. 49
(c) If a member receives any exempt or confidential and 50
HB 1527 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
exempt information in a record, the member must ensure that the 51
information remains exempt or confidential and exempt. A member 52
who does not comply with the requirements of this paragraph is 53
subject to any penalty imp osed by rule of the member's chamber 54
for the improper disclosure of public records and the penalties 55
imposed in s. 119.10. 56
(3) To request a record from a governmental entity, a 57
member of the Legislature must submit a request in substantially 58
the following form: 59
60
RECORDS REQUEST FORM 61
62
I, ...(name of the member)..., a duly elected member of the 63
Legislature, in order to fulfill my duties and responsibilities 64
as an officer of the state, request from ...(name of the 65
governmental entity)... the following recor d(s): ...(An addendum 66
may be attached to this form with as much information as the 67
member can provide regarding the name of the record, when the 68
record was created or received by the governmental entity, and 69
any keywords or other search parameters for the governmental 70
entity.)... I, ...(name of the member)..., swear or affirm that 71
the record requested, once received, will remain with my office 72
and, if the record contains information that is exempt or 73
confidential and exempt, I will be personally responsible for 74
ensuring that the information remains exempt or confidential and 75
HB 1527 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
exempt. 76
I UNDERSTAND THAT I MAY NOT SHARE OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER THE 77
RECORD TO ANY OTHER PARTY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, 78
ANOTHER MEMBER, A MEMBER OF THE PRESS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO 79
DOES NOT HAVE THE EXPRESS WRITTEN AUTHORITY FROM THE 80
GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY TO ACCESS SUCH RECORD. BY SIGNING BELOW, I 81
AGREE TO ABIDE BY ALL RESTRICTIONS RELATED TO THE RECORDS I HAVE 82
REQUESTED. 83
84
...(Signature of the member)... 85
...(Date signed)... 86
...(Date submitted)... 87
88
(4) The records received pursuant to this section may be 89
shared only with another member, provided that member submits 90
the records request form provided in subsection (3) to the 91
governmental entity and receives confirmation from the 92
governmental entity of its receipt of the form. 93
(5) The governmental entity shall waive all fees 94
associated with providing any record to a member of the 95
Legislature if a request is made pursuant to this section. 96
Section 2. Section 16.011, Florida Statute s, is created to 97
read: 98
16.011 Access to governmental records. — 99
(1) As used in this section, the term: 100
HB 1527 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) "Governmental entity" means the state, including the 101
executive branch of government, or any political subdivision of 102
the state, including counti es, municipalities, districts, 103
authorities, boards, or commissions. The term does not include 104
the legislative or judicial branches of government. 105
(b) "Record" means all documents, papers, letters, maps, 106
books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, or other 107
material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made 108
or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with 109
the transaction of official business by a governmental entity. 110
(2)(a) If the Attorney General requests a record from a 111
governmental entity, the governmental entity must make the 112
record available without redactions to him or her within 7 days 113
after receiving a request made pursuant to subsection (3). 114
(b) If the Attorney General receives any exempt or 115
confidential and exe mpt information in a record, he or she shall 116
ensure that the information remains exempt or confidential and 117
exempt. Records received pursuant to this section may not be 118
shared without written authorization from the governmental 119
entity. If the Attorney Gene ral does not comply with the 120
requirements of this paragraph he or she is subject to the 121
penalties imposed in s. 119.10. 122
(3) To request a record from a governmental entity, the 123
Attorney General must submit a request in substantially the 124
following form: 125
HB 1527 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
126
RECORDS REQUEST FORM 127
128
I, ...(name)..., the Attorney General of Florida, in order 129
to fulfill my duties and responsibilities as an officer of the 130
state, request from ...(name of the governmental entity)... the 131
following record(s): ...(An addendum may be atta ched to this 132
form with as much information as the Attorney General can 133
provide regarding the name of the record, when the record was 134
created or received by the governmental entity, and any keywords 135
or other search parameters for the governmental entity.).. . I, 136
...(name)..., swear or affirm that the record requested, once 137
received, will remain with my office and, if the record contains 138
information that is exempt or confidential and exempt, I am 139
personally responsible for ensuring that the information remains 140
exempt or confidential and exempt. 141
I UNDERSTAND THAT I MAY NOT SHARE OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER THE 142
RECORD TO ANY OTHER PARTY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A 143
MEMBER OF THE PRESS OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE 144
EXPRESS WRITTEN AUTHORITY FROM THE GO VERNMENTAL ENTITY TO ACCESS 145
SUCH RECORD. BY SIGNING BELOW, I AGREE TO ABIDE BY ALL 146
RESTRICTIONS RELATED TO THE RECORDS I HAVE REQUESTED. 147
148
...(Signature)... 149
...(Date signed)... 150
HB 1527 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
...(Date submitted)... 151
152
(4) The governmental entity shall waive all fees 153
associated with providing any record to the Attorney General if 154
a request is made pursuant to this section. 155
Section 3. Section 17.051, Florida Statutes, is created to 156
read: 157
17.051 Access to governmental records. — 158
(1) As used in this section, the term: 159
(a) "Governmental entity" means the state, including the 160
executive branch of government, or any political subdivision of 161
the state, including counties, municipalities, districts, 162
authorities, boards, or commissions. The term does not include 163
the legislative or judicial branches of government. 164
(b) "Record" means all documents, papers, letters, maps, 165
books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, or other 166
material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made 167
or received pursuant to law or ord inance or in connection with 168
the transaction of official business by a governmental entity. 169
(2)(a) If the Chief Financial Officer requests a record 170
from a governmental entity, the governmental entity must make 171
the record available without redactions to h im or her within 7 172
days after receiving a request made pursuant to subsection (3). 173
(b) The Chief Financial Officer may not receive records 174
from a law enforcement agency during the period in which the 175
HB 1527 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
information constitutes active criminal intelligence i nformation 176
or active criminal investigative information, unless the records 177
relate to the official duties and responsibilities of the Chief 178
Financial Officer. 179
(c) If the Chief Financial Officer receives any exempt or 180
confidential and exempt information i n a record, he or she shall 181
ensure that the information remains exempt or confidential and 182
exempt. Records received pursuant to this section may not be 183
shared without written authorization from the governmental 184
entity. If the Chief Financial Officer does n ot comply with the 185
requirements of this paragraph he or she is subject to the 186
penalties imposed in s. 119.10. 187
(3) To request a record from a governmental entity, the 188
Chief Financial Officer must submit a request in substantially 189
the following form: 190
191
RECORDS REQUEST FORM 192
193
"I, ...(name)..., the Chief Financial Officer of Florida, 194
in order to fulfill my duties and responsibilities as an officer 195
of the state, request from ...(name of the governmental 196
entity)... the following record(s): ...(An addendum may be 197
attached to this form with as much information as the Chief 198
Financial Officer can provide regarding the name of the record, 199
when the record was created or received by the governmental 200
HB 1527 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
entity, and any keywords or other search parameters for the 201
governmental entity.)... I, ...(name)..., swear or affirm that 202
the records requested, once received, will remain with my office 203
and, if the record contains information that is exempt or 204
confidential and exempt, I am personally responsible for 205
ensuring that the inform ation remains exempt or confidential and 206
exempt. 207
I UNDERSTAND THAT I MAY NOT SHARE OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER THE 208
RECORD TO ANY OTHER PARTY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A 209
MEMBER OF THE PRESS OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE 210
EXPRESS WRITTEN AUTHORITY FROM THE GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY TO ACCESS 211
SUCH RECORD. BY SIGNING BELOW, I AGREE TO ABIDE BY ALL 212
RESTRICTIONS RELATED TO THE RECORDS I HAVE REQUESTED. 213
214
...(Signature)... 215
...(Date signed)... 216
...(Date submitted)... 217
218
(4) The governmental entity shall waive all fees 219
associated with providing any record to the Chief Financial 220
Officer if a request is made pursuant to this section. 221
Section 4. Section 19.521, Florida Statutes, is created to 222
read: 223
19.521 Access to governmental records. — 224
(1) As used in this section, the term: 225
HB 1527 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) "Governmental entity" means the state, including the 226
executive branch of government, or any political subdivision of 227
the state, including counties, municipalities, districts, 228
authorities, boards, or commissions. The term do es not include 229
the legislative or judicial branches of government. 230
(b) "Record" means all documents, papers, letters, maps, 231
books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, or other 232
material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made 233
or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with 234
the transaction of official business by a governmental entity. 235
(2)(a) If the Commissioner of Agriculture requests a 236
record from a governmental entity, the governmental entity must 237
make the record available without redactions to him or her 238
within 7 days after receiving a request made pursuant to 239
subsection (3). 240
(b) The Commissioner of Agriculture may not receive 241
records from a law enforcement agency during the period in which 242
the information consti tutes active criminal intelligence 243
information or active criminal investigative information. 244
(c) If the Commissioner of Agriculture receives any exempt 245
or confidential and exempt information in a record, he or she 246
must ensure that the information remains exempt or confidential 247
and exempt. Records received pursuant to this section may not be 248
shared without written authorization from the governmental 249
entity. If the Commissioner of Agriculture does not comply with 250
HB 1527 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
the requirements of this paragraph he or she is subject to the 251
penalties imposed in s. 119.10. 252
(3) To request a record from a government al entity, the 253
Commissioner of Agriculture must submit a request in 254
substantially the following form: 255
256
RECORDS REQUEST FORM 257
258
"I, ...(name)..., the Commissioner of Agriculture of 259
Florida, in order to fulfill my duties and responsibilities as 260
an officer of the state, request from ...(name of the 261
governmental entity)... the following record(s): ...(An addendum 262
may be attached to this form with as much information as the 263
Commissioner of Agriculture can provide regarding the name of 264
the record, when the record was created or received by the 265
governmental entity, and any keywords or other search parameters 266
for the governmental entity.)... I, ...(name)..., swear or 267
affirm that the record requested, once received, will remain 268
with my office and, if the record contai ns information that is 269
exempt or confidential and exempt, I am personally responsible 270
for ensuring that the information remains exempt or confidential 271
and exempt. 272
I UNDERSTAND THAT I MAY NOT SHARE OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER THE 273
RECORD TO ANY OTHER PARTY, INCLU DING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, A 274
MEMBER OF THE PRESS OR ANY OTHER PERSON WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE 275
HB 1527 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
EXPRESS WRITTEN AUTHORITY FROM THE GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY TO ACCESS 276
SUCH RECORD. BY SIGNING BELOW, I AGREE TO ABIDE BY ALL 277
RESTRICTIONS RELATED TO THE RECORDS I HAVE REQ UESTED. 278
279
...(Signature)... 280
...(Date signed)... 281
...(Date submitted)... 282
283
(4) The governmental entity shall waive all fees 284
associated with providing any record to the Commissioner of 285
Agriculture if a request is made pursuant to this section. 286
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 287