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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
501.173, F.S.; providing an exemption from public 3
records requirements for information relating to 4
investigations by the Department of Legal Affairs and 5
law enforcement agencies of certain data privacy 6
violations; providing for future legislative review 7
and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of 8
public necessity; providing a contingent effect ive 9
date. 10
11
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
13
Section 1. Subsection (13) is added to section 501.173, 14
Florida Statutes, as created by HB 1547, 2023 Regular Session, 15
to read: 16
501.173 Consumer data privacy. — 17
(13) PUBLIC RECORDS EXEMPTION.— 18
(a) All information received by the department pursuant to 19
a notification of a violation under this section, or received by 20
the department pursuant to an investigation by the department or 21
a law enforcement agency of a violation of this section or s. 22
501.1735, is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 23
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, until such time as the 24
investigation is completed or ceases to be active. This 25
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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
exemption shall be construed in conformity with s. 26
119.071(2)(c). 27
(b) During an active investigation, information made 28
confidential and exempt pursuant to paragraph (a) may be 29
disclosed by the department: 30
1. In the furtherance of its official duties and 31
responsibilities; 32
2. For print, publication, or broadca st if the department 33
determines that such release would assist in notifying the 34
public or locating or identifying a person that the department 35
believes to be a victim of a data breach or improper use or 36
disposal of customer records, except that information made 37
confidential and exempt by paragraph (c) may not be released 38
pursuant to this subparagraph; or 39
3. To another governmental entity in the furtherance of 40
its official duties and responsibilities. 41
(c) Upon completion of an investigation or once an 42
investigation ceases to be active, the following information 43
received by the department shall remain confidential and exempt 44
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 45
Constitution: 46
1. All information to which another public records 47
exemption applies. 48
2. Personal information. 49
3. A computer forensic report. 50
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4. Information that would otherwise reveal weaknesses in 51
the data security of a controller, processor, or third party. 52
5. Information that would disclose the proprietary 53
information of a controller, processor, or third party. 54
(d) For purposes of this subsection, the term "proprietary 55
information" means information that: 56
1. Is owned or controlled by the controller, processor, or 57
third party. 58
2. Is intended to be private and is treated by the 59
controller, processor, or third party as private because 60
disclosure would harm the controller, processor, or third party 61
or its business operations. 62
3. Has not been disclosed except as required by law or a 63
private agreement that provides that the information will not be 64
released to the public. 65
4. Is not publicly available or otherwise readily 66
ascertainable through proper means from another source in the 67
same configuration as received by the department. 68
5. Includes: 69
a. Trade secrets as define d in s. 688.002. 70
b. Competitive interests, the disclosure of which would 71
impair the competitive advantage of the controller, processor, 72
or third party who is the subject of the information. 73
(e) This subsection is subject to the Open Government 74
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 75
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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
repealed on October 2, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from 76
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 77
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 78
necessity that all information receiv ed by the Department of 79
Legal Affairs pursuant to a notification of a violation of s. 80
501.173 or s. 501.1735, Florida Statutes, or received by the 81
department pursuant to an investigation by the department or a 82
law enforcement agency of a violation of s. 50 1.173 or s. 83
501.1735, Florida Statutes, be made confidential and exempt from 84
s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 85
State Constitution for the following reasons: 86
(1) A notification of a violation of s. 501.173 or s. 87
501.1735, Florida Statutes, may result in an investigation of 88
such violation. The premature release of such information could 89
frustrate or thwart the investigation and impair the ability of 90
the department to effectively and efficiently administer s. 91
501.173 or s. 501.1735, Florida Statutes. In addition, release 92
of such information before completion of an active investigation 93
could jeopardize the ongoing investigation. 94
(2) Release of information to which another public record 95
exemption applies once an inve stigation is completed or ceases 96
to be active would undo the specific statutory exemption 97
protecting that information. 98
(3) An investigation of a violation of s. 501.173 or s. 99
501.1735, Florida Statutes, is likely to result in the gathering 100
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of sensitive personal information, including identification 101
numbers, unique identifiers, professional or employment -related 102
information, and personal financial information. Such 103
information could be used for the purpose of identity theft. The 104
release of such information could subject possible victims of 105
data privacy violations to further harm. 106
(4) Notices received by the department and information 107
received during an investigation of a violation of s. 501.173 or 108
s. 501.1735, Florida Statutes, are likely to contain propr ietary 109
information. Such information, including trade secrets, derives 110
independent, economic value, actual, or potential, from being 111
generally unknown to, and not readily ascertainable by, other 112
persons who might obtain economic value from its disclosure o r 113
use. Allowing public access to proprietary information, 114
including a trade secret, through a public records request could 115
destroy the value of the proprietary information and cause a 116
financial loss to the controller, processor, or third party 117
submitting the information. Release of such information could 118
give business competitors an unfair advantage and weaken the 119
position of the entity supplying the proprietary information in 120
the marketplace. 121
(5) Information received by the department may contain a 122
computer forensic report or information that could reveal 123
weaknesses in the data security of a controller, processor, or 124
third party. The release of this information could result in the 125
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identification of vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity system of 126
the controller, processor, or third party and be used to harm 127
the controller, processor, or third party and clients. 128
(6) The harm that may result from the release of 129
information received by the department pursuant to a 130
notification or investigation by the departme nt or a law 131
enforcement agency of a violation of s. 501.173 or s. 501.1735, 132
Florida Statutes, could impair the effective and efficient 133
administration of the investigation and thus, outweighs the 134
public benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of the 135
information. 136
Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date 137
that HB 1547 or similar legislation takes effect , if such 138
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 139
extension thereof and becomes a law. 140