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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 or former clerks of 5
the circuit court, deputy clerks of the circuit court, 6
and clerk of the circuit court personnel and the names 7
and personal identifying and location information of 8
the spouses and children of such clerks, deputy 9
clerks, and clerk personnel; providing for future 10
legislative review and repeal of the exemption; 11
providing for retroactive application; providing a 12
statement of public necessity; providing an effective 13
date. 14
15
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16
17
Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section 18
119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 19
119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of 20
public records.— 21
(4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION. — 22
(d)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term: 23
a. "Home addresses" means the dwelling location at which 24
an individual resides and includes the physical address, mailing 25
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address, street address, parcel identification number, plot 26
identification number, legal propert y description, neighborhood 27
name and lot number, GPS coordinates, and any other descriptive 28
property information that may reveal the home address. 29
b. "Judicial assistant" means a court employee assigned to 30
the following class codes: 8140, 8150, 8310, and 8320. 31
c. "Telephone numbers" includes home telephone numbers, 32
personal cellular telephone numbers, personal pager telephone 33
numbers, and telephone numbers associated with personal 34
communications devices. 35
2.a. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dat es of 36
birth, and photographs of active or former sworn law enforcement 37
personnel or of active or former civilian personnel employed by 38
a law enforcement agency, including correctional and 39
correctional probation officers, personnel of the Department of 40
Children and Families whose duties include the investigation of 41
abuse, neglect, exploitation, fraud, theft, or other criminal 42
activities, personnel of the Department of Health whose duties 43
are to support the investigation of child abuse or neglect, and 44
personnel of the Department of Revenue or local governments 45
whose responsibilities include revenue collection and 46
enforcement or child support enforcement; the names, home 47
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 48
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 49
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 50
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facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 51
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 52
Constitution. 53
b. The home addresses, telephon e numbers, dates of birth, 54
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 55
personnel of the Department of Financial Services whose duties 56
include the investigation of fraud, theft, workers' compensation 57
coverage requirements and compliance, oth er related criminal 58
activities, or state regulatory requirement violations; the 59
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 60
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 61
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 62
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 63
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 64
Constitution. 65
c. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 66
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 67
personnel of the Office of Financial Regulation's Bureau of 68
Financial Investigations whose duties include the investigation 69
of fraud, theft, other related criminal activities, or state 70
regulatory requirement violations; the names, home addresses, 71
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 72
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 73
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 74
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 75
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24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 76
d. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 77
and photographs of current or former firefighters certified in 78
compliance with s. 633.408; the names, home addresses, telephone 79
numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment 80
of the spouses and children of such firefighters; and the names 81
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 82
children of such firefighters are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 83
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 84
e. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 85
numbers of current or former justices of the Supreme Court, 86
district court of appeal judges, circuit court judges, and 87
county court judges, and of current judicial assistants; the 88
names, home addresse s, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 89
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 90
former justices and judges and of current judicial assistants; 91
and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 92
attended by the children of current or former justices and 93
judges and of current judicial assistants are exempt from s. 94
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This 95
sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review 96
Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on 97
October 2, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through 98
reenactment by the Legislature. 99
f. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 100
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and photographs of current or former state attorneys, assistant 101
state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide 102
prosecutors; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 103
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 104
spouses and children of current or former state attorneys, 105
assistant state attorne ys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant 106
statewide prosecutors; and the names and locations of schools 107
and day care facilities attended by the children of current or 108
former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide 109
prosecutors, or assistant stat ewide prosecutors are exempt from 110
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 111
g. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 112
numbers of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 113
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 114
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement 115
hearing officers; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 116
dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and 117
children of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 118
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 119
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement 120
hearing officers; and the names and locations of schools and day 121
care facilities attended by the children of general magistrates, 122
special magistrates, judges of compensation claims, 123
administrative law judges of the Division of Administrative 124
Hearings, and child support enforcement hearing officers are 125
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exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24( a), Art. I of the State 126
Constitution. 127
h. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 128
and photographs of current or former human resource, labor 129
relations, or employee relations directors, assistant directors, 130
managers, or assistant managers of any local government agency 131
or water management district whose duties include hiring and 132
firing employees, labor contract negotiation, administration, or 133
other personnel-related duties; the names, home addresses, 134
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and pla ces of employment of 135
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 136
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 137
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 138
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 139
i. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 140
and photographs of current or former code enforcement officers; 141
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 142
and places of employment of the spouses and children of such 143
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 144
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 145
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 146
Constitution. 147
j. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 148
employment, dates of birt h, and photographs of current or former 149
guardians ad litem, as defined in s. 39.820; the names, home 150
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addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 151
employment of the spouses and children of such persons; and the 152
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 153
by the children of such persons are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 154
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 155
k. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 156
and photographs of current or former juvenile probatio n 157
officers, juvenile probation supervisors, detention 158
superintendents, assistant detention superintendents, juvenile 159
justice detention officers I and II, juvenile justice detention 160
officer supervisors, juvenile justice residential officers, 161
juvenile justice residential officer supervisors I and II, 162
juvenile justice counselors, juvenile justice counselor 163
supervisors, human services counselor administrators, senior 164
human services counselor administrators, rehabilitation 165
therapists, and social services counsel ors of the Department of 166
Juvenile Justice; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 167
dates of birth, and places of employment of spouses and children 168
of such personnel; and the names and locations of schools and 169
day care facilities attended by the chil dren of such personnel 170
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 171
Constitution. 172
l. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 173
and photographs of current or former public defenders, assistant 174
public defenders, criminal conf lict and civil regional counsel, 175
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and assistant criminal conflict and civil regional counsel; the 176
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 177
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 178
former public defenders, assistant public defenders, criminal 179
conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant criminal 180
conflict and civil regional counsel; and the names and locations 181
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 182
current or former public defenders, assi stant public defenders, 183
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant 184
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel are exempt from s. 185
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 186
m. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 187
and photographs of current or former investigators or inspectors 188
of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation; the 189
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 190
places of employment of the spouses and children of such current 191
or former investigators and inspectors; and the names and 192
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 193
children of such current or former investigators and inspectors 194
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 195
Constitution. 196
n. The home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of 197
birth of county tax collectors; the names, home addresses, 198
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 199
the spouses and children of such tax collectors; and the names 200
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and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 201
children of such tax collectors are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 202
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 203
o. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 204
and photographs of curr ent or former personnel of the Department 205
of Health whose duties include, or result in, the determination 206
or adjudication of eligibility for social security disability 207
benefits, the investigation or prosecution of complaints filed 208
against health care pract itioners, or the inspection of health 209
care practitioners or health care facilities licensed by the 210
Department of Health; the names, home addresses, telephone 211
numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 212
and children of such personnel; a nd the names and locations of 213
schools and day care facilities attended by the children of such 214
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 215
the State Constitution. 216
p. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 217
and photographs of current or former impaired practitioner 218
consultants who are retained by an agency or current or former 219
employees of an impaired practitioner consultant whose duties 220
result in a determination of a person's skill and safety to 221
practice a licensed profes sion; the names, home addresses, 222
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 223
the spouses and children of such consultants or their employees; 224
and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 225
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attended by the children of such consultants or employees are 226
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 227
Constitution. 228
q. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 229
and photographs of current or former emergency medical 230
technicians or paramedics certified un der chapter 401; the 231
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 232
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 233
emergency medical technicians or paramedics; and the names and 234
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 235
children of such emergency medical technicians or paramedics are 236
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 237
Constitution. 238
r. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 239
and photographs of current or former personnel emp loyed in an 240
agency's office of inspector general or internal audit 241
department whose duties include auditing or investigating waste, 242
fraud, abuse, theft, exploitation, or other activities that 243
could lead to criminal prosecution or administrative discipline; 244
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 245
and places of employment of spouses and children of such 246
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 247
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 248
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 249
Constitution. 250
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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
s. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 251
and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 252
supervisors, nurses, and clinical employees of an addiction 253
treatment facility; the home addresses, telephone numbers, 254
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 255
spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 256
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 257
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 258
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For purposes of this 259
sub-subparagraph, the term "addiction treatment facility" means 260
a county government, or agency thereof, that is licensed 261
pursuant to s. 397.401 and provides substance a buse prevention, 262
intervention, or clinical treatment, including any licensed 263
service component described in s. 397.311(26). 264
t. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 265
and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 266
supervisors, and clinical employees of a child advocacy center 267
that meets the standards of s. 39.3035(2) and fulfills the 268
screening requirement of s. 39.3035(3), and the members of a 269
Child Protection Team as described in s. 39.303 whose duties 270
include supporting the inv estigation of child abuse or sexual 271
abuse, child abandonment, child neglect, and child exploitation 272
or to provide services as part of a multidisciplinary case 273
review team; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 274
photographs, dates of birth, and place s of employment of the 275
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spouses and children of such personnel and members; and the 276
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 277
by the children of such personnel and members are exempt from s. 278
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 279
u. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 280
employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 281
staff and domestic violence advocates, as defined in s. 282
90.5036(1)(b), of domestic violence centers certified by the 283
Department of Children and Families under chapter 39; the names, 284
home addresses, telephone numbers, places of employment, dates 285
of birth, and photographs of the spouses and children of such 286
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 287
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 288
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 289
Constitution. 290
v. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 291
and photographs of current or former inspectors or investigators 292
of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the 293
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 294
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 295
former inspectors or investigators; and the names and locations 296
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 297
current or former inspectors or investigators are exempt from s. 298
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This 299
sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review 300
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Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on 301
October 2, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through 302
reenactment by the Legislature. 303
w. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 304
and photographs of current or former clerks of the circu it 305
court, deputy clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the 306
circuit court personnel; the names, home addresses, telephone 307
numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 308
and children of current or former clerks of the circuit court, 309
deputy clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit 310
court personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day 311
care facilities attended by the children of current or former 312
clerks of the circuit court, deputy clerks of the circuit court, 313
and clerk of the circuit court personnel are exempt from s. 314
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This 315
sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review 316
Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on 317
October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through 318
reenactment by the Legislature. 319
3. An agency that is the custodian of the information 320
specified in subparagraph 2. and that is not the employer of the 321
officer, employee, justice, judge, or other person spe cified in 322
subparagraph 2. must maintain the exempt status of that 323
information only if the officer, employee, justice, judge, other 324
person, or employing agency of the designated employee submits a 325
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written and notarized request for maintenance of the exempti on 326
to the custodial agency. The request must state under oath the 327
statutory basis for the individual's exemption request and 328
confirm the individual's status as a party eligible for exempt 329
status. 330
4.a. A county property appraiser, as defined in s. 331
192.001(3), or a county tax collector, as defined in s. 332
192.001(4), who receives a written and notarized request for 333
maintenance of the exemption pursuant to subparagraph 3. must 334
comply by removing the name of the individual with exempt status 335
and the instrument number or Official Records book and page 336
number identifying the property with the exempt status from all 337
publicly available records maintained by the property appraiser 338
or tax collector. For written requests received on or before 339
July 1, 2021, a county pro perty appraiser or county tax 340
collector must comply with this sub -subparagraph by October 1, 341
2021. A county property appraiser or county tax collector may 342
not remove the street address, legal description, or other 343
information identifying real property with in the agency's 344
records so long as a name or personal information otherwise 345
exempt from inspection and copying pursuant to this section is 346
not associated with the property or otherwise displayed in the 347
public records of the agency. 348
b. Any information res tricted from public display, 349
inspection, or copying under sub -subparagraph a. must be 350
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provided to the individual whose information was removed. 351
5. An officer, an employee, a justice, a judge, or other 352
person specified in subparagraph 2. may submit a writ ten request 353
for the release of his or her exempt information to the 354
custodial agency. The written request must be notarized and must 355
specify the information to be released and the party authorized 356
to receive the information. Upon receipt of the written req uest, 357
the custodial agency must release the specified information to 358
the party authorized to receive such information. 359
6. The exemptions in this paragraph apply to information 360
held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the 361
exemption. 362
7. Information made exempt under this paragraph may be 363
disclosed pursuant to s. 28.2221 to a title insurer authorized 364
pursuant to s. 624.401 and its affiliates as defined in s. 365
624.10; a title insurance agent or title insurance agency as 366
defined in s. 626.841(1) or (2), respectively; or an attorney 367
duly admitted to practice law in this state and in good standing 368
with The Florida Bar. 369
8. The exempt status of a home address contained in the 370
Official Records is maintained only during the period when a 371
protected party resides at the dwelling location. Upon 372
conveyance of real property after October 1, 2021, and when such 373
real property no longer constitutes a protected party's home 374
address as defined in sub -subparagraph 1.a., the protected party 375
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must submit a written request to release the removed information 376
to the county recorder. The written request to release the 377
removed information must be notarized, must confirm that a 378
protected party's request for release is pursuant to a 379
conveyance of his or her dwelling location, and must specify the 380
Official Records book and page, instrument number, or clerk's 381
file number for each document containing the information to be 382
released. 383
9. Upon the death of a protected party as verified by a 384
certified copy of a death certif icate or court order, any party 385
can request the county recorder to release a protected 386
decedent's removed information unless there is a related request 387
on file with the county recorder for continued removal of the 388
decedent's information or unless such remo val is otherwise 389
prohibited by statute or by court order. The written request to 390
release the removed information upon the death of a protected 391
party must attach the certified copy of a death certificate or 392
court order and must be notarized, must confirm th e request for 393
release is due to the death of a protected party, and must 394
specify the Official Records book and page number, instrument 395
number, or clerk's file number for each document containing the 396
information to be released. A fee may not be charged for the 397
release of any document pursuant to such request. 398
10. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 399
paragraph, this paragraph is subject to the Open Government 400
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Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 401
repealed on October 2, 202 4, unless reviewed and saved from 402
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 403
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 404
necessity that the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 405
birth, and photographs of current or former clerks of t he 406
circuit court, deputy clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of 407
the circuit court personnel; the names, home addresses, 408
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 409
the spouses and children of current or former clerks of the 410
circuit court, deputy clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of 411
the circuit court personnel; and the names and locations of 412
schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 413
current or former clerks of the circuit court, deputy clerks of 414
the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court personnel be 415
made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), 416
Article I of the State Constitution. The responsibilities of 417
clerks of the circuit court, deputy clerks of the circuit court, 418
and clerk of the circu it court personnel regularly include 419
involvement in legal enforcement, divorce, and child support 420
proceedings and, as a result, clerks of the circuit court, 421
deputy clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit 422
court personnel have received death th reats, harassing telephone 423
calls and e-mails, and threats of physical violence from 424
disgruntled individuals. The Legislature finds that the release 425
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of such personal identifying and location information may place 426
clerks of the circuit court, deputy clerks o f the circuit court, 427
and clerk of the circuit court personnel in danger of being 428
physically or emotionally harmed or stalked. The Legislature 429
finds that the harm that may result from the release of such 430
personal identifying and location information outweig hs any 431
public benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of the 432
information. 433
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 434