This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: h7001z.EEG.docx
DATE: 3/15/2024
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF FINAL BILL ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 7001 PCB EEG 24-02 OGSR/Reporter of Child Abuse, Abandonment, or Neglect
SPONSOR(S): Ethics, Elections & Open Government Subcommittee; Tramont
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 7036
FINAL HOUSE FLOOR ACTION: 114 Y’s
0 N’s GOVERNOR’S ACTION: Pending
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
HB 7001 passed the House on February 1, 2024, and subsequently passed the Senate on February 15, 2024.
The Open Government Sunset Review Act requires the Legislature to review each public record exemption
and each public meeting exemption five years after enactment. If the Legislature does not reenact the
exemption, it automatically repeals on October 2
nd
of the fifth year after enactment.
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) operates a Florida central abuse hotline (hotline), which
accepts reports of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Any person who
knows or suspects that a child is abused, abandoned, or neglected by a parent, legal custodian, caregiver, or
other person responsible for the child’s welfare must report such information or suspicion to the hotline.
Current law provides a public record exemption for the name of any person reporting child abuse,
abandonment, or neglect, as well as other identifying information of such reporter.
The bill saves from repeal the public record exemption concerning all identifying information of a person —
other than a person’s name, which is already protected by law — reporting child abuse, abandonment, or
neglect, which will repeal on October 2, 2024, if the bill does not become law.
The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact on state or local governments.
Subject to the Governor’s veto powers, the effective date of this bill is October 1, 2024.
STORAGE NAME: h7001z.EEG.docx PAGE: 2
DATE: 3/15/2024
I. SUBSTANTIVE INFORMATION
A. EFFECT OF CHANGES:
Background
Open Government Sunset Review Act
The Open Government Sunset Review Act (OGSR Act)
1
sets forth a legislative review process for
newly created or substantially amended public record or public meeting exemptions. It requires an
automatic repeal of the exemption on October 2
nd
of the fifth year after creation or substantial
amendment, unless the Legislature reenacts the exemption.
2
The OGSR Act provides that a public record or public meeting exemption may be created or maintained
only if it serves an identifiable public purpose. In addition, it may be no broader than is necessary to
meet one of the following purposes:
Allow the state or its political subdivisions to effectively and efficiently administer a
governmental program, which administration would be significantly impaired without the
exemption.
Protect sensitive personal information that, if released, would be defamatory or would
jeopardize an individual’s safety; however, only the identity of an individual may be exempted
under this provision.
Protect trade or business secrets.
3
If, and only if, in reenacting an exemption that will repeal, the exemption is expanded, then a public
necessity statement and a two-thirds vote for passage are required.
4
If the exemption is reenacted with
grammatical or stylistic changes that do not expand the exemption, if the exemption is narrowed, or if
an exception to the exemption is created, then a public necessity statement and a two-thirds vote for
passage are not required.
Florida Central Abuse Hotline
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) operates the Florida central abuse hotline (hotline),
which accepts reports 24 hours a day, seven days a week of known or suspected child abuse,
abandonment, or neglect.
5
Reports may be made to the hotline in writing, through a call to the
statewide toll-free number, or through electronic reporting.
6
Current law requires any person to immediately report to the hotline if the person knows or suspects
that a child:
7
Has been abused, abandoned, or neglected by a parent, legal custodian, caregiver, or other
person responsible for the child’s welfare;
Is in need of supervision and care and has no parent, legal custodian, or responsible adult
relative immediately known and available to provide supervision and care;
Has been abused by an adult other than a parent, legal custodian, caregiver or other person
responsible for the child’s welfare; or
Is the victim of sexual abuse or juvenile sexual abuse.
8
1
Section 119.15, F.S.
2
Section 119.15(3), F.S.
3
Section 119.15(6)(b), F.S.
4
Article I, s. 24(c), FLA. CONST.
5
Section 39.101(1)(a), F.S.
6
Sections 39.201(1)(a) and 39.101(1)(a), F.S.
7
Sections 39.201(1)(a)1. and 39.201(1)(a)2., F.S.
8
“Juvenile sexual abuse” means any sexual behavior by a child which occurs without consent, without equality, or as a result of
coercion. Section 39.01(38), F.S. For definitions of “coercion,” “consent,” and “equality,” see s. 39.01(38), F.S.
STORAGE NAME: h7001z.EEG.docx PAGE: 3
DATE: 3/15/2024
Generally, reports from the general public to the hotline may be made anonymously;
9
however, certain
reporters must provide their names to the hotline because of their occupation.
10
These occupational
categories include:
Physicians, osteopathic physicians, medical examiners, chiropractic physicians, nurses,
hospital personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care, or treatment of persons or any
other health care or mental health professional.
Practitioners who rely solely on spiritual means for healing.
School teachers or other school officials or personnel.
Social workers, day care center workers, or other professional child care, foster care,
residential, or institutional workers.
Law enforcement officers.
Judges.
Animal control officers.
11
If a reporter provides his or her name, the name is entered into the record of the report but is
confidential and exempt from public record requirements and may not be disclosed except as
specifically authorized by law.
12
DCF uses electronic equipment that automatically provides the telephone number or the Internet
protocol address from which the report is received.
13
This information becomes part of the report, but is
confidential and exempt from public record requirements.
14
Failure to report known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect is a crime.
15
A person who
knowingly and willfully fails to make a report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or who knowingly and
willfully prevents another person from making a report, is guilty of a third-degree felony.
16
Any person
who makes a child abuse, abandonment, or neglect report in good faith is immune from criminal or civil
liability that might otherwise result from reporting.
17
Child Protective Investigations
Once the hotline receives a report, if the allegations of the report meet the statutory criteria for child
abuse, abandonment, or neglect, the report must be accepted as a child protective investigation.
18
If the
allegations meet such criteria, an investigation must be commenced either immediately or within 24
hours after the report is received, depending on the nature of the allegation.
19
Such investigations must
be performed by DCF or its agent.
20
The child protective investigation assesses the safety and perceived needs of the child and family.
21
It
includes a face-to-face interview with the child, other siblings, parents, and other adults in the
household, as well as an onsite assessment of the child’s residence.
22
Based upon the information
received by the hotline, interviews with each family member, and a review of the family’s history, the
investigator must determine which collateral sources, including neighbors, teachers, friends, and
9
Section 39.201(1)(b)1., F.S.
10
Section 39.201(1)(b)2., F.S.
11
Id.
12
Sections 39.201(1)(c) and 39.202(1), F.S.
13
Section 39.101(3)(b)1. and 2., F.S.
14
Section 39.101(3)(b)3., F.S.
15
Section 39.205(1), F.S.
16
A third-degree felony is punishable by up to five years in prison, or a fine of up to $5,000. See ss. 775.082(3)(e) and 775.083(1)(c),
F.S.
17
Section 39.203(1)(a), F.S.
18
Section 39.201(4)(a), F.S.
19
Section 39.101(2), F.S.
20
Section 39.301(8), F.S.
21
Section 39.301(7), F.S.
22
Id.
STORAGE NAME: h7001z.EEG.docx PAGE: 4
DATE: 3/15/2024
professional sources, are likely to have relevant and reliable information about the child’s situation.
23
The investigator interviews the collateral sources and, under DCF operating procedure, must protect
their identities to the extent possible when discussing information shared by collateral sources with the
child’s family.
24
Confidentiality of Records
Current law provides that all records concerning child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, including
hotline reports and all records generated as a result of such reports, are confidential and exempt
25
from
public record requirements.
26
Access to records concerning child abuse, abandonment, or neglect —
excluding the name, or other identifying information of the reporter — is granted to:
Certain employees, authorized agents, or contract providers of DCF, the Department of Juvenile
Justice, the Department of Health, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Agency for
Health Care Administration, the Department of Education, and county agencies responsible for
carrying out specific duties related to these agencies, and agencies with comparable
jurisdictions in other states.
Criminal justice agencies and the state attorney of the judicial circuit where the child resides or
the alleged abuse or neglect occurred.
The parent or legal custodian of any child who is alleged to have been abused, abandoned, or
neglected, and the child and their attorneys.
Any person alleged to have caused the abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child. If that
person is not a parent, the record will be limited to information about the protective investigation
and will not include any information about the subsequent dependency proceedings.
A court, if access to such records is necessary for the determination of an issue before it, and a
grand jury, if access is necessary for its official business.
Any appropriate official of DCF, the Agency for Health Care Administration, or the Agency for
Persons with Disabilities who is responsible for administering or supervising the agency’s
program for the prevention, investigation, or treatment of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect;
for taking administrative action concerning agency employees who are alleged to have
committed such acts; or for employing and continuing employment of agency personnel.
Any person authorized by DCF who uses information of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect
for research, statistical, or audit purposes. Information identifying the subjects of such records or
information must be treated as confidential by the researcher and may not be released in any
form.
The Division of Administrative Hearings for purposes of any administrative challenge.
An official of a Florida advocacy council investigating a report of known or suspected child
abuse, abandonment, or neglect.
An official of the Auditor General or the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
Accountability for the purpose of conducting audits or examinations pursuant to law.
The Guardian ad Litem for the child.
The Public Employees Relations Commission for the sole purpose of obtaining evidence for
appeals filed under s. 447.207, F.S.
23
Department of Children and Families Operating Procedure CFOP 170-5, Interviewing Collateral Contacts, (Sept. 20, 2023),
https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2023-09/CFOP%20170-05%20Child%20Protective%20Investigations.pdf (last
visited Nov. 7, 2023).
24
Id.
25
There is a difference between records the Legislature designates exempt from public record requirements and those the Legislature
designates confidential and exempt. A record classified as exempt from public disclosure may be disclosed under certain
circumstances. See WFTV, Inc. v. Sch. Bd. of Seminole, 874 So.2d 48, 53 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004), review denied, 892 So.2d 1015 (Fla.
2004); State v. Wooten, 260 So. 3d 1060, 1070 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018); City of Rivera Beach v. Barfield, 642 So.2d 1135 (Fla. 4th DCA
1994); Williams v. City of Minneola, 575 So.2d 683, 687 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). If the Legislature designates a record as confidential
and exempt from public disclosure, such record may not be released by the custodian of public records to anyone other than the
persons or entities specifically designated in statute. See Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 04- 09 (2004).
26
Section 39.202(1), F.S.
STORAGE NAME: h7001z.EEG.docx PAGE: 5
DATE: 3/15/2024
Employees or agents of the Department of Revenue responsible for child support enforcement
activities.
Any person in the event that the death of a child is the result of abuse, abandonment, or
neglect.
An employee of a local school district who is the designated liaison between the school district
and DCF and the principal of a public school, private school, or charter school where the child is
a student.
An employee or agent of the Department of Education who is responsible for the investigation or
prosecution of misconduct by a certified educator.
Staff of a children’s advocacy center that is established and operated under s. 39.3035, F.S.
A physician, psychologist, or mental health professional licensed in Florida and engaged in the
care or treatment of the child.
Persons with whom DCF is seeking to place the child or to whom placement has been granted,
including foster parents, the designee of a licensed child-caring agency as defined in s. 39.523,
F.S., an approved relative or nonrelative with whom a child is placed, preadoptive parents,
adoptive parents, or an adoptive entity acting on behalf of preadoptive or adoptive parents.
27
A reporter may, however, provide written consent to release his or her name, or other identifying
information, to these entities.
28
A reporter’s name or other identifying information may be released
without that person’s written consent to DCF employees responsible for child protective services, the
hotline, law enforcement, child protection teams,
29
or the appropriate state attorney.
30
An individual who knowingly or willfully discloses any confidential information contained in the hotline or
in the records of any child abuse, abandonment, or neglect case to anyone other than an authorized
person commits a second-degree misdemeanor.
31
Public Record Exemption under Review
In 2019, the Legislature created the public record exemption for other identifying information, as the
name was already protected, with respect to any person reporting child abuse, abandonment, or
neglect.
32
Such information is confidential and exempt
33
from public record requirements.
34
The 2019 public necessity statement
35
noted that prior to the existence of the public record exemption
under review, the statute only protected the name of the reporter.
36
The public necessity statement
asserted that:
By protecting only the name of the reporter of child abuse, abandonment, or
neglect, the identity of the individual may be discerned by other identifying
information, thus rendering the protection ineffective. Providing robust protections
to reporters of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect improves the mandatory
reporting scheme by ensuring that instances of suspected child abuse,
27
Section 39.202(2), F.S.
28
Section 39.202(5), F.S.
29
‘Child Protection Team” means a team of professionals established by the Department of Health to receive referrals from the
protective investigators and protective supervision staff of DCF and to provide specialized and supportive services to the program in
processing child abuse, abandonment, or neglect cases. Child protection teams must provide consultation to other programs of DCF
and other persons regarding child abuse, abandonment, or neglect cases. Section 39.01(12), F.S.
30
Section 39.202(5), F.S.
31
Section 39.205(6), F.S. A second-degree misdemeanor is punishable by up to 60 days imprisonment, or a fine of up to $500. See ss.
775.082(4)(b) and 775.083(1)(e), F.S.
32
Chapter 2019-49, L.O.F., codified as s. 39.202(2) and (5), F.S
33
Supra note 25.
34
Section 39.202(1), F.S.
35
Article I, s. 24(c), FLA. CONST., requires each public record exemption to “state with specificity the public necessity justifying the
exemption.”
36
Chapter 2019-49, L.O.F.
STORAGE NAME: h7001z.EEG.docx PAGE: 6
DATE: 3/15/2024
abandonment, or neglect are reported to the Department of Children and Families.
Therefore, it is necessary that individuals who are considered reporters under the
current statutory scheme have their identifying information protected.
37
Pursuant to the OGSR Act, the exemption will repeal on October 2, 2024, unless reenacted by the
Legislature.
38
If the expansion of the exemption to include other identifying information with respect to
any person reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect is not reenacted by the Legislature, the
public record exemption will revert back to protecting only the name of such reporter.
39
During the 2023 interim, House and Senate staff met with staff from DCF. DCF stated that the
department has not had any issues interpreting or applying the exemption and has not been a party to
any litigation regarding its interpretation of the exemption. DCF recommended the exemption be
reenacted as is.
Effect of the Bill
The bill removes the scheduled repeal of the exemption, thereby maintaining the public record
exemption for certain identifying information of a reporter to the hotline held by DCF.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
37
Chapter 2019-49, s. 2, L.O.F.
38
Section 39.202(10), F.S.
39
Chapter 2019-49, s. 9, L.O.F., codified as s. 39.202(10), F.S.