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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 and meetings; 2
amending ss. 394.464 and 397.6760, F.S.; specifying 3
that all hearings relating to mental health and 4
substance abuse, respectively, are confidential and 5
closed to the public; providing exceptions; exempting 6
certain information from public records requirements; 7
expanding a public records exemption to include 8
certain petitions and applications; authorizing 9
disclosure of certain confidential and exempt 10
documents to certain service providers; authorizing 11
courts to use a respondent's name for certain 12
purposes; revising applicability to include certain 13
appeals; revising the date for future legislative 14
review and repeal of the exemption; providing public 15
necessity statements; providing a contingent effective 16
date. 17
18
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19
20
Section 1. Section 394.464, Florida Statutes, is amended 21
to read: 22
394.464 Court proceedings and records; confidentiality. — 23
(1) Absent a judicial finding of good cause or the 24
respondent's consent, all hearings under this part are 25
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confidential and closed to the public. 26
(2)(a)(1) The respondent's name, at trial and on appeal, 27
and all petitions or applications for voluntary and involuntary 28
admission for mental health examination or treatment, court 29
orders, and related records that are filed with or by a court 30
under this part are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) 31
and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. Pleadings and 32
other documents made confidential and exempt by this section may 33
be disclosed by the clerk of the court, upon request, to any of 34
the following: 35
1.(a) The petitioner. 36
2.(b) The petitioner's attorney. 37
3.(c) The respondent. 38
4.(d) The respondent's attorney. 39
5.(e) The respondent's guardian or guardian advocate, if 40
applicable. 41
6.(f) In the case of a minor respondent, the respondent's 42
parent, guardian, legal custodian, or guardian advocate. 43
7.(g) The respondent's treating health care practitioner 44
and service provider . 45
8.(h) The respondent's health care surrogate or proxy. 46
9.(i) The Department of Children and Families, without 47
charge. 48
10.(j) The Department of Corrections, without charge, if 49
the respondent is committed or is to be returned to the custody 50
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of the Department of Corrections from the Department of Children 51
and Families. 52
11.(k) A person or entity authorized to view records upon 53
a court order for good cause. In determining if there is good 54
cause for the disclosure of records, the court must weigh the 55
person or entity's need for the information against potential 56
harm to the respondent from the disclosure. 57
(b)(2) This subsection section does not preclude the clerk 58
of the court from submitting the information required by s. 59
790.065 to the Department of Law Enforcement. 60
(c)(3) The clerk of the court may not publish personal 61
identifying information on a court docket or in a publicly 62
accessible file, but the court may use a respondent's name to 63
schedule and adjudicate cases, which includes the transmission 64
of any court order to the parties or the service provider . 65
(d)(4) A person or entity receiving information pursuant 66
to this subsection section shall maintain that information as 67
confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I 68
of the State Constitution. 69
(e)(5) The exemption under this subsection section applies 70
to all documents filed with a court before, on, or after July 1, 71
2019, and appeals pending or filed on or after July 1, 2024 . 72
(f)(6) This subsection section is subject to the Open 73
Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and 74
shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029 2024, unless reviewed 75
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and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 76
Section 2. Section 397.6760, Florida Statutes, is amended 77
to read: 78
397.6760 Court proceedings and records; confidentiality. — 79
(1) Absent a judicial finding of good cause or the 80
respondent's consent, all hearings under this part or part IV 81
are confidential and closed to the public. 82
(2)(a) The respondent's name, at trial and on appeal, and 83
all petitions or applications for voluntary and involuntary 84
substance abuse treatment or assessment and stabilization, court 85
orders, and related records that are filed with or by a court 86
under this part or part IV are confidential and exempt from s. 87
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 88
Pleadings and other documents made confidential and e xempt by 89
this section may be disclosed by the clerk of the court, upon 90
request, to any of the following: 91
1.(a) The petitioner. 92
2.(b) The petitioner's attorney. 93
3.(c) The respondent. 94
4.(d) The respondent's attorney. 95
5.(e) The respondent's guardian or guardian advocate, if 96
applicable. 97
6.(f) In the case of a minor respondent, the respondent's 98
parent, guardian, legal custodian, or guardian advocate. 99
7.(g) The respondent's treating health care practitioner 100
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and service provider . 101
8.(h) The respondent's health care surrogate or proxy. 102
9.(i) The Department of Children and Families, without 103
charge. 104
10.(j) The Department of Corrections, without charge, if 105
the respondent is committed or is to be returned to the custody 106
of the Department of Correction s from the Department of Children 107
and Families. 108
11.(k) A person or entity authorized to view records upon 109
a court order for good cause. In determining if there is good 110
cause for the disclosure of records, the court must weigh the 111
person or entity's need for the information against potential 112
harm to the respondent from the disclosure. 113
(b)(2) This subsection section does not preclude the clerk 114
of the court from submitting the information required by s. 115
790.065 to the Department of Law Enforcement. 116
(c)(3) The clerk of the court may not publish personal 117
identifying information on a court docket or in a publicly 118
accessible file, but the court may use a respondent's name to 119
schedule and adjudicate cases, which includes the transmission 120
of any court order to the parties or the service provider . 121
(d)(4) A person or entity receiving information pursuant 122
to this subsection section shall maintain that information as 123
confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I 124
of the State Constitution. 125
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(e)(5) The exemption under this subsection section applies 126
to all documents filed with a court before, on, or after July 1, 127
2017, and appeals pending or filed on or after July 1, 2024 . 128
(f) This subsection is subject to the Open Government 129
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 130
repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from 131
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 132
Section 3. (1) The Legislature finds that it is a public 133
necessity that court hearings under part I of chapter 394 and 134
parts IV and V of chapter 397, Florida Statutes, be made 135
confidential and closed to the public unless the court finds 136
good cause to open a hearing to the public or the respondent 137
consents to a hearing being open to the public. The mental 138
health or substance abuse impairments of a person are medical 139
conditions that should be protected from public disclosure. A 140
person's health and sensitive personal in formation regarding his 141
or her mental health or substance abuse impairment are intensely 142
private matters. Making hearings where such impairments, 143
conditions, and personal information may be communicated as 144
confidential and closed to the public will protect such persons 145
from the release of sensitive personal information that could 146
damage their and their families' reputations. Allowing public 147
hearings relating to such information defeats the purpose of 148
protections otherwise provided. Further, the knowledge th at such 149
sensitive personal information is subject to disclosure could 150
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have a chilling effect on a person's willingness to seek out and 151
comply with mental health or substance abuse treatment services. 152
(2) The Legislature finds that it is a public necessit y 153
that voluntary applications or petitions for involuntary 154
examination or treatment, court orders, and related records that 155
are filed with or by a court or relevant service provider under 156
part I of chapter 394 and parts IV and V of chapter 397, Florida 157
Statutes, respectively, and the personal identifying information 158
of a person with a potential mental, emotional, or behavioral 159
disorder or a substance abuse disorder which is published on a 160
court docket and maintained by the clerk of the court under part 161
I of chapter 394 and parts IV and V of chapter 397, Florida 162
Statutes, or with the relevant service provider be made 163
confidential and exempt from disclosure under s. 119.07(1), 164
Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State 165
Constitution. The mental heal th or substance abuse impairments 166
of a person are medical conditions that should be protected from 167
public disclosure. A person's health and sensitive personal 168
information regarding his or her mental health or substance 169
abuse impairment are intensely privat e matters. Making such 170
applications, petitions, orders, records, and personal 171
identifying information confidential and exempt from disclosure 172
will protect such persons from the release of sensitive personal 173
information that could damage their and their fam ilies' 174
reputations. The publication of personal identifying information 175
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on a physical or virtual docket, regardless of whether any other 176
record is published, defeats the purpose of protections 177
otherwise provided. Further, the knowledge that such sensitive 178
personal information is subject to disclosure could have a 179
chilling effect on a person's willingness to seek out and comply 180
with mental health or substance abuse treatment services. 181
Section 4. This act shall take effect on the same date 182
that HB 7021 or similar legislation takes effect , if such 183
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 184
extension thereof and becomes a law. 185