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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 specified personal 4
identifying and location information of employees of 5
crime stoppers organizations and the board members and 6
volunteers of such crime stoppers organizations; 7
providing for future legislative review and repeal of 8
the exemption; providing for retroactive application; 9
providing a statement of public necessity; providing 10
an effective date. 11
12
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13
14
Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section 15
119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 16
119.071 General exem ptions from inspection or copying of 17
public records.— 18
(4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION. — 19
(d)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term: 20
a. "Home addresses" means the dwelling location at which 21
an individual resides and includes the physical address, mailing 22
address, street address, parcel identification number, plot 23
identification number, legal property description, neighborhood 24
name and lot number, GPS coordinates, and any other descriptive 25
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property information that may reveal the home address. 26
b. "Judicial assistant" means a court employee assigned to 27
the following class codes: 8140, 8150, 8310, and 8320. 28
c. "Telephone numbers" includes home telephone numbers, 29
personal cellular telephone numbers, personal pager telephone 30
numbers, and telephone n umbers associated with personal 31
communications devices. 32
2.a. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 33
birth, and photographs of active or former sworn law enforcement 34
personnel or of active or former civilian personnel employed by 35
a law enforcement agency, including correctional and 36
correctional probation officers, personnel of the Department of 37
Children and Families whose duties include the investigation of 38
abuse, neglect, exploitation, fraud, theft, or other criminal 39
activities, personnel of the Department of Health whose duties 40
are to support the investigation of child abuse or neglect, and 41
personnel of the Department of Revenue or local governments 42
whose responsibilities include revenue collection and 43
enforcement or child support enforcement; th e names, home 44
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 45
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 46
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 47
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are e xempt 48
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 49
Constitution. 50
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b. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 51
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 52
personnel of the Department of Financial Services whose duties 53
include the investigation of fraud, theft, workers' compensation 54
coverage requirements and compliance, other related criminal 55
activities, or state regulatory requirement violations; the 56
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 57
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 58
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 59
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 60
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 61
Constitution. 62
c. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 63
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 64
personnel of the Office of Financial Regulation's Bureau of 65
Financial Investigations whose duties include the investigation 66
of fraud, theft, other rel ated criminal activities, or state 67
regulatory requirement violations; the names, home addresses, 68
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 69
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 70
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 71
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 72
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 73
d. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 74
and photographs of current or former firefighters certified in 75
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compliance with s. 633.408; the names, home addresses, telephone 76
numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment 77
of the spouses and children of such firefighters; and the names 78
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 79
children of such firefighters are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 80
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 81
e. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 82
numbers of current or former justices of the Supreme Court, 83
district court of appeal judges, ci rcuit court judges, and 84
county court judges and current judicial assistants; the names, 85
home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 86
employment of the spouses and children of current or former 87
justices and judges and current judicial as sistants; and the 88
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 89
by the children of current or former justices and judges and 90
current judicial assistants are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 91
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph 92
is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in 93
accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 94
2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment 95
by the Legislature. 96
f. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 97
and photographs of current or former state attorneys, assistant 98
state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide 99
prosecutors; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 100
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photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 101
spouses and children of current or former state attorneys, 102
assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant 103
statewide prosecutors; and the names and locations of schools 104
and day care facilitie s attended by the children of current or 105
former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide 106
prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors are exempt from 107
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 108
g. The home addresses, date s of birth, and telephone 109
numbers of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 110
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 111
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement 112
hearing officers; the names, home addresses, t elephone numbers, 113
dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and 114
children of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 115
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 116
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enfor cement 117
hearing officers; and the names and locations of schools and day 118
care facilities attended by the children of general magistrates, 119
special magistrates, judges of compensation claims, 120
administrative law judges of the Division of Administrative 121
Hearings, and child support enforcement hearing officers are 122
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 123
Constitution. 124
h. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 125
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and photographs of current or former human resource, labor 126
relations, or employee relations directors, assistant directors, 127
managers, or assistant managers of any local government agency 128
or water management district whose duties include hiring and 129
firing employees, labor contract negotiation, administration, or 130
other personnel-related duties; the names, home addresses, 131
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 132
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 133
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 134
children of such person nel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 135
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 136
i. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 137
and photographs of current or former code enforcement officers; 138
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 139
and places of employment of the spouses and children of such 140
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 141
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 142
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 143
Constitution. 144
j. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 145
employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 146
guardians ad litem, as defined in s. 39.01; the names, home 147
addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 148
employment of the spouses and children of such persons; and the 149
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 150
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by the children of such persons are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 151
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 152
k. The home addresses, t elephone numbers, dates of birth, 153
and photographs of current or former juvenile probation 154
officers, juvenile probation supervisors, detention 155
superintendents, assistant detention superintendents, juvenile 156
justice detention officers I and II, juvenile justi ce detention 157
officer supervisors, juvenile justice residential officers, 158
juvenile justice residential officer supervisors I and II, 159
juvenile justice counselors, juvenile justice counselor 160
supervisors, human services counselor administrators, senior 161
human services counselor administrators, rehabilitation 162
therapists, and social services counselors of the Department of 163
Juvenile Justice; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 164
dates of birth, and places of employment of spouses and children 165
of such personnel; and the names and locations of schools and 166
day care facilities attended by the children of such personnel 167
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 168
Constitution. 169
l. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 170
and photographs of current or former public defenders, assistant 171
public defenders, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, 172
and assistant criminal conflict and civil regional counsel; the 173
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 174
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 175
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former public defenders, assistant public defenders, criminal 176
conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant criminal 177
conflict and civil regional counsel; and the names and locations 178
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 179
current or former public defenders, assistant public defenders, 180
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant 181
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel are exempt from s. 182
119.07(1) and s. 24( a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 183
m. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 184
and photographs of current or former investigators or inspectors 185
of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation; the 186
names, home addresses, telepho ne numbers, dates of birth, and 187
places of employment of the spouses and children of such current 188
or former investigators and inspectors; and the names and 189
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 190
children of such current or former inves tigators and inspectors 191
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 192
Constitution. 193
n. The home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of 194
birth of county tax collectors; the names, home addresses, 195
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 196
the spouses and children of such tax collectors; and the names 197
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 198
children of such tax collectors are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 199
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitut ion. 200
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o. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 201
and photographs of current or former personnel of the Department 202
of Health whose duties include, or result in, the determination 203
or adjudication of eligibility for social security disability 204
benefits, the investigation or prosecution of complaints filed 205
against health care practitioners, or the inspection of health 206
care practitioners or health care facilities licensed by the 207
Department of Health; the names, home addresses, telephone 208
numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 209
and children of such personnel; and the names and locations of 210
schools and day care facilities attended by the children of such 211
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 212
the State Constitution. 213
p. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 214
and photographs of current or former impaired practitioner 215
consultants who are retained by an agency or current or former 216
employees of an impaired practitioner consultant whose dutie s 217
result in a determination of a person's skill and safety to 218
practice a licensed profession; the names, home addresses, 219
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 220
the spouses and children of such consultants or their employees; 221
and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 222
attended by the children of such consultants or employees are 223
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 224
Constitution. 225
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q. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 226
and photographs of current or former emergency medical 227
technicians or paramedics certified under chapter 401; the 228
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 229
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 230
emergency medical technician s or paramedics; and the names and 231
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 232
children of such emergency medical technicians or paramedics are 233
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 234
Constitution. 235
r. The home addresse s, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 236
and photographs of current or former personnel employed in an 237
agency's office of inspector general or internal audit 238
department whose duties include auditing or investigating waste, 239
fraud, abuse, theft, exploitation, o r other activities that 240
could lead to criminal prosecution or administrative discipline; 241
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 242
and places of employment of spouses and children of such 243
personnel; and the names and locations of school s and day care 244
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 245
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 246
Constitution. 247
s. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 248
and photographs of current or former directors, ma nagers, 249
supervisors, nurses, and clinical employees of an addiction 250
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treatment facility; the home addresses, telephone numbers, 251
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 252
spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 253
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 254
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 255
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For purposes of this 256
sub-subparagraph, the term "addiction treatment facility" means 257
a county government, or agency thereof, that is licensed 258
pursuant to s. 397.401 and provides substance abuse prevention, 259
intervention, or clinical treatment, including any licensed 260
service component described in s. 397.311(27). 261
t. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 262
and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 263
supervisors, and clinical employees of a child advocacy center 264
that meets the standards of s. 39.3035(2) and fulfills the 265
screening requirement of s. 39.3035(3), and the members of a 266
Child Protection Team as described in s. 39.303 whose duties 267
include supporting the investigation of child abuse or sexual 268
abuse, child abandonment, child neglect, and child exploitation 269
or to provide services as part of a multidisciplinary case 270
review team; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 271
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 272
spouses and children of such personnel and members; and the 273
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 274
by the children of su ch personnel and members are exempt from s. 275
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119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 276
u. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 277
employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 278
staff and domestic violence advocat es, as defined in s. 279
90.5036(1)(b), of domestic violence centers certified by the 280
Department of Children and Families under chapter 39; the names, 281
home addresses, telephone numbers, places of employment, dates 282
of birth, and photographs of the spouses and c hildren of such 283
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 284
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 285
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 286
Constitution. 287
v. The home addresses, telephone numbers, da tes of birth, 288
and photographs of current or former inspectors or investigators 289
of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the 290
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 291
places of employment of the spouses and children of cur rent or 292
former inspectors or investigators; and the names and locations 293
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 294
current or former inspectors or investigators are exempt from s. 295
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution . This 296
sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review 297
Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on 298
October 2, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through 299
reenactment by the Legislature. 300
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w. The home addresses, tel ephone numbers, dates of birth, 301
and photographs of current county attorneys, assistant county 302
attorneys, deputy county attorneys, city attorneys, assistant 303
city attorneys, and deputy city attorneys; the names, home 304
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs , dates of birth, and 305
places of employment of the spouses and children of current 306
county attorneys, assistant county attorneys, deputy county 307
attorneys, city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy 308
city attorneys; and the names and locations of sch ools and day 309
care facilities attended by the children of current county 310
attorneys, assistant county attorneys, deputy county attorneys, 311
city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy city 312
attorneys are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 313
the State Constitution. This exemption does not apply to a 314
county attorney, assistant county attorney, deputy county 315
attorney, city attorney, assistant city attorney, or deputy city 316
attorney who qualifies as a candidate for election to public 317
office. This sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government 318
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 319
repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from 320
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 321
x. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 322
and photographs of current or former commissioners of the 323
Florida Gaming Control Commission; the names, home addresses, 324
telephone numbers, dates of birth, photographs, and places of 325
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employment of the spouses and children of such c urrent or former 326
commissioners; and the names and locations of schools and day 327
care facilities attended by the children of such current or 328
former commissioners are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), 329
Art. I of the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph is 330
subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance 331
with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, 332
unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 333
Legislature. 334
y. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 335
and photographs of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy 336
clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court 337
personnel; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates 338
of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and child ren 339
of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy clerks of the 340
circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court personnel; and the 341
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 342
by the children of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy 343
clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court 344
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 345
the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph is subject to the 346
Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 347
and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and 348
saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 349
(z) The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 350
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and photographs of employees of crime stoppers organizations as 351
defined in s. 16.557(1), and the board members and volunteers of 352
such crime stoppers organizations; the names, home addresses, 353
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 354
the spouses and children of the employees, board members, and 355
volunteers of such crime stoppers organizations; and the names 356
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 357
children of the employees, board members, and volunteers of such 358
crime stoppers organizations are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 359
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph 360
is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in 361
accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 362
2030, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment 363
by the Legislature. 364
3. An agency that is the custodian of the information 365
specified in subparagraph 2. and that is not the employer of the 366
officer, employee, justice, judge, or other person specified in 367
subparagraph 2. must maintain the exempt status of that 368
information only if the officer, employee, justice, judge, other 369
person, or employing agency of the designated employee submits a 370
written and notarized request for maintenance of the exemption 371
to the custodial agency. The request must state under oath the 372
statutory basis for the individual's exemption request and 373
confirm the individual's status as a party eligible for exempt 374
status. 375
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4.a. A county property appraiser, as defined in s. 376
192.001(3), or a county tax collector, as defined in s. 377
192.001(4), who receives a written a nd notarized request for 378
maintenance of the exemption pursuant to subparagraph 3. must 379
comply by removing the name of the individual with exempt status 380
and the instrument number or Official Records book and page 381
number identifying the property with the exe mpt status from all 382
publicly available records maintained by the property appraiser 383
or tax collector. For written requests received on or before 384
July 1, 2021, a county property appraiser or county tax 385
collector must comply with this sub -subparagraph by October 1, 386
2021. A county property appraiser or county tax collector may 387
not remove the street address, legal description, or other 388
information identifying real property within the agency's 389
records so long as a name or personal information otherwise 390
exempt from inspection and copying pursuant to this section is 391
not associated with the property or otherwise displayed in the 392
public records of the agency. 393
b. Any information restricted from public display, 394
inspection, or copying under sub -subparagraph a. must be 395
provided to the individual whose information was removed. 396
5. An officer, an employee, a justice, a judge, or other 397
person specified in subparagraph 2. may submit a written request 398
for the release of his or her exempt information to the 399
custodial agency. The written request must be notarized and must 400
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specify the information to be released and the party authorized 401
to receive the information. Upon receipt of the written request, 402
the custodial agency must release the specified information to 403
the party authorized to receive such information. 404
6. The exemptions in this paragraph apply to information 405
held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the 406
exemption. 407
7. Information made exempt under this paragraph may be 408
disclosed pursuant to s. 28.22 21 to a title insurer authorized 409
pursuant to s. 624.401 and its affiliates as defined in s. 410
624.10; a title insurance agent or title insurance agency as 411
defined in s. 626.841(1) or (2), respectively; or an attorney 412
duly admitted to practice law in this sta te and in good standing 413
with The Florida Bar. 414
8. The exempt status of a home address contained in the 415
Official Records is maintained only during the period when a 416
protected party resides at the dwelling location. Upon 417
conveyance of real property after Oc tober 1, 2021, and when such 418
real property no longer constitutes a protected party's home 419
address as defined in sub -subparagraph 1.a., the protected party 420
must submit a written request to release the removed information 421
to the county recorder. The written request to release the 422
removed information must be notarized, must confirm that a 423
protected party's request for release is pursuant to a 424
conveyance of his or her dwelling location, and must specify the 425
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Official Records book and page, instrument number, or clerk's 426
file number for each document containing the information to be 427
released. 428
9. Upon the death of a protected party as verified by a 429
certified copy of a death certificate or court order, any party 430
can request the county recorder to release a protecte d 431
decedent's removed information unless there is a related request 432
on file with the county recorder for continued removal of the 433
decedent's information or unless such removal is otherwise 434
prohibited by statute or by court order. The written request to 435
release the removed information upon the death of a protected 436
party must attach the certified copy of a death certificate or 437
court order and must be notarized, must confirm the request for 438
release is due to the death of a protected party, and must 439
specify the Official Records book and page number, instrument 440
number, or clerk's file number for each document containing the 441
information to be released. A fee may not be charged for the 442
release of any document pursuant to such request. 443
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 444
necessity that the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 445
birth, and photographs employees of crime stoppers organizations 446
as defined in s. 16.557(1), Florida Statutes, and the board 447
members and volunteers of such crime stoppers organizations; the 448
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 449
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 450
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employees, board members, and volunteers; and the names and 451
locations of schools and day care faci lities attended by the 452
children of such employees, board members and volunteers be made 453
exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), 454
Article I of the State Constitution. The friends, associates, 455
and family members of people who are involved in criminal 456
investigations may retaliate against crime stoppers employees, 457
board members, and volunteers while they perform their duties, 458
which include collecting sensitive tip information, forwarding 459
this information to appropriate law enforcement agencies, and 460
paying out rewards to anonymous tipsters. Such retaliatory acts 461
may also be targeted at the spouses and children of crime 462
stoppers employees, board members, and volunteers. If such 463
identifying and location information is released, the safety of 464
current and former crime stoppers employees, board members, and 465
volunteers and their spouses and children could be seriously 466
jeopardized. The Legislature therefore finds that the harm that 467
may result from the release of such personal identifying and 468
location information outweighs any public benefit that may be 469
derived from the disclosure of the information. 470
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 471