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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 current and 5
former employees, board members, and volunteers of 6
crime stoppers organizations; providing for future 7
legislative review and repeal of the exemption; 8
providing for retroactive application; providing a 9
statement of public necessity; providing an effective 10
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 exemptions from inspection o r 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" me ans 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 numbers associated with p ersonal 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 corr ectional 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 who se 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; the 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 exempt 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 spous es 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 num bers, 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 related 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 t he 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 firefigh ters 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, circuit 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 assistants; 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 current and former employees of crime 351
stoppers organization s as defined in s. 16.557(1), and current 352
and former board members and volunteers of such crime stoppers 353
organizations; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 354
dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and 355
children of current and former employees, board members, and 356
volunteers of such crime stoppers organizations; and the names 357
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 358
children of current and former employees, board members, and 359
volunteers of such crime stoppers or ganizations are exempt from 360
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 361
This sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset 362
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 363
on October 2, 2030, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 364
through reenactment by the Legislature. 365
3. An agency that is the custodian of the information 366
specified in subparagraph 2. and that is not the employer of the 367
officer, employee, justice, judge, or other person specified in 368
subparagraph 2. must maintain the exempt status of that 369
information only if the officer, employee, justice, judge, other 370
person, or employing agency of the designated employee submits a 371
written and notarized request for maintenance of the exemption 372
to the custodial agency. The request must state under oath the 373
statutory basis for the individual's exemption request and 374
confirm the individual's status as a party eligible for exempt 375
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status. 376
4.a. A county property appraiser, as defined in s. 377
192.001(3), or a county tax c ollector, as defined in s. 378
192.001(4), who receives a written and notarized request for 379
maintenance of the exemption pursuant to subparagraph 3. must 380
comply by removing the name of the individual with exempt status 381
and the instrument number or Official Rec ords book and page 382
number identifying the property with the exempt status from all 383
publicly available records maintained by the property appraiser 384
or tax collector. For written requests received on or before 385
July 1, 2021, a county property appraiser or cou nty tax 386
collector must comply with this sub -subparagraph by October 1, 387
2021. A county property appraiser or county tax collector may 388
not remove the street address, legal description, or other 389
information identifying real property within the agency's 390
records so long as a name or personal information otherwise 391
exempt from inspection and copying pursuant to this section is 392
not associated with the property or otherwise displayed in the 393
public records of the agency. 394
b. Any information restricted from public di splay, 395
inspection, or copying under sub -subparagraph a. must be 396
provided to the individual whose information was removed. 397
5. An officer, an employee, a justice, a judge, or other 398
person specified in subparagraph 2. may submit a written request 399
for the release of his or her exempt information to the 400
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custodial agency. The written request must be notarized and must 401
specify the information to be released and the party authorized 402
to receive the information. Upon receipt of the written request, 403
the custodial agency must release the specified information to 404
the party authorized to receive such information. 405
6. The exemptions in this paragraph apply to information 406
held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the 407
exemption. 408
7. Information made ex empt under this paragraph may be 409
disclosed pursuant to s. 28.2221 to a title insurer authorized 410
pursuant to s. 624.401 and its affiliates as defined in s. 411
624.10; a title insurance agent or title insurance agency as 412
defined in s. 626.841(1) or (2), respect ively; or an attorney 413
duly admitted to practice law in this state and in good standing 414
with The Florida Bar. 415
8. The exempt status of a home address contained in the 416
Official Records is maintained only during the period when a 417
protected party resides at t he dwelling location. Upon 418
conveyance of real property after October 1, 2021, and when such 419
real property no longer constitutes a protected party's home 420
address as defined in sub -subparagraph 1.a., the protected party 421
must submit a written request to relea se the removed information 422
to the county recorder. The written request to release the 423
removed information must be notarized, must confirm that a 424
protected party's request for release is pursuant to a 425
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conveyance of his or her dwelling location, and must spe cify the 426
Official Records book and page, instrument number, or clerk's 427
file number for each document containing the information to be 428
released. 429
9. Upon the death of a protected party as verified by a 430
certified copy of a death certificate or court order, any party 431
can request the county recorder to release a protected 432
decedent's removed information unless there is a related request 433
on file with the county recorder for continued removal of the 434
decedent's information or unless such removal is otherwise 435
prohibited by statute or by court order. The written request to 436
release the removed information upon the death of a protected 437
party must attach the certified copy of a death certificate or 438
court order and must be notarized, must confirm the request for 439
release is due to the death of a protected party, and must 440
specify the Official Records book and page number, instrument 441
number, or clerk's file number for each document containing the 442
information to be released. A fee may not be charged for the 443
release of any document pursuant to such request. 444
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 445
necessity that the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 446
birth, and photographs of current and former employees of crime 447
stoppers organizations as defined in s. 16.557(1), Florida 448
Statutes, and current and fo rmer board members and volunteers of 449
such crime stoppers organizations; the names, home addresses, 450
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telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 451
the spouses and children of such employees, board members, and 452
volunteers; and the names and l ocations of schools and day care 453
facilities attended by the children of such employees, board 454
members and volunteers be made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida 455
Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The 456
friends, associates, and family members of people who are 457
involved in criminal investigations may retaliate against crime 458
stoppers employees, board members, and volunteers while they 459
perform their duties, which include collecting sensitive tip 460
information, forwarding this information to appropriate law 461
enforcement agencies, and paying out rewards to anonymous 462
tipsters. Such retaliatory acts may also be targeted at the 463
spouses and children of crime stoppers employees, board members, 464
and volunteers. If such identifying and location informat ion is 465
released, the safety of current and former crime stoppers 466
employees, board members, and volunteers and their spouses and 467
children could be seriously jeopardized. The Legislature 468
therefore finds that the harm that may result from the release 469
of such personal identifying and location information outweighs 470
any public benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of 471
the information. 472
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 473