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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 sexual assault counselors; 5
providing for future legislative review and repeal of 6
the exemption; providing for retroactive application; 7
providing a statement of public necessity; providing 8
an effective date. 9
10
Be It Enacted by the Legislat ure of the State of Florida: 11
12
Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section 13
119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 14
119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of 15
public records.— 16
(4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION. — 17
(d)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term: 18
a. "Home addresses" means the dwelling location at which 19
an individual resides and includes the physical address, mailing 20
address, street address, parcel identification number, plot 21
identification number, legal p roperty description, neighborhood 22
name and lot number, GPS coordinates, and any other descriptive 23
property information that may reveal the home address. 24
b. "Judicial assistant" means a court employee assigned to 25
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the following class codes: 8140, 8150, 831 0, and 8320. 26
c. "Telephone numbers" includes home telephone numbers, 27
personal cellular telephone numbers, personal pager telephone 28
numbers, and telephone numbers associated with personal 29
communications devices. 30
2.a. The home addresses, telephone number s, dates of 31
birth, and photographs of active or former sworn law enforcement 32
personnel or of active or former civilian personnel employed by 33
a law enforcement agency, including correctional and 34
correctional probation officers, personnel of the Department o f 35
Children and Families whose duties include the investigation of 36
abuse, neglect, exploitation, fraud, theft, or other criminal 37
activities, personnel of the Department of Health whose duties 38
are to support the investigation of child abuse or neglect, and 39
personnel of the Department of Revenue or local governments 40
whose responsibilities include revenue collection and 41
enforcement or child support enforcement; the names, home 42
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 43
places of employment o f the spouses and children of such 44
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 45
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 46
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 47
Constitution. 48
b. The home addresses, te lephone numbers, dates of birth, 49
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 50
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personnel of the Department of Financial Services whose duties 51
include the investigation of fraud, theft, workers' compensation 52
coverage requirements and complianc e, other related criminal 53
activities, or state regulatory requirement violations; the 54
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 55
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 56
personnel; and the names and locations of schools a nd day care 57
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 58
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 59
Constitution. 60
c. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 61
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investi gative 62
personnel of the Office of Financial Regulation's Bureau of 63
Financial Investigations whose duties include the investigation 64
of fraud, theft, other related criminal activities, or state 65
regulatory requirement violations; the names, home addresses, 66
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 67
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 68
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 69
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 70
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 71
d. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 72
and photographs of current or former firefighters certified in 73
compliance with s. 633.408; the names, home addresses, telephone 74
numbers, photographs, dates of birth , and places of employment 75
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of the spouses and children of such firefighters; and the names 76
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 77
children of such firefighters are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 78
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constit ution. 79
e. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 80
numbers of current or former justices of the Supreme Court, 81
district court of appeal judges, circuit court judges, and 82
county court judges and current judicial assistants; the names, 83
home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 84
employment of the spouses and children of current or former 85
justices and judges and current judicial assistants; and the 86
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 87
by the children of current or former justices and judges and 88
current judicial assistants are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 89
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph 90
is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in 91
accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 92
2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment 93
by the Legislature. 94
f. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 95
and photographs of current or former state attorneys, assistant 96
state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide 97
prosecutors; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 98
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 99
spouses and children of current or former state attorneys, 100
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assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant 101
statewide prosecutors; and the names and locations of schools 102
and day care facilitie s attended by the children of current or 103
former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide 104
prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors are exempt from 105
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 106
g. The home addresses, date s of birth, and telephone 107
numbers of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 108
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 109
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement 110
hearing officers; the names, home addresses, t elephone numbers, 111
dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and 112
children of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 113
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 114
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enfor cement 115
hearing officers; and the names and locations of schools and day 116
care facilities attended by the children of general magistrates, 117
special magistrates, judges of compensation claims, 118
administrative law judges of the Division of Administrative 119
Hearings, and child support enforcement hearing officers are 120
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 121
Constitution. 122
h. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 123
and photographs of current or former human resource, labor 124
relations, or employee relations directors, assistant directors, 125
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managers, or assistant managers of any local government agency 126
or water management district whose duties include hiring and 127
firing employees, labor contract negotiation, administration, or 128
other personnel-related duties; the names, home addresses, 129
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 130
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 131
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 132
children of such person nel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 133
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 134
i. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 135
and photographs of current or former code enforcement officers; 136
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 137
and places of employment of the spouses and children of such 138
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 139
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 140
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 141
Constitution. 142
j. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 143
employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 144
guardians ad litem, as defined in s. 39.01; the names, home 145
addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 146
employment of the spouses and children of such persons; and the 147
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 148
by the children of such persons are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 149
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 150
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k. The home addresses, t elephone numbers, dates of birth, 151
and photographs of current or former juvenile probation 152
officers, juvenile probation supervisors, detention 153
superintendents, assistant detention superintendents, juvenile 154
justice detention officers I and II, juvenile justi ce detention 155
officer supervisors, juvenile justice residential officers, 156
juvenile justice residential officer supervisors I and II, 157
juvenile justice counselors, juvenile justice counselor 158
supervisors, human services counselor administrators, senior 159
human services counselor administrators, rehabilitation 160
therapists, and social services counselors of the Department of 161
Juvenile Justice; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 162
dates of birth, and places of employment of spouses and children 163
of such personnel; and the names and locations of schools and 164
day care facilities attended by the children of such personnel 165
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 166
Constitution. 167
l. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 168
and photographs of current or former public defenders, assistant 169
public defenders, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, 170
and assistant criminal conflict and civil regional counsel; the 171
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 172
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 173
former public defenders, assistant public defenders, criminal 174
conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant criminal 175
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conflict and civil regional counsel; and the names and locations 176
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 177
current or former public defenders, assistant public defenders, 178
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant 179
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel are exempt from s. 180
119.07(1) and s. 24( a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 181
m. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 182
and photographs of current or former investigators or inspectors 183
of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation; the 184
names, home addresses, telepho ne numbers, dates of birth, and 185
places of employment of the spouses and children of such current 186
or former investigators and inspectors; and the names and 187
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 188
children of such current or former inves tigators and inspectors 189
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 190
Constitution. 191
n. The home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of 192
birth of county tax collectors; the names, home addresses, 193
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 194
the spouses and children of such tax collectors; and the names 195
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 196
children of such tax collectors are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 197
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitut ion. 198
o. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 199
and photographs of current or former personnel of the Department 200
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of Health whose duties include, or result in, the determination 201
or adjudication of eligibility for social security disability 202
benefits, the investigation or prosecution of complaints filed 203
against health care practitioners, or the inspection of health 204
care practitioners or health care facilities licensed by the 205
Department of Health; the names, home addresses, telephone 206
numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 207
and children of such personnel; and the names and locations of 208
schools and day care facilities attended by the children of such 209
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 210
the State Constitution. 211
p. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 212
and photographs of current or former impaired practitioner 213
consultants who are retained by an agency or current or former 214
employees of an impaired practitioner consultant whose dutie s 215
result in a determination of a person's skill and safety to 216
practice a licensed profession; the names, home addresses, 217
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 218
the spouses and children of such consultants or their employees; 219
and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 220
attended by the children of such consultants or employees are 221
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 222
Constitution. 223
q. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 224
and photographs of current or former emergency medical 225
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technicians or paramedics certified under chapter 401; the 226
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 227
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 228
emergency medical technician s or paramedics; and the names and 229
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 230
children of such emergency medical technicians or paramedics are 231
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 232
Constitution. 233
r. The home addresse s, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 234
and photographs of current or former personnel employed in an 235
agency's office of inspector general or internal audit 236
department whose duties include auditing or investigating waste, 237
fraud, abuse, theft, exploitation, o r other activities that 238
could lead to criminal prosecution or administrative discipline; 239
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 240
and places of employment of spouses and children of such 241
personnel; and the names and locations of school s and day care 242
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 243
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 244
Constitution. 245
s. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 246
and photographs of current or former directors, ma nagers, 247
supervisors, nurses, and clinical employees of an addiction 248
treatment facility; the home addresses, telephone numbers, 249
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 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
spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 251
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 252
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 253
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For purposes of this 254
sub-subparagraph, the term "addiction treatment facility" means 255
a county government, or agency thereof, that is licensed 256
pursuant to s. 397.401 and provides substance abuse prevention, 257
intervention, or clinical treatment, including any licensed 258
service component described in s. 397.311(27). 259
t. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 260
and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 261
supervisors, and clinical employees of a child advocacy center 262
that meets the standards of s. 39.3035(2) and fulfills the 263
screening requirement of s. 39.3035(3), and the members of a 264
Child Protection Team as described in s. 39.303 whose duties 265
include supporting the investigation of child abuse or sexual 266
abuse, child abandonment, child neglect, and child exploitation 267
or to provide services as part of a multidisciplinary case 268
review team; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 269
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 270
spouses and children of such personnel and members; and the 271
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 272
by the children of su ch personnel and members are exempt from s. 273
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 274
u. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 275
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employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 276
staff and domestic violence advocat es, as defined in s. 277
90.5036(1)(b), of domestic violence centers certified by the 278
Department of Children and Families under chapter 39; the names, 279
home addresses, telephone numbers, places of employment, dates 280
of birth, and photographs of the spouses and c hildren of such 281
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 282
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 283
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 284
Constitution. 285
v. The home addresses, telephone numbers, da tes of birth, 286
and photographs of current or former inspectors or investigators 287
of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the 288
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 289
places of employment of the spouses and children of cur rent or 290
former inspectors or investigators; and the names and locations 291
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 292
current or former inspectors or investigators are exempt from s. 293
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution . This 294
sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review 295
Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on 296
October 2, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through 297
reenactment by the Legislature. 298
w. The home addresses, tel ephone numbers, dates of birth, 299
and photographs of current county attorneys, assistant county 300
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attorneys, deputy county attorneys, city attorneys, assistant 301
city attorneys, and deputy city attorneys; the names, home 302
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs , dates of birth, and 303
places of employment of the spouses and children of current 304
county attorneys, assistant county attorneys, deputy county 305
attorneys, city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy 306
city attorneys; and the names and locations of sch ools and day 307
care facilities attended by the children of current county 308
attorneys, assistant county attorneys, deputy county attorneys, 309
city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy city 310
attorneys are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 311
the State Constitution. This exemption does not apply to a 312
county attorney, assistant county attorney, deputy county 313
attorney, city attorney, assistant city attorney, or deputy city 314
attorney who qualifies as a candidate for election to public 315
office. This sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government 316
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 317
repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from 318
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 319
x. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 320
and photographs of current or former commissioners of the 321
Florida Gaming Control Commission; the names, home addresses, 322
telephone numbers, dates of birth, photographs, and places of 323
employment of the spouses and children of such c urrent or former 324
commissioners; and the names and locations of schools and day 325
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care facilities attended by the children of such current or 326
former commissioners are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), 327
Art. I of the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph is 328
subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance 329
with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, 330
unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 331
Legislature. 332
y. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 333
and photographs of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy 334
clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court 335
personnel; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates 336
of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and child ren 337
of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy clerks of the 338
circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court personnel; and the 339
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 340
by the children of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy 341
clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court 342
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 343
the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph is subject to the 344
Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 345
and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and 346
saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 347
z. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 348
and photographs of sexual assault counselors, as defined in s. 349
90.5035(1)(b), are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I 350
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of the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph is subject to 351
the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 352
119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2030, unless 353
reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 354
Legislature. 355
3. An agency that is the custodian of the information 356
specified in subparagraph 2. and that is not the employer of the 357
officer, employee, justice, judge, or other person specified in 358
subparagraph 2. must mai ntain the exempt status of that 359
information only if the officer, employee, justice, judge, other 360
person, or employing agency of the designated employee submits a 361
written and notarized request for maintenance of the exemption 362
to the custodial agency. The re quest must state under oath the 363
statutory basis for the individual's exemption request and 364
confirm the individual's status as a party eligible for exempt 365
status. 366
4.a. A county property appraiser, as defined in s. 367
192.001(3), or a county tax collector, as defined in s. 368
192.001(4), who receives a written and notarized request for 369
maintenance of the exemption pursuant to subparagraph 3. must 370
comply by removing the name of the individual with exempt status 371
and the instrument number or Official Records book an d page 372
number identifying the property with the exempt status from all 373
publicly available records maintained by the property appraiser 374
or tax collector. For written requests received on or before 375
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July 1, 2021, a county property appraiser or county tax 376
collector must comply with this sub -subparagraph by October 1, 377
2021. A county property appraiser or county tax collector may 378
not remove the street address, legal description, or other 379
information identifying real property within the agency's 380
records so long as a name or personal information otherwise 381
exempt from inspection and copying pursuant to this section is 382
not associated with the property or otherwise displayed in the 383
public records of the agency. 384
b. Any information restricted from public display, 385
inspection, or copying under sub -subparagraph a. must be 386
provided to the individual whose information was removed. 387
5. An officer, an employee, a justice, a judge, or other 388
person specified in subparagraph 2. may submit a written request 389
for the release of his or her exempt information to the 390
custodial agency. The written request must be notarized and must 391
specify the information to be released and the party authorized 392
to receive the information. Upon receipt of the written request, 393
the custodial agency must re lease the specified information to 394
the party authorized to receive such information. 395
6. The exemptions in this paragraph apply to information 396
held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the 397
exemption. 398
7. Information made exempt under t his paragraph may be 399
disclosed pursuant to s. 28.2221 to a title insurer authorized 400
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pursuant to s. 624.401 and its affiliates as defined in s. 401
624.10; a title insurance agent or title insurance agency as 402
defined in s. 626.841(1) or (2), respectively; or an attorney 403
duly admitted to practice law in this state and in good standing 404
with The Florida Bar. 405
8. The exempt status of a home address contained in the 406
Official Records is maintained only during the period when a 407
protected party resides at the dwelling location. Upon 408
conveyance of real property after October 1, 2021, and when such 409
real property no longer constitutes a protected party's home 410
address as defined in sub -subparagraph 1.a., the protected party 411
must submit a written request to release the remov ed information 412
to the county recorder. The written request to release the 413
removed information must be notarized, must confirm that a 414
protected party's request for release is pursuant to a 415
conveyance of his or her dwelling location, and must specify the 416
Official Records book and page, instrument number, or clerk's 417
file number for each document containing the information to be 418
released. 419
9. Upon the death of a protected party as verified by a 420
certified copy of a death certificate or court order, any party 421
can request the county recorder to release a protected 422
decedent's removed information unless there is a related request 423
on file with the county recorder for continued removal of the 424
decedent's information or unless such removal is otherwise 425
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prohibited by statute or by court order. The written request to 426
release the removed information upon the death of a protected 427
party must attach the certified copy of a death certificate or 428
court order and must be notarized, must confirm the request for 429
release is due to th e death of a protected party, and must 430
specify the Official Records book and page number, instrument 431
number, or clerk's file number for each document containing the 432
information to be released. A fee may not be charged for the 433
release of any document pursua nt to such request. 434
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 435
necessity that the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 436
birth, and photographs of sexual assault counselors, as defined 437
in s. 90.5035(1), Florida Statutes, be made exempt from s. 438
119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 439
State Constitution. Sexual assault counselors regularly support 440
individuals who are victims of crime by offering emotional 441
assistance, providing resources, and helping the victims 442
navigate the legal process. Sexual assault c ounselors often work 443
closely with law enforcement agencies, government organizations, 444
and other entities to ensure that the victims' rights are upheld 445
and the victims' needs are addressed. The personal identifying 446
and location information of sexual assault counselors is 447
frequently documented in police reports or other official 448
records that are provided to a defendant and his or her legal 449
counsel as part of the discovery process. Those documents are 450
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subject to public records requests, making the sexual assau lt 451
counselors' personal identifying and location information 452
readily available. The release of this information has led to 453
sexual assault counselors becoming targets of harassment, 454
threats, or retaliation from individuals connected to the cases 455
on which the sexual assault counselors work. The Legislature 456
finds that the release of such personal identifying and location 457
information could place sexual assault counselors in danger of 458
being stalked or physically or emotionally harmed by a defendant 459
or other individual. Therefore, the Legislature finds that the 460
harm that may result from the release of such personal 461
identifying and location information outweighs any public 462
benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of the 463
information. 464
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 465