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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 certain current and former 5
personnel and commissioners of the Florida Commission 6
on Human Relations and the names and personal 7
identifying and location information of the spouses 8
and children of such personnel and commissioners; 9
providing for future legislative review and repeal of 10
the exemption; providing retroactive application; 11
providing a statement of public necessity; providing 12
an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Paragraph ( d) of subsection (4) of section 17
119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 18
119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of 19
public records.— 20
(4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION. — 21
(d)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term: 22
a. "Home addresses" means the dwelling location at which 23
an individual resides and includes the physical address, mailing 24
address, street address, parcel identification number, plot 25
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identification number, legal property description, neighborhood 26
name and lot number, G PS coordinates, and any other descriptive 27
property information that may reveal the home address. 28
b. "Judicial assistant" means a court employee assigned to 29
the following class codes: 8140, 8150, 8310, and 8320. 30
c. "Telephone numbers" includes home tele phone numbers, 31
personal cellular telephone numbers, personal pager telephone 32
numbers, and telephone numbers associated with personal 33
communications devices. 34
2.a. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 35
birth, and photographs of active or former s worn law enforcement 36
personnel or of active or former civilian personnel employed by 37
a law enforcement agency, including correctional and 38
correctional probation officers, personnel of the Department of 39
Children and Families whose duties include the investi gation of 40
abuse, neglect, exploitation, fraud, theft, or other criminal 41
activities, personnel of the Department of Health whose duties 42
are to support the investigation of child abuse or neglect, and 43
personnel of the Department of Revenue or local governmen ts 44
whose responsibilities include revenue collection and 45
enforcement or child support enforcement; the names, home 46
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 47
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 48
personnel; and the na mes and locations of schools and day care 49
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 50
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from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 51
Constitution. 52
b. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 53
and photographs of curr ent or former nonsworn investigative 54
personnel of the Department of Financial Services whose duties 55
include the investigation of fraud, theft, workers' compensation 56
coverage requirements and compliance, other related criminal 57
activities, or state regulator y requirement violations; the 58
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 59
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 60
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 61
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 62
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 63
Constitution. 64
c. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 65
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 66
personnel of the Office of Financial Regulation's Bureau of 67
Financial Investigations whose duties include the investigation 68
of fraud, theft, other related criminal activities, or state 69
regulatory requirement violations; the names, home addresses, 70
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employmen t of 71
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 72
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 73
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 74
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 75
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d. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 76
and photographs of current or former firefighters certified in 77
compliance with s. 633.408; the names, home addresses, telephone 78
numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment 79
of the spouses and children o f such firefighters; and the names 80
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 81
children of such firefighters are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 82
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 83
e. The home addresses, dates of birth, and tele phone 84
numbers of current or former justices of the Supreme Court, 85
district court of appeal judges, circuit court judges, and 86
county court judges, and current judicial assistants; the names, 87
home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 88
employment of the spouses and children of current or former 89
justices and judges and current judicial assistants; and the 90
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 91
by the children of current or former justices and judges and of 92
current judicial assistants are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 93
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph 94
is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in 95
accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 96
2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment 97
by the Legislature. 98
f. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 99
and photographs of current or former state attorneys, assistant 100
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state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide 101
prosecutors; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 102
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 103
spouses and children of current or former state attorneys, 104
assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant 105
statewide prosecutors; and the names and locations of schools 106
and day care facilities attended by the children of current or 107
former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide 108
prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors are exempt from 109
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 110
g. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 111
numbers of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 112
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 113
of Administrative Hearings, and ch ild support enforcement 114
hearing officers; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 115
dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and 116
children of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 117
compensation claims, administrative law judg es of the Division 118
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement 119
hearing officers; and the names and locations of schools and day 120
care facilities attended by the children of general magistrates, 121
special magistrates, judges of compensation claim s, 122
administrative law judges of the Division of Administrative 123
Hearings, and child support enforcement hearing officers are 124
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 125
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Constitution. 126
h. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 127
and photographs of current or former human resource, labor 128
relations, or employee relations directors, assistant directors, 129
managers, or assistant managers of any local government agency 130
or water management district whose duties include hiring and 131
firing employees, labor contract negotiation, administration, or 132
other personnel-related duties; the names, home addresses, 133
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 134
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 135
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 136
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 137
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 138
i. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 139
and photographs of current or former code enf orcement officers; 140
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 141
and places of employment of the spouses and children of such 142
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 143
facilities attended by the children of such personn el are exempt 144
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 145
Constitution. 146
j. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 147
employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 148
guardians ad litem, as defined in s. 39.01; the names, ho me 149
addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 150
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employment of the spouses and children of such persons; and the 151
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 152
by the children of such persons are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 153
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 154
k. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 155
and photographs of current or former juvenile probation 156
officers, juvenile probation supervisors, detention 157
superintendents, assistant detention superin tendents, juvenile 158
justice detention officers I and II, juvenile justice detention 159
officer supervisors, juvenile justice residential officers, 160
juvenile justice residential officer supervisors I and II, 161
juvenile justice counselors, juvenile justice counselo r 162
supervisors, human services counselor administrators, senior 163
human services counselor administrators, rehabilitation 164
therapists, and social services counselors of the Department of 165
Juvenile Justice; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 166
dates of birth, and places of employment of spouses and children 167
of such personnel; and the names and locations of schools and 168
day care facilities attended by the children of such personnel 169
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 170
Constitution. 171
l. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 172
and photographs of current or former public defenders, assistant 173
public defenders, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, 174
and assistant criminal conflict and civil regional counsel; the 175
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names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 176
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 177
former public defenders, assistant public defenders, criminal 178
conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant criminal 179
conflict and civil regional counsel; and the names and locations 180
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 181
current or former public defenders, assistant public defenders, 182
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant 183
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel are exempt from s. 184
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 185
m. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 186
and photographs of current or former investigators or inspectors 187
of the Department of Bu siness and Professional Regulation; the 188
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 189
places of employment of the spouses and children of such current 190
or former investigators and inspectors; and the names and 191
locations of schools and day ca re facilities attended by the 192
children of such current or former investigators and inspectors 193
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 194
Constitution. 195
n. The home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of 196
birth of county tax collecto rs; the names, home addresses, 197
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 198
the spouses and children of such tax collectors; and the names 199
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 200
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children of such tax collectors ar e exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 201
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 202
o. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 203
and photographs of current or former personnel of the Department 204
of Health whose duties include, or result in, the determ ination 205
or adjudication of eligibility for social security disability 206
benefits, the investigation or prosecution of complaints filed 207
against health care practitioners, or the inspection of health 208
care practitioners or health care facilities licensed by the 209
Department of Health; the names, home addresses, telephone 210
numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 211
and children of such personnel; and the names and locations of 212
schools and day care facilities attended by the children of such 213
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 214
the State Constitution. 215
p. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 216
and photographs of current or former impaired practitioner 217
consultants who are retained by an agency or current or former 218
employees of an impaired practitioner consultant whose duties 219
result in a determination of a person's skill and safety to 220
practice a licensed profession; the names, home addresses, 221
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 222
the spouses and children of such consultants or their employees; 223
and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 224
attended by the children of such consultants or employees are 225
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exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 226
Constitution. 227
q. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 228
and photographs of current or former emergency medical 229
technicians or paramedics certified under chapter 401; the 230
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 231
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 232
emergency medical technicians or paramedics; and the names and 233
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 234
children of such emergency medical technicians or paramedics are 235
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 236
Constitution. 237
r. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 238
and photographs of current or former personnel employed in an 239
agency's office of inspector general or internal audit 240
department whose duties include auditing or investigating waste, 241
fraud, abuse, theft, exploitation, or other activities that 242
could lead to criminal prosecution or administrative discipline; 243
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 244
and places of employment of spouses and children of such 245
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 246
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 247
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 248
Constitution. 249
s. The home addresses, telephone numbe rs, dates of birth, 250
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and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 251
supervisors, nurses, and clinical employees of an addiction 252
treatment facility; the home addresses, telephone numbers, 253
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of th e 254
spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 255
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 256
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 257
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For purposes of this 258
sub-subparagraph, the term "addiction treatment facility" means 259
a county government, or agency thereof, that is licensed 260
pursuant to s. 397.401 and provides substance abuse prevention, 261
intervention, or clinical treatment, including any licensed 262
service component des cribed in s. 397.311(27). 263
t. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 264
and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 265
supervisors, and clinical employees of a child advocacy center 266
that meets the standards of s. 39.3035(2) and ful fills the 267
screening requirement of s. 39.3035(3), and the members of a 268
Child Protection Team as described in s. 39.303 whose duties 269
include supporting the investigation of child abuse or sexual 270
abuse, child abandonment, child neglect, and child exploitatio n 271
or to provide services as part of a multidisciplinary case 272
review team; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 273
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 274
spouses and children of such personnel and members; and the 275
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names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 276
by the children of such personnel and members are exempt from s. 277
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 278
u. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 279
employment, dates of birth, an d photographs of current or former 280
staff and domestic violence advocates, as defined in s. 281
90.5036(1)(b), of domestic violence centers certified by the 282
Department of Children and Families under chapter 39; the names, 283
home addresses, telephone numbers, plac es of employment, dates 284
of birth, and photographs of the spouses and children of such 285
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 286
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 287
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 288
Constitution. 289
v. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 290
and photographs of current or former inspectors or investigators 291
of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the 292
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 293
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 294
former inspectors or investigators; and the names and locations 295
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 296
current or former inspectors or investigators are e xempt from s. 297
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This 298
sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review 299
Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on 300
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October 2, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from repea l through 301
reenactment by the Legislature. 302
w. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 303
and photographs of current county attorneys, assistant county 304
attorneys, deputy county attorneys, city attorneys, assistant 305
city attorneys, and deputy cit y attorneys; the names, home 306
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 307
places of employment of the spouses and children of current 308
county attorneys, assistant county attorneys, deputy county 309
attorneys, city attorneys, assistant city at torneys, and deputy 310
city attorneys; and the names and locations of schools and day 311
care facilities attended by the children of current county 312
attorneys, assistant county attorneys, deputy county attorneys, 313
city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and depu ty city 314
attorneys are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 315
the State Constitution. This exemption does not apply to a 316
county attorney, assistant county attorney, deputy county 317
attorney, city attorney, assistant city attorney, or deputy city 318
attorney who qualifies as a candidate for election to public 319
office. This sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government 320
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 321
repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from 322
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 323
x. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 324
and photographs of current or former commissioners of the 325
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Florida Gaming Control Commission; the names, home addresses, 326
telephone numbers, dates of birth, photo graphs, and places of 327
employment of the spouses and children of such current or former 328
commissioners; and the names and locations of schools and day 329
care facilities attended by the children of such current or 330
former commissioners are exempt from s. 119.07( 1) and s. 24(a), 331
Art. I of the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph is 332
subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance 333
with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, 334
unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 335
Legislature. 336
y. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 337
and photographs of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy 338
clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court 339
personnel; the names, home addresses, telephone numb ers, dates 340
of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and children 341
of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy clerks of the 342
circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court personnel; and the 343
names and locations of schools and day care facilities a ttended 344
by the children of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy 345
clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court 346
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 347
the State Constitution. This sub -subparagraph is subject to th e 348
Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 349
and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and 350
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saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 351
z. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 352
and photographs of current or former personnel and commissioners 353
of the Florida Commission on Human Relations whose duties 354
include, or result in, the determination or adjudication of 355
unlawful discrimination or retaliation, the investigation or 356
prosecution of such complaints, or the intake or dismissal of 357
such complaints; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 358
dates of birth, photographs, and places of employment of the 359
spouses and children of such personnel and commissioners; and 360
the names and locations of s chools and day care facilities 361
attended by the children of such personnel and commissioners are 362
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 363
Constitution. This sub -subparagraph is subject to the Open 364
Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and 365
shall stand repealed on October 2, 2030, unless reviewed and 366
saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 367
3. An agency that is the custodian of the information 368
specified in subparagraph 2. and that is not the employer of the 369
officer, employee, justice, judge, or other person specified in 370
subparagraph 2. must maintain the exempt status of that 371
information only if the officer, employee, justice, judge, other 372
person, or employing agency of the designated employee submits a 373
written and notarized request for maintenance of the exemption 374
to the custodial agency. The request must state under oath the 375
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statutory basis for the individual's exemption request and 376
confirm the individual's status as a party eligible for exempt 377
status. 378
4.a. A county property appraiser, as defined in s. 379
192.001(3), or a county tax collector, as defined in s. 380
192.001(4), who receives a written and notarized request for 381
maintenance of the exemption pursuant to subparagraph 3. must 382
comply by removing the nam e of the individual with exempt status 383
and the instrument number or Official Records book and page 384
number identifying the property with the exempt status from all 385
publicly available records maintained by the property appraiser 386
or tax collector. For written requests received on or before 387
July 1, 2021, a county property appraiser or county tax 388
collector must comply with this sub -subparagraph by October 1, 389
2021. A county property appraiser or county tax collector may 390
not remove the street address, legal descri ption, or other 391
information identifying real property within the agency's 392
records so long as a name or personal information otherwise 393
exempt from inspection and copying pursuant to this section is 394
not associated with the property or otherwise displayed in the 395
public records of the agency. 396
b. Any information restricted from public display, 397
inspection, or copying under sub -subparagraph a. must be 398
provided to the individual whose information was removed. 399
5. An officer, an employee, a justice, a judge, or o ther 400
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person specified in subparagraph 2. may submit a written request 401
for the release of his or her exempt information to the 402
custodial agency. The written request must be notarized and must 403
specify the information to be released and the party authorized 404
to receive the information. Upon receipt of the written request, 405
the custodial agency must release the specified information to 406
the party authorized to receive such information. 407
6. The exemptions in this paragraph apply to information 408
held by an agency be fore, on, or after the effective date of the 409
exemption. 410
7. Information made exempt under this paragraph may be 411
disclosed pursuant to s. 28.2221 to a title insurer authorized 412
pursuant to s. 624.401 and its affiliates as defined in s. 413
624.10; a title insur ance agent or title insurance agency as 414
defined in s. 626.841(1) or (2), respectively; or an attorney 415
duly admitted to practice law in this state and in good standing 416
with The Florida Bar. 417
8. The exempt status of a home address contained in the 418
Official Records is maintained only during the period when a 419
protected party resides at the dwelling location. Upon 420
conveyance of real property after October 1, 2021, and when such 421
real property no longer constitutes a protected party's home 422
address as defined in s ub-subparagraph 1.a., the protected party 423
must submit a written request to release the removed information 424
to the county recorder. The written request to release the 425
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removed information must be notarized, must confirm that a 426
protected party's request for r elease is pursuant to a 427
conveyance of his or her dwelling location, and must specify the 428
Official Records book and page, instrument number, or clerk's 429
file number for each document containing the information to be 430
released. 431
9. Upon the death of a protect ed party as verified by a 432
certified copy of a death certificate or court order, any party 433
can request the county recorder to release a protected 434
decedent's removed information unless there is a related request 435
on file with the county recorder for continued removal of the 436
decedent's information or unless such removal is otherwise 437
prohibited by statute or by court order. The written request to 438
release the removed information upon the death of a protected 439
party must attach the certified copy of a death certifi cate or 440
court order and must be notarized, must confirm the request for 441
release is due to the death of a protected party, and must 442
specify the Official Records book and page number, instrument 443
number, or clerk's file number for each document containing the 444
information to be released. A fee may not be charged for the 445
release of any document pursuant to such request. 446
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 447
necessity that the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 448
birth, and photographs of current and former personnel and 449
commissioners of the Florida Commission on Human Relations whose 450
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duties include, or result i n, the determination or adjudication 451
of unlawful discrimination or retaliation, the investigation or 452
prosecution of such complaints, or the intake or dismissal of 453
such complaints; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 454
dates of birth, photographs, a nd places of employment of the 455
spouses and children of such personnel and commissioners; and 456
the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 457
attended by the children of such personnel and commissioners be 458
made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida S tatutes, and s. 24(a), 459
Article I of the State Constitution. Such personnel and 460
commissioners and their families are at a heightened risk of 461
physical and emotional harm from dissatisfied individuals who 462
have contentious reactions to actions taken by the Flo rida 463
Commission on Human Relations. In addition, such personnel and 464
commissioners may be subject to threats or acts of revenge 465
because of the duties they perform. The families of such 466
personnel and commissioners are also endangered by people who 467
may seek to intimidate or harm such personnel and commissioners. 468
The Legislature finds that the harm that may result from the 469
release of such personal identifying and location information 470
outweighs any public benefit that may be derived from the 471
disclosure of the in formation. 472
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 473