| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public records; providing an exemption |
| 3 | from public records requirements for specified identifying |
| 4 | information contained in the statewide Internet registry |
| 5 | maintained under the Vacant or Abandoned Real Property |
| 6 | Registration, Maintenance, and Foreclosure Reporting Act; |
| 7 | providing exceptions; providing for future review and |
| 8 | repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of public |
| 9 | necessity; providing a contingent effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Statewide Internet registry maintained under |
| 14 | the Vacant or Abandoned Real Property Registration, Maintenance, |
| 15 | and Foreclosure Reporting Act; public records exemption.-- |
| 16 | (1) The following information filed in the statewide |
| 17 | Internet registry maintained under the Vacant or Abandoned Real |
| 18 | Property Registration, Maintenance, and Foreclosure Reporting |
| 19 | Act is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), |
| 20 | Art. I of the State Constitution: |
| 21 | (a) The name of the owner of the property that is the |
| 22 | subject of the filing. |
| 23 | (b) The address of the property that is the subject of the |
| 24 | filing. |
| 25 | (c) The mortgage loan number of the property that is the |
| 26 | subject of the filing. |
| 27 | (2)(a) The information made confidential and exempt under |
| 28 | subsection (1) may be made available to a state agency, the |
| 29 | lender, or the local government in which the property is |
| 30 | located. |
| 31 | (b) The Department of Financial Services may use the |
| 32 | filings in the registry to provide statistical information |
| 33 | concerning vacant or abandoned property and property |
| 34 | foreclosures. |
| 35 | (3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset |
| 36 | Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed |
| 37 | on October 2, 2014, unless reviewed and saved from repeal |
| 38 | through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 39 | Section 2. Because mortgage foreclosures and the many |
| 40 | problems that arise as a result of foreclosures have become a |
| 41 | problem both nationally and particularly in the State of |
| 42 | Florida, a statewide Internet registry was created under the |
| 43 | Vacant or Abandoned Real Property Registration, Maintenance, and |
| 44 | Foreclosure Reporting Act for the purpose of helping the state, |
| 45 | local governments, and mortgage lenders address the problems |
| 46 | inherent in the increase of vacant and abandoned properties |
| 47 | throughout the state. By establishing the registry as a single |
| 48 | source that will facilitate the compilation, reporting, and |
| 49 | exchange of information relevant to foreclosures, the relevant |
| 50 | parties in property foreclosures will be better able to |
| 51 | communicate with each other concerning the problems related to |
| 52 | such vacant and abandoned properties. This capability will help |
| 53 | reduce the negative impact that increasing numbers of foreclosed |
| 54 | properties have on neighborhoods and communities throughout the |
| 55 | state. Issues concerning the maintenance of such properties are |
| 56 | better addressed at earlier stages, before the properties begin |
| 57 | to have a detrimental effect on neighborhoods and communities, |
| 58 | and the statewide registry will enable all relevant parties to a |
| 59 | foreclosure to act in a timely manner and thus avoid or minimize |
| 60 | such effects. Under Florida law, the statewide registry would be |
| 61 | subject to the state's public records law and anyone could |
| 62 | obtain the information contained in the registry. This level of |
| 63 | access has the potential to provide criminals with specific |
| 64 | information about vacant or abandoned properties, thus making |
| 65 | the properties more susceptible to robbery, burglary, vandalism, |
| 66 | or other misuse. By making such information publicly available, |
| 67 | any resultant robbery, burglary, vandalism, or other misuse of |
| 68 | such unprotected properties would be completely contrary to some |
| 69 | of the primary purposes of establishing the registry, namely, to |
| 70 | protect properties from neglect and misuse and to increase the |
| 71 | general safety and quality of life of neighborhoods and |
| 72 | communities throughout the state. Under the provisions governing |
| 73 | the registry, the name of the owner of a subject property and |
| 74 | the address and mortgage loan number of such property would |
| 75 | still be available to state agencies, the mortgage lender, and |
| 76 | the local government in which the subject property is located. |
| 77 | It is therefore the finding of the Legislature that it is in the |
| 78 | best interests of the state that the name of the owner of a |
| 79 | property that is the subject of a filing in the statewide |
| 80 | Internet registry created under the Vacant or Abandoned Real |
| 81 | Property Registration, Maintenance, and Foreclosure Reporting |
| 82 | Act and the address and the loan number of the property that is |
| 83 | the subject of the filing be held exempt from public records |
| 84 | requirements. |
| 85 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009, if HB |
| 86 | 119 or similar legislation is adopted in the same legislative |
| 87 | session or an extension thereof and becomes law. |