Florida Senate - 2020                                    SB 7056
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       
       
       
       
       
       585-03763-20                                          20207056__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         119.071, F.S.; exempting from public records
    4         requirements active threat assessment and active
    5         threat management records; providing circumstances
    6         under which such records are considered active;
    7         defining terms; providing for future legislative
    8         review and repeal of the exemption; 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 (c) of subsection (2) of section
   15  119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   16         119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of
   17  public records.—
   18         (2) AGENCY INVESTIGATIONS.—
   19         (c)1. Active criminal intelligence information and active
   20  criminal investigative information are exempt from s. 119.07(1)
   21  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   22         2.a. A request made by a law enforcement agency to inspect
   23  or copy a public record that is in the custody of another agency
   24  and the custodian’s response to the request, and any information
   25  that would identify whether a law enforcement agency has
   26  requested or received that public record are exempt from s.
   27  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, during
   28  the period in which the information constitutes active criminal
   29  intelligence information or active criminal investigative
   30  information.
   31         b. The law enforcement agency that made the request to
   32  inspect or copy a public record shall give notice to the
   33  custodial agency when the criminal intelligence information or
   34  criminal investigative information is no longer active so that
   35  the request made by the law enforcement agency, the custodian’s
   36  response to the request, and information that would identify
   37  whether the law enforcement agency had requested or received
   38  that public record are available to the public.
   39         c. This exemption is remedial in nature, and it is the
   40  intent of the Legislature that the exemption be applied to
   41  requests for information received before, on, or after the
   42  effective date of this paragraph.
   43         3.a. Active criminal intelligence information and active
   44  criminal investigative information or other exempt information
   45  or records shared with another agency or governmental entity in
   46  the furtherance of its official duties and responsibilities
   47  under a multidisciplinary information-sharing agreement retain
   48  their exempt status. Active criminal intelligence information
   49  and active criminal investigative information and other exempt
   50  information or records shared with another criminal justice
   51  agency in the furtherance of its official duties retain their
   52  exempt status as otherwise provided by law.
   53         b. Active threat assessment and active threat management
   54  records are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the
   55  State Constitution. Threat assessment and threat management
   56  records shall be considered “active” as long as they relate to
   57  an ongoing good faith belief by the Department of Law
   58  Enforcement or the lead law enforcement agency that a threat
   59  assessment or a threat management plan will lead to detection,
   60  reasonable anticipation, prevention, or monitoring of possible
   61  targeted violence when the assessment or records are in the
   62  possession of a criminal justice agency or its employees, a
   63  governmental agency, whether state or federal, or any other
   64  governmental entity pursuant to a multidisciplinary information
   65  sharing agreement.
   66         c.As used in this subparagraph, the term:
   67         (I)“Lead law enforcement agency” means the law enforcement
   68  agency designated as the lead agency in a multidisciplinary
   69  information-sharing agreement.
   70         (II)“Multidisciplinary information-sharing agreement”
   71  means an agreement entered into between a lead law enforcement
   72  agency and another law enforcement agency, a criminal justice
   73  agency, or any other entity to share active criminal
   74  intelligence or active criminal investigative information for
   75  the purposes of furthering information sharing for law
   76  enforcement criminal intelligence purposes, criminal
   77  investigative purposes, threat assessments, or threat management
   78  plans.
   79         (III)“Targeted violence” means a situation involving an
   80  identifiable person or group of persons who actively pursue
   81  physical injury or harm toward an identifiable target or
   82  prospective victim, including, but not limited to, a specific
   83  person, a group of persons, an entity, or a location.
   84         (IV)“Threat assessment” means the process of collecting
   85  and sharing active criminal intelligence information or active
   86  criminal investigative information in a multidisciplinary effort
   87  to contextualize and understand a targeted violence threat.
   88         (V)“Threat management” means the process of developing,
   89  implementing, and monitoring an individualized plan in a
   90  multidisciplinary effort to intervene, mitigate, or prevent a
   91  targeted violence threat.
   92         d.This subparagraph is subject to the Open Government
   93  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand
   94  repealed on October 2, 2025, unless reviewed and saved from
   95  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   96         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   97  necessity that records related to active threat assessments and
   98  active threat management plans be made exempt from s. 119.07(1),
   99  Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State
  100  Constitution. The Legislature finds that it is a public
  101  necessity for law enforcement agencies and criminal justice
  102  agencies to be able to share active threat assessment and active
  103  threat management records securely with vital multidisciplinary
  104  partners who have important roles in threat assessments and
  105  threat management plans and that the information retain its
  106  exempt status. The Legislature finds that the release of these
  107  records could hinder active criminal investigations and could
  108  cause harm to the person under the threat assessment and threat
  109  management plan and could potentially cause certain individuals
  110  to proceed with their intentions to cause targeted violence. The
  111  Legislature finds that the release of these records and the
  112  potential impact that the release may have on an individual
  113  under an active threat assessment or active threat management
  114  plan could cause harm to the residents in this state if such
  115  information were made public. The Legislature is gravely
  116  concerned and saddened by the horrific mass shootings
  117  perpetrated in this state. The Legislature is concerned about
  118  the increase in these targeted violence incidents and finds that
  119  it is important for law enforcement agencies, criminal justice
  120  agencies, and their multidisciplinary partners to use the
  121  valuable tools of threat assessments and threat management plans
  122  to proactively mitigate and prevent these threats and protect
  123  the people of this state.
  124         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.