Florida Senate - 2020 SB 878 By Senator Harrell 25-01193-20 2020878__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to public records; amending s. 3 119.071, F.S.; providing an exemption from public 4 records requirements for the personal identifying and 5 location information of current or former emergency 6 room health care practitioners and the spouses and 7 children of such practitioners; defining the term 8 “emergency room health care practitioner”; providing 9 for retroactive application; providing a statement of 10 public necessity; providing an effective 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 or 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 an 21 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 property information that may reveal the home address. 26 b. “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 numbers, dates of birth, 31 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 of 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 of 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, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 49 and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 50 personnel of the Department of Financial Services whose duties 51 include the investigation of fraud, theft, workers’ compensation 52 coverage requirements and compliance, 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 and 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 investigative 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 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 Constitution. 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; the names, home addresses, telephone 83 numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 84 and children of current or former justices and judges; and the 85 names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 86 by the children of current or former justices and judges are 87 exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 88 Constitution. 89 f. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 90 and photographs of current or former state attorneys, assistant 91 state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide 92 prosecutors; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 93 photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 94 spouses and children of current or former state attorneys, 95 assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant 96 statewide prosecutors; and the names and locations of schools 97 and day care facilities attended by the children of current or 98 former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide 99 prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors are exempt from 100 s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 101 g. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 102 numbers of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 103 compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 104 of Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement 105 hearing officers; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 106 dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and 107 children 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; and the names and locations of schools and day 111 care facilities attended by the children of general magistrates, 112 special magistrates, judges of compensation claims, 113 administrative law judges of the Division of Administrative 114 Hearings, and child support enforcement hearing officers are 115 exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 116 Constitution. 117 h. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 118 and photographs of current or former human resource, labor 119 relations, or employee relations directors, assistant directors, 120 managers, or assistant managers of any local government agency 121 or water management district whose duties include hiring and 122 firing employees, labor contract negotiation, administration, or 123 other personnel-related duties; the names, home addresses, 124 telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 125 the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 126 locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 127 children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 128 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 129 i. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 130 and photographs of current or former code enforcement officers; 131 the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 132 and places of employment of the spouses and children of such 133 personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 134 facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 135 from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 136 Constitution. 137 j. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 138 employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 139 guardians ad litem, as defined in s. 39.820; the names, home 140 addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 141 employment of the spouses and children of such persons; and the 142 names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 143 by the children of such persons are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 144 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 145 k. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 146 and photographs of current or former juvenile probation 147 officers, juvenile probation supervisors, detention 148 superintendents, assistant detention superintendents, juvenile 149 justice detention officers I and II, juvenile justice detention 150 officer supervisors, juvenile justice residential officers, 151 juvenile justice residential officer supervisors I and II, 152 juvenile justice counselors, juvenile justice counselor 153 supervisors, human services counselor administrators, senior 154 human services counselor administrators, rehabilitation 155 therapists, and social services counselors of the Department of 156 Juvenile Justice; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 157 dates of birth, and places of employment of spouses and children 158 of such personnel; and the names and locations of schools and 159 day care facilities attended by the children of such personnel 160 are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 161 Constitution. 162 l. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 163 and photographs of current or former public defenders, assistant 164 public defenders, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, 165 and assistant criminal conflict and civil regional counsel; the 166 names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 167 places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 168 former public defenders, assistant public defenders, criminal 169 conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant criminal 170 conflict and civil regional counsel; and the names and locations 171 of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 172 current or former public defenders, assistant public defenders, 173 criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant 174 criminal conflict and civil regional counsel are exempt from s. 175 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 176 m. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 177 and photographs of current or former investigators or inspectors 178 of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation; the 179 names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 180 places of employment of the spouses and children of such current 181 or former investigators and inspectors; and the names and 182 locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 183 children of such current or former investigators and inspectors 184 are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 185 Constitution. 186 n. The home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of 187 birth of county tax collectors; the names, home addresses, 188 telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 189 the spouses and children of such tax collectors; and the names 190 and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 191 children of such tax collectors are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 192 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 193 o. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 194 and photographs of current or former personnel of the Department 195 of Health whose duties include, or result in, the determination 196 or adjudication of eligibility for social security disability 197 benefits, the investigation or prosecution of complaints filed 198 against health care practitioners, or the inspection of health 199 care practitioners or health care facilities licensed by the 200 Department of Health; the names, home addresses, telephone 201 numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 202 and children of such personnel; and the names and locations of 203 schools and day care facilities attended by the children of such 204 personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 205 the State Constitution. 206 p. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 207 and photographs of current or former impaired practitioner 208 consultants who are retained by an agency or current or former 209 employees of an impaired practitioner consultant whose duties 210 result in a determination of a person’s skill and safety to 211 practice a licensed profession; the names, home addresses, 212 telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 213 the spouses and children of such consultants or their employees; 214 and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 215 attended by the children of such consultants or employees are 216 exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 217 Constitution. 218 q. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 219 and photographs of current or former emergency medical 220 technicians or paramedics certified under chapter 401; the 221 names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 222 places of employment of the spouses and children of such 223 emergency medical technicians or paramedics; and the names and 224 locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 225 children of such emergency medical technicians or paramedics are 226 exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 227 Constitution. 228 r. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 229 and photographs of current or former personnel employed in an 230 agency’s office of inspector general or internal audit 231 department whose duties include auditing or investigating waste, 232 fraud, abuse, theft, exploitation, or other activities that 233 could lead to criminal prosecution or administrative discipline; 234 the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 235 and places of employment of spouses and children of such 236 personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 237 facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 238 from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 239 Constitution. 240 s. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 241 and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 242 supervisors, nurses, and clinical employees of an addiction 243 treatment facility; the home addresses, telephone numbers, 244 photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 245 spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 246 locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 247 children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 248 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For purposes of this 249 sub-subparagraph, the term “addiction treatment facility” means 250 a county government, or agency thereof, that is licensed 251 pursuant to s. 397.401 and provides substance abuse prevention, 252 intervention, or clinical treatment, including any licensed 253 service component described in s. 397.311(26). 254 t. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 255 and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 256 supervisors, and clinical employees of a child advocacy center 257 that meets the standards of s. 39.3035(1) and fulfills the 258 screening requirement of s. 39.3035(2), and the members of a 259 Child Protection Team as described in s. 39.303 whose duties 260 include supporting the investigation of child abuse or sexual 261 abuse, child abandonment, child neglect, and child exploitation 262 or to provide services as part of a multidisciplinary case 263 review team; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 264 photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 265 spouses and children of such personnel and members; and the 266 names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 267 by the children of such personnel and members are exempt from s. 268 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 269 u.(I) The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 270 birth, and photographs of current or former emergency room 271 health care practitioners; the names, home addresses, telephone 272 numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 273 and children of such practitioners; and the names and locations 274 of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 275 such practitioners are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), 276 Art. I of the State Constitution. 277 (II) For purposes of sub-sub-subparagraph (I), the term 278 “emergency room health care practitioner” means a physician or a 279 physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; 280 an advanced practice registered nurse, a registered nurse, or a 281 licensed practical nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464; 282 or any other licensed health care personnel whose duties are 283 performed in a hospital emergency department. 284 3. An agency that is the custodian of the information 285 specified in subparagraph 2. and that is not the employer of the 286 officer, employee, justice, judge, or other person specified in 287 subparagraph 2. shall maintain the exempt status of that 288 information only if the officer, employee, justice, judge, other 289 person, or employing agency of the designated employee submits a 290 written request for maintenance of the exemption to the 291 custodial agency. 292 4. An officer, an employee, a justice, a judge, or other 293 person specified in subparagraph 2. may submit a written request 294 for the release of his or her exempt information to the 295 custodial agency. The written request must be notarized and must 296 specify the information to be released and the party that is 297 authorized to receive the information. Upon receipt of the 298 written request, the custodial agency shall release the 299 specified information to the party authorized to receive such 300 information. 301 5. The exemptions in this paragraph apply to information 302 held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the 303 exemption. 304 6. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset 305 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 306 on October 2, 2024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 307 through reenactment by the Legislature. 308 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 309 necessity that the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 310 birth, and photographs of current or former emergency room 311 health care practitioners; the names, home addresses, telephone 312 numbers, and places of employment of the spouses and children of 313 such practitioners; and the names and locations of schools and 314 day care facilities attended by the children of such 315 practitioners be exempt from public records requirements. 316 Emergency room health care practitioners, by nature of their 317 duties, are often placed in traumatic circumstances in which 318 loss of life and severe bodily injuries have occurred. Such 319 practitioners are particularly vulnerable to physical violence, 320 harassment, and intimidation perpetrated by patients or 321 relatives of patients who can be violent, angry, or mentally 322 unstable. As a result, the Legislature finds that the release of 323 identifying and location information of emergency room health 324 care practitioners, or the spouses and children of such 325 practitioners, could place them in danger of being physically or 326 emotionally harmed or stalked by a person who has a hostile 327 reaction to his or her encounter with such practitioners. The 328 Legislature further finds that the harm that may result from the 329 release of such identifying and location information outweighs 330 any public benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of 331 the information. 332 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.