Florida Senate - 2022                             CS for SB 1046
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Senator Hooper
       
       
       
       
       585-02656-22                                          20221046c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         119.071, F.S.; defining the term “law enforcement
    4         geolocation information”; providing an exemption from
    5         public records requirements for law enforcement
    6         geolocation information held by a law enforcement
    7         agency; providing for retroactive application;
    8         providing applicability; requiring law enforcement
    9         agencies to disclose law enforcement geolocation
   10         information to state and federal law enforcement
   11         agencies, upon request; providing for future
   12         legislative review and repeal of the exemption;
   13         providing a statement of public necessity; providing
   14         an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (4) of
   19  section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read:
   20         119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of
   21  public records.—
   22         (4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION.—
   23         (e)1. As used in this paragraph, the term “law enforcement
   24  geolocation information” means information collected using a
   25  global positioning system or another mapping, locational, or
   26  directional information system that allows tracking of the
   27  location or movement of a law enforcement officer or a law
   28  enforcement vehicle.
   29         2. Law enforcement geolocation information held by a law
   30  enforcement agency is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a),
   31  Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption applies to such
   32  information held by an agency before, on, or after the effective
   33  date of the exemption. This exemption does not apply to uniform
   34  traffic citations, crash reports, homicide reports, arrest
   35  reports, incident reports, or any other official reports issued
   36  by an agency which contain law enforcement geolocation
   37  information. A law enforcement agency shall disclose law
   38  enforcement geolocation information upon request from a state or
   39  federal law enforcement agency.
   40         3. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   41  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   42  on October 2, 2027, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   43  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   44         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   45  necessity that geolocation information of law enforcement
   46  officers and law enforcement vehicles be made exempt from s.
   47  119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the
   48  State Constitution so that the safety of this state’s law
   49  enforcement officers and the privacy of this state’s residents
   50  may be reasonably assured. The Legislature recognizes that the
   51  regular and unregulated release of law enforcement geolocation
   52  information can pose a danger to officers while on patrol, can
   53  potentially result in the exposure of law enforcement officers’
   54  residences, can release otherwise exempt surveillance and
   55  investigative techniques, and can inadvertently disclose
   56  information about private residents which would otherwise be
   57  exempt. Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is a public
   58  necessity that law enforcement geolocation information be made
   59  exempt from public record requirements and that such exemption
   60  be applied retroactively.
   61         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.