Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 308
       
       
        
       By Senator Trumbull
       
       
       
       
       
       2-00460-24                                             2024308__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         119.071, F.S.; defining the terms “identification and
    4         location information” and “servicemember”; providing
    5         an exemption from public records requirements for
    6         identification and location information of
    7         servicemembers and the spouses and dependents of
    8         servicemembers; providing for retroactive application;
    9         providing for future legislative review and repeal of
   10         the exemption; providing a statement of public
   11         necessity; providing an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (5) of
   16  section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read:
   17         119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of
   18  public records.—
   19         (5) OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION.—
   20         (k)1.For purposes of this paragraph, the term:
   21         a.“Identification and location information” means the:
   22         (I)Home address, telephone number, and date of birth of a
   23  servicemember, and the telephone number associated with a
   24  servicemember’s personal communication device.
   25         (II)Home address, telephone number, date of birth, and
   26  place of employment of the spouse or dependent of a
   27  servicemember, and the telephone number associated with such
   28  spouse’s or dependent’s personal communication device.
   29         (III)Name and location of a school attended by the spouse
   30  of a servicemember or a school or day care facility attended by
   31  a dependent of a servicemember.
   32         b.“Servicemember” means a current or former member of the
   33  Armed Forces of the United States, a reserve component of the
   34  Armed Forces of the United States, or the National Guard who
   35  served after September 11, 2001.
   36         2.Identification and location information held by an
   37  agency is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the
   38  State Constitution if a servicemember submits to an agency that
   39  has custody of the identification and location information:
   40         a.A written request to exempt the identification and
   41  location information from public disclosure; and
   42         b.A written statement that he or she has made reasonable
   43  efforts to protect the identification and location information
   44  from being accessible through other means available to the
   45  public.
   46         3.This exemption applies to identification and location
   47  information held by an agency before, on, or after the effective
   48  date of the exemption.
   49         4.This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   50  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   51  on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   52  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   53         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   54  necessity that identification and location information of
   55  current and former members of the Armed Forces of the United
   56  States, a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United
   57  States, or the National Guard who served after September 11,
   58  2001, and their spouses and dependents which is held by an
   59  agency be made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and
   60  s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. Servicemembers
   61  perform among the most critical, most effective, and most
   62  dangerous operations in defense of our nation’s freedom.
   63  Terrorist groups have threatened servicemembers and their
   64  families and have encouraged terrorist sympathizers to harm
   65  servicemembers and their families within the United States. One
   66  terrorist group has allegedly gathered the photographs and home
   67  addresses of servicemembers from public sources to create and
   68  publish a list of servicemembers in order to make such persons
   69  vulnerable to an act of terrorism. The Legislature finds that
   70  allowing continued public access to the identification and
   71  location information of current or former servicemembers and
   72  their families jeopardizes the safety of servicemembers, their
   73  spouses, and their dependents. The Legislature finds that
   74  protecting the safety and security of current and former members
   75  of the Armed Forces of the United States, a reserve component of
   76  the Armed Forces of the United States, or the National Guard who
   77  served after September 11, 2001, and their spouses and
   78  dependents outweighs any public benefit that may be derived from
   79  the public disclosure of the identification and location
   80  information.
   81         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.