SB 548 — Public Records/Military Personnel and their Spouses and Dependents
by Senator Collins
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
Prepared by: Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security Committee (MS)
This bill provides a public records exemption on certain identifying information of military personnel and their families held by an agency. The exemption applies to the home address, phone numbers, and date of birth of current and former military personnel and their spouses and dependents, and the name and location of a school attended by such a spouse and schools or day care facilities attended by such dependents. Military personnel are either persons employed by the Department of Defense who have access to information designated as secret or top secret or servicemembers of a special operations force. The information is made exempt, meaning that the records custodian has discretion to disclose it. To receive the exemption, a request must be made in writing and include a statement of reasonable efforts to protect the information from access. The exemption applies to information held by the agency before, on, or after the effective date of the bill.
The public records exemption is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act and will be repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reenacted before that date.
If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect upon becoming a law.
Vote: Senate 39-0; House 114-0