Senate Bill 0140c1

    Florida Senate - 1998                            CS for SB 140

    By the Committee on Community Affairs and Senator Forman





    316-902-98

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         119.07, F.S.; providing an exemption from the

  4         public records law for certain records

  5         furnished pursuant to certain housing

  6         assistance programs; providing a statement of

  7         public necessity; providing for future review

  8         and repeal; providing an effective date.

  9

10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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12         Section 1.  Paragraph (cc) is added to subsection (3)

13  of section 119.07, Florida Statutes, to read:

14         119.07  Inspection, examination, and duplication of

15  records; exemptions.--

16         (3)

17         (cc)1.  Medical history records, bank account numbers,

18  credit card numbers, telephone numbers, and information

19  related to health or property insurance furnished by an

20  individual to any agency pursuant to federal, state, or local

21  housing assistance programs are confidential and exempt from

22  the provisions of subsection (1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the

23  State Constitution. Any other information produced or received

24  by any private or public entity in direct connection with

25  federal, state, or local housing assistance programs, unless

26  the subject of another federal or state exemption, is subject

27  to subsection (1).

28         2.  Governmental agencies or their agents are entitled

29  to access to the records specified in this paragraph for the

30  purposes of auditing federal, state, or local housing programs

31  or housing assistance programs. Such records may be used by an

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1998                            CS for SB 140
    316-902-98




  1  agency, as needed, in any administrative or judicial

  2  proceeding, provided such records are kept confidential and

  3  exempt, unless otherwise ordered by a court.

  4         3.  This paragraph is repealed effective October 2,

  5  2002, and must be reviewed by the Legislature before that date

  6  in accordance with s. 119.15, the Open Government Sunset

  7  Review Act of 1995.

  8         Section 2.  The Legislature finds it is a public

  9  necessity that medical history records, bank account numbers,

10  credit card numbers, telephone numbers, and information

11  related to health or property insurance furnished to a housing

12  assistance program be held confidential and exempt from public

13  records requirements because revealing such information could

14  create the opportunity for fraud and is an unnecessary

15  intrusion into the personal affairs of the program

16  participants.

17         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.

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19          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
20                         Senate Bill 140

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22  SB 140 was changed to clarify that such personal information
    provided by an individual pursuant to local housing assistance
23  programs are confidential as well as exempt from the public
    access provisions of the Public Records Law. In addition, this
24  change clarifies that such records may be used by an agency,
    as needed, in any judicial or administrative proceeding.
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