Senate Bill 2330

    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2330

    By Senator Jones





    40-1657-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; providing

  3         exemptions from public records requirements for

  4         the identities of complainants and alleged

  5         violators of fair housing practices, whose

  6         names are in the possession of the Florida

  7         Commission on Human Rights or its predecessor,

  8         the Florida Commission on Human Relations;

  9         providing a finding of public necessity;

10         providing an effective date.

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

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14         Section 1.  All complaints filed with the Florida

15  Commission on Human Rights or its predecessor, the Florida

16  Commission on Human Relations, and all records and documents

17  in the custody of the commission, which relate to and identify

18  a particular person, including, but not limited to, a

19  complainant, a housing provider, a realtor, or a real estate

20  salesperson, or an agent of any such person, or a bank, an

21  insurance company, a loan association, a firm, or an

22  enterprise, the business of which consists in whole or in part

23  of making commercial real estate loans, are confidential and

24  exempt from the provisions of section 119.07(1), Florida

25  Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. The

26  commission may not disclose such confidential material except

27  to the parties or in the course of a hearing or proceeding

28  under section 760.34, Florida Statutes. This exemption does

29  not apply to any record or document that is part of the record

30  of any hearing or court proceeding.

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






    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2330
    40-1657-99




  1         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public

  2  necessity that an exemption from the public records laws of

  3  this state apply to the identities of complainants and alleged

  4  violators in connection with complaints relating to fair

  5  housing practices. This exemption is intended to prevent the

  6  likelihood of unfair interference with the business

  7  relationships of a person or an entity against whom or against

  8  which an unfair housing complaint has been lodged and of

  9  discrimination against a complainant by other housing

10  providers, if the name of any such party is freely disclosed.

11         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

12  law.

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15                          SENATE SUMMARY

16    Provides exemptions from public records requirements for
      information in the possession of the Florida Commission
17    on Human Rights or its predecessor, the Florida
      Commission on Human Relations, which information
18    identifies the complainant or an alleged violator in a
      complaint alleging unfair housing practices.
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