House Bill 1037c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 1037

        By the Committee on Family Law & Children and
    Representatives Pruitt, Sobel, Sanderson and Suarez





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; creating s.

  3         741.3165, F.S.; providing that any records

  4         exempt from disclosure under the public records

  5         law disclosed to a domestic violence fatality

  6         review team remain confidential; providing that

  7         the proceedings and meetings of such

  8         organizations where the identity of the victim

  9         or the children of the victim is discussed are

10         exempt from public meeting requirements;

11         providing for future legislative review and

12         repeal; providing a finding of public

13         necessity; providing a contingent effective

14         date.

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

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18         Section 1.  Section 741.3165, Florida Statutes, is

19  created to read:

20         741.3165  Certain information exempt from disclosure.--

21         (1)  Any records which currently are exempt from s.

22  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, and

23  which are obtained by a domestic violence fatality review team

24  conducting activities as described in s. 741.316, shall not

25  lose any public records exemption granted under law solely

26  because such records are disclosed to the domestic violence

27  fatality review team.  The domestic violence fatality review

28  team shall be required to keep such records which are exempt

29  from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State

30  Constitution confidential.  The proceedings and meetings of a

31  domestic violence fatality review team regarding domestic

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 1037

    606-147-00






  1  violence fatalities and their prevention, during which the

  2  identity of the victim or the children of the victim is

  3  discussed, are exempt from s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of

  4  the State Constitution.

  5         (2)  The investigations, proceedings, and records of a

  6  domestic violence fatality review team conducting activities

  7  as described in s. 741.316 are not subject to discovery or

  8  introduction into evidence in any civil action or disciplinary

  9  proceeding by any department or employing agency arising out

10  of matters that are the subject of evaluation and review by

11  the domestic violence fatality review team, and any person who

12  was in attendance at a meeting of such an organization may not

13  be permitted or required to testify in any civil action or

14  disciplinary proceeding as to any evidence or other matters

15  produced or presented during the proceedings of the

16  organization as to any findings, recommendations, evaluations,

17  opinions, or other actions of the organization or any member

18  thereof.

19         (3)  The exemptions in this section are applicable only

20  to records held by a domestic violence fatality review team.

21  The exemptions contained in this section are subject to the

22  Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with

23  s. 119.15, and this section is repealed on October 2, 2005,

24  unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by

25  the Legislature before that date.

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

27  necessity that records and proceedings of a domestic violence

28  fatality review team should not be open to public inspection

29  because a victim, and those associated with the victim, of

30  domestic violence must be able to disclose information without

31  fear of reprisal.  In addition, the Legislature finds that it

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 1037

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  1  is a public necessity that meetings of a domestic violence

  2  fatality review team be closed to the public so that

  3  participants in such proceedings are not threatened with the

  4  fear of reprisal.

  5         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on the same date

  6  as House Bill 1039, relating to domestic violence, or similar

  7  legislation takes effect, if such legislation is adopted in

  8  the same legislative session or an extension thereof, and

  9  shall not take effect if such legislation does not become law.

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