House Bill 1869

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







    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1869

        By the Committee on Family Law & Children and
    Representatives Roberts, Crow, Wallace, Effman and Detert





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; creating s.

  3         753.06, F.S.; providing an exemption from

  4         public records requirements for certain

  5         information held by the Clearinghouse on

  6         Supervised Visitation and the supervised

  7         visitation centers which facilitate safe

  8         contact between nonresidential parents and

  9         their children; providing for future review and

10         repeal; providing a finding of public

11         necessity; providing a contingent effective

12         date.

13

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

15

16         Section 1.  Section 753.06, Florida Statutes, is

17  created to read:

18         753.06  The home addresses, telephone numbers, social

19  security numbers, and photographs of employees and volunteers

20  of any certified supervised visitation program; the home

21  addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers,

22  photographs, and places of employment of the spouses and

23  children of such persons; and the names and locations of

24  schools and day care facilities attended by the children of

25  such persons, held by the Clearinghouse on Supervised

26  Visitation and supervised visitation centers, are confidential

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

28  Constitution.  However, any governmental agency that is

29  authorized to have access to such information by any provision

30  of law shall be granted such access in the furtherance of its

31  statutory duties, notwithstanding the provisions of this

                                  1

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1869

    606-136-00






  1  section, and shall retain the confidentiality of such

  2  information as provided herein.  This section is subject to

  3  the Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance

  4  with s. 119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2005,

  5  unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by

  6  the Legislature.

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

  8  necessity that personal information about employees and

  9  volunteers of certified supervised visitation programs be held

10  confidential and exempt from the public records laws of this

11  state because employees and volunteers in such programs

12  encounter clients who may at times become angry or upset with

13  the order of supervised visitation or the circumstances under

14  which it is required.  If any of these individuals gains

15  access to the personal information specified in this act, the

16  individual could use that information to threaten, intimidate,

17  harass, or cause physical harm or other injury to the

18  employees and volunteers, or to their families.  This concern

19  is not mere speculation.  Incidents have occurred in which

20  clients of supervised visitation programs have threatened,

21  intimidated, and harassed employees of a supervised visitation

22  program.  Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is a public

23  necessity that the personal information of employees and

24  volunteers of certified supervised visitation programs be held

25  confidential and exempt from disclosure pursuant to the open

26  records laws of this state, in order to protect the health,

27  safety, and welfare of these employees and volunteers and

28  their families. In addition, the Legislature finds that it is

29  a public necessity that personal information about employees

30  and volunteers of certified supervised visitation programs be

31  held confidential and exempt from public records laws of this

                                  2

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 1869

    606-136-00






  1  state because, without such an exemption, certified supervised

  2  visitation programs may be unable to obtain qualified

  3  employees or volunteers due to safety concerns, thus impeding

  4  the effective and efficient administration of the programs.

  5  These exemptions are consistent with the long-standing policy

  6  of the state under s. 119.07(3)(i), Florida Statutes.

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

  8  that House Bill     or similar legislation takes effect, if

  9  such legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or

10  an extension thereof.

11

12            *****************************************

13                          HOUSE SUMMARY

14
      Provides an exemption from public records requirements
15    for information held by the Clearinghouse on Supervised
      Visitation and supervised visitation centers, relating to
16    employees and volunteers of such programs and the persons
      they serve in facilitating safe contact between
17    nonresidential parents and their children. Provides for
      future review and repeal.
18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  3