Senate Bill 2032c1

    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 2032

    By the Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care; and
    Senator Clary




    317-1925-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

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

  4         public records requirements for information

  5         relating to individuals who are applying for or

  6         receiving services from the Department of

  7         Health or its agents; providing for future

  8         review and repeal; providing a finding of

  9         public necessity; providing an effective date.

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

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13         Section 1.  Paragraph (dd) is added to subsection (3)

14  of section 119.07, Florida Statutes, to read:

15         119.07  Inspection, examination, and duplication of

16  records; exemptions.--

17         (3)

18         (dd)  All personally identifying information, bank

19  account numbers, and debit and credit card numbers contained

20  in records relating to an individual's personal health or

21  eligibility for health-related services made or received by

22  the Department of Health or its service providers are

23  confidential and exempt from the provisions of subsection (1)

24  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, except as

25  otherwise provided by law. Information made confidential and

26  exempt by this paragraph shall be disclosed:

27         1.  With the express written consent of the individual

28  or the individual's legally authorized representative.

29  Furthermore, if a request is made for specific records of an

30  individual, such records shall be disclosed only with the

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 2032
    317-1925-00




  1  express written consent of the individual or the individual's

  2  legally authorized representative.

  3         2.  In a medical emergency, but only to the extent

  4  necessary to protect the health or life of the individual.

  5         3.  By an order of a court and upon a showing of good

  6  cause.

  7

  8  This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review

  9  Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand

10  repealed on October 2, 2005, unless reviewed and saved from

11  repeal through reenactment of the Legislature.

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

13  necessity that personally identifying information, bank

14  account numbers, and debit and credit card numbers contained

15  in records relating to an individual's personal health or

16  eligibility for health-related services made or received by

17  the Department of Health or its service providers be held

18  confidential and exempt from public disclosure unless

19  otherwise provided for by law. The Legislature finds that this

20  exemption is needed to protect information that is of a

21  sensitive personal nature that concerns individuals. Every

22  person has an expectation of and a right to privacy in all

23  matters concerning his or her personal health when medical

24  services are provided by the Department of Health or its

25  service providers. Matters of personal health are

26  traditionally private and confidential concerns between the

27  patient and the health care provider. The private and

28  confidential nature of personal health matters pervades both

29  the public and private health-care sectors. For these reasons,

30  the individual's expectation and right to privacy in all

31  matters regarding his or her personal health necessitates this

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 2032
    317-1925-00




  1  exemption. In addition, an individual's personal financial

  2  situation as it relates to eligibility for health care

  3  services is also of a sensitive personal nature and should be

  4  confidential and exempt.

  5         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

  6

  7          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  8                         Senate Bill 2032

  9

10  Revises the exemption to the Public Records Law to make all
    personally identifying information, bank account numbers and
11  debit and credit card numbers contained in records relating to
    an individual's personal health or eligibility for
12  health-related services maintained by the Department of Health
    or its authorized service providers confidential and exempt
13  from the Public Records Law.

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