House Bill 2123e1
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HB 2123, First Engrossed/ntc
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; providing an
3 exemption from the public records requirements
4 for information that reveals the identify of
5 applicants and recipients of child-support
6 services in the possession of a non-Title IV-D
7 county child-support-enforcement agency;
8 providing for future legislative review and
9 repeal; providing a finding of public
10 necessity; 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. (1) Any information that reveals the
15 identity of applicants for or recipients of child-support
16 services, including the name, address, and telephone number of
17 such persons, in the possession of a non-Title IV-D county
18 child-support-enforcement agency is confidential and exempt
19 from public disclosure pursuant to section 119.07(1), Florida
20 Statutes, and Section 24(a) of Article I of the State
21 Constitution. The use or disclosure of such information by the
22 non-Title IV-D county child-support-enfocement agency is
23 limited to the purposes directly connected with:
24 (a) Any investigation, prosecution, or criminal or
25 civil proceeding connected with the administration of any
26 non-Title IV-D county child-support-enforcement program; and
27 (b) Mandatory disclosure of identifying and location
28 information as provided in section 61.13(9), Florida Statutes,
29 by the non-Title IV-D county child-support-enforcement agency
30 when providing non-Title IV-D services.
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HB 2123, First Engrossed/ntc
1 (c) Mandatory disclosure of information as required by
2 sections 409.2577, 61.181, 61.1825, and 61.1826, Florida
3 Statutes, and Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.
4 (2) The county child-support-enforcement agency shall
5 not disclose information that identifies by name and address
6 an applicant or recipient of child-support services or the
7 whereabouts of such party or child to another person against
8 whom a protective order with respect to the former party or
9 the child has been entered if the county agency has reason to
10 believe that the release of information to such person could
11 result in physical or emotional harm to the party or the
12 child.
13 (3) As used in this section, "county child support
14 enforcement agency" means a department, division, or other
15 agency of a county government which is operated by such county
16 to provide child support enforcement services to county
17 residents.
18 (4) This section is subject to the Open Government
19 Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with section 119.15,
20 Florida Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2005,
21 unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by
22 the Legislature.
23 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
24 necessity to exempt from disclosure pursuant to section
25 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and Section 24 of Article I of
26 the State Constitution, all identifying information concerning
27 applicants for and recipients of child-support services which
28 is in the possession of non-Title IV-D county
29 child-support-enforcement agencies. The Legislature recognizes
30 that all persons served by a non-Title IV-D county
31 child-support-enforcement agency are eligible to receive
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HB 2123, First Engrossed/ntc
1 services from the Department of Revenue, the state's Title
2 IV-D agency. The Legislature further recognizes that
3 information concerning applicants for and recipients of
4 child-support services who are served by these county agencies
5 would otherwise be exempt from disclosure pursuant to section
6 409.2579, Florida Statutes, if served by the Department of
7 Revenue. Therefore, because provision of child-support
8 services by such county agencies provides a useful and
9 appropriate alternative to the child-support services provided
10 by the state, the Legislature finds that persons served by
11 such county agencies should be entitled to similar disclosure
12 protections afforded to persons receiving child-support
13 services from the state. Additionally, the Legislature finds
14 that many of the child-support-enforcement cases handled by
15 these agencies are also domestic violence cases. In such
16 cases, agency clients have been subjected to domestic violence
17 or abuse and fear for their lives and those of their minor
18 children. The Legislature further finds that federal and state
19 law currently prohibit the disclosure of information
20 concerning clients served by the Title IV-D cases when a
21 protective order has been issued or the Title IV-D agency has
22 reason to believe that disclosure of information may result in
23 physical or emotional harm to the client or child and wishes
24 to extend similar protections to the clients of non-Title IV-D
25 county child-support-enforcement agencies. Therefore, the
26 Legislature determines that public disclosure, of the
27 information concerning applicants for, or recipients of
28 child-support services from county child-support-enforcement
29 agencies is outweighed by the risk of harm to the persons and
30 children and that there is present need to exempt such
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HB 2123, First Engrossed/ntc
1 information from disclosure under the public records laws of
2 this state.
3 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
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