Senate Bill sb1280c1

    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1280

    By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Burt





    311-1619-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; providing an

  3         exemption from public-records requirements for

  4         certain information relating to abandoned

  5         property which is contained in reports to the

  6         Department of Banking and Finance under s.

  7         717.117, F.S.; providing an exception to the

  8         exemption; providing for future review and

  9         repeal; providing findings 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.  Report of abandoned or unclaimed property;

15  public-records exemption.--The following information contained

16  in reports required under section 717.117, Florida Statutes,

17  is confidential and exempt from section 119.07(1), Florida

18  Statutes, and Section 24(a), Article I of the State

19  Constitution: social security numbers and financial account

20  numbers. Notwithstanding this exemption, social security

21  numbers shall be released for the limited purpose of locating

22  abandoned or unclaimed property owners to an attorney,

23  Florida-certified public account, or private investigator who

24  is duly licensed in this state. This section is subject to the

25  Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with

26  section 119.15, Florida Statutes, and shall stand repealed

27  October 2, 2006, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through

28  reenactment by the Legislature.

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

30  necessity to make confidential and exempt the social security

31  numbers and financial account numbers of apparent owners of

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






    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1280
    311-1619-01




  1  abandoned or unclaimed property which are in the custody of

  2  the Department of Banking and Finance to prevent

  3  identity-theft and related crimes. The Legislature further

  4  finds that this exemption is necessary to prevent the

  5  information from use in forged documents demonstrating

  6  entitlement to abandoned or unclaimed property and thereby

  7  defrauding the rightful property owner or the State School

  8  Fund. Notwithstanding the public necessity to make

  9  confidential such information, it is necessary to provide

10  access to social security numbers to an attorney,

11  Florida-certified public accountant, and private investigator

12  duly licensed in this state to facilitate the location and

13  return of unclaimed property to rightful owners. The

14  Legislature further finds that attorneys, Florida-certified

15  public accountants, and private investigators are subject to

16  more stringent regulation and oversight than the public as a

17  whole. In addition, such professionals are the only persons

18  authorized to file claims on behalf of apparent owners of

19  abandoned or unclaimed property pursuant to chapter 717,

20  Florida Statutes.

21         Section 3.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2001.

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 1280
    311-1619-01




  1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  2                             SB 1280

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    1.    Narrows the public records exemption for information
  5        related to reports of unclaimed property submitted to
          the Department of Banking and Finance to include only
  6        the social security number and the financial account
          numbers of apparent owners of the abandoned property,
  7        rather than the entire report. However, an attorney,
          certified public accountant, or private investigator
  8        licensed in Florida would continue to have access to
          this information, if the information was used for the
  9        limited purpose of locating unclaimed property or
          unclaimed property owners.
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    2.    Revises the public necessity for the exemption of this
11        information from public records to provide that such an
          exemption is necessary to prevent identity theft,
12        related crimes and the misuse of such information to
          claim entitlement to property and defraud the rightful
13        property owner or the State. The release of this
          confidential and exempt information to an attorney, a
14        certified public accountant or a private investigator is
          necessary to facilitate the return of unclaimed property
15        to the rightful owners.

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