Senate Bill sb2228

    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 2228

    By Senator Holzendorf





    2-1615-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public-records exemptions;

  3         exempting from the public-records law certain

  4         claim file records pertaining to the

  5         Long-Term-Care-Facility Joint Underwriting

  6         Association; providing for future review and

  7         repeal; providing findings of public necessity;

  8         providing an effective date.

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

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12         Section 1.  (1)  All active claim files and related

13  records of the Long-Term-Care-Facility Joint Underwriting

14  Association are confidential and exempt from section

15  119.07(1), Florida Statutes, until the processing of the claim

16  is completed or becomes inactive.

17         (2)  A claim file is active while it is being conducted

18  by the association with a reasonable good-faith belief that

19  the claim will be resolved. The file does not become inactive

20  as long as the association is proceeding with reasonable

21  dispatch and there is a good-faith belief that the claim will

22  be settled.

23         (3)  This section is subject to the Open Government

24  Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with section 119.15,

25  Florida Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2006,

26  unless reviewed and saved from repeal before that time through

27  reenactment by the Legislature.

28         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that the exemption

29  from public-records requirements provided in this act, is a

30  public necessity, and that it would be an invasion of privacy

31  for sensitive information contained in the claim file to be

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






    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 2228
    2-1615-01




  1  publicly available. Furthermore, the Legislature finds that

  2  failure to protect the confidentiality of any information

  3  submitted to or collected by the Long-Term-Claim-Facility

  4  Joint Underwriting Association regarding a claim, including

  5  the fact that a claim is being processed, would deter the

  6  collection and processing of this information by the

  7  association. This would prevent the association from

  8  effectively carrying out its responsibility to process such

  9  claims expeditiously. Release of such information could deter

10  persons from divulging information required to process claims.

11  This could lead to the deterioration of services to the

12  detriment of the public.

13         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on the effective

14  date of Senate Bill ____.

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17                          SENATE SUMMARY

18    Provides exemptions from public records requirements for
      information contained in claims files being processed by
19    the Long-Term-Care-Facility Joint Underwriting
      Association. Provides a statement of public necessity and
20    provides for future review and repeal.

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