Senate Bill sb0016Cc1

    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 16-C

    By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senators Brown-Waite
    and Smith




    307-738A-02

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records and meetings;

  3         creating s. 119.107, F.S.; providing an

  4         exemption from public-records requirements for

  5         a security-system plan or portion thereof;

  6         creating s. 286.0113, F.S.; providing an

  7         exemption from public-meeting requirements for

  8         those portions of any meeting which would

  9         reveal a security-system plan or portion

10         thereof which is confidential and exempt under

11         this act; providing for future review and

12         repeal; providing a statement of public

13         necessity; providing an effective date.

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

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17         Section 1.  Section 119.071, Florida Statutes, is

18  created to read:

19         119.071  General exemptions from inspection or copying

20  of public records.--A security-system plan or portion thereof

21  for:

22         (1)  Any property owned by or leased to the state or

23  any of its political subdivisions; or

24         (2)  Any privately owned or leased property

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26  which plan or portion thereof is in the possession of any

27  agency, as defined in s. 119.011, is confidential and exempt

28  from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of

29  the State Constitution. As used in this section, the term a

30  "security-system plan" includes all records, information,

31  photographs, audio and visual presentations, schematic

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 16-C
    307-738A-02




  1  diagrams, surveys, recommendations, or consultations or

  2  portions thereof relating directly to or revealing security

  3  systems; threat-assessments conducted by any agency as defined

  4  in s. 119.011 or any private entity; threat-response plans;

  5  emergency-evacuation plans; sheltering arrangements; or

  6  manuals for security personnel, emergency equipment, or

  7  security training. This exemption is remedial in nature and it

  8  is the intent of the Legislature that this exemption be

  9  applied to security-system plans received by an agency before,

10  on, or after the effective date of this section. Information

11  made confidential and exempt by this section may be disclosed

12  by the custodial agency to another state or federal agency to

13  prevent, detect, guard against, respond to, investigate, or

14  manage the consequences of any attempted or actual act of

15  terrorism, or to prosecute those persons who are responsible

16  for such attempts or acts, and the confidential and exempt

17  status of such information shall be retained while in the

18  possession of the receiving agency. This section is subject to

19  the Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995, in accordance

20  with s. 119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2006,

21  unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by

22  the Legislature.

23         Section 2.  Section 286.0113, Florida Statutes, is

24  created to read:

25         286.0113  General exemptions from public

26  meetings.--Those portions of any meeting which would reveal a

27  security-system plan or portion thereof made confidential and

28  exempt by s. 119.071(1) are exempt from the provisions of s.

29  286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution. This

30  section is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act of

31  1995, in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand repealed

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 16-C
    307-738A-02




  1  on October 2, 2006, unless reviewed and saved from repeal

  2  through reenactment by the Legislature.

  3         Section 3.  The Legislature finds that the exemption

  4  from public records and public meetings requirements provided

  5  by this act is a public necessity because security-system

  6  plans contain components that address safety issues for public

  7  and private property on which public business is conducted and

  8  address the security of private property on which a large

  9  segment of the public relies. The public relies on radio and

10  television towers, telephone and cable lines, power plants and

11  grids, oil and gas pipelines, and many types of privately

12  owned infrastructure to provide necessary services. To

13  coordinate the response of the public sector and the private

14  sector in an emergency, such as an act of terrorism, public

15  agencies must be able to review security-system plans for

16  public and private property. If the information in

17  security-system plans is available for inspection and copying,

18  terrorists could use this information to hamper or disable

19  emergency-response preparedness, thereby increasing injuries

20  and fatalities. Although some skill would be required to use

21  such information to further an act of terrorism, ample

22  evidence exists of the capabilities of terrorists to conduct

23  complicated acts of terrorism. The September 11, 2001, attack

24  on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, as well as the

25  intentional spread of anthrax in this country and state, which

26  resulted in the death of one Floridian, provide evidence that

27  such capabilities exist. These events also have shown the

28  importance of a coordinated response to acts of terrorism and

29  the need for the review of public and private security-system

30  plans. Consequently, the Legislature finds that

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 16-C
    307-738A-02




  1  security-system plans and meetings related thereto must be

  2  kept exempt and confidential.

  3         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  4  law.

  5

  6          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  7                         Senate Bill 16-C

  8

  9  -     Provides that information made confidential and exempt
          by the bill may be disclosed by the custodial agency to
10        another state or federal agency for specified purposes
          and that the confidential and exempt status of such
11        information is retained while in the possession of the
          receiving agency.
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    -     Provides that the exemption is remedial in nature and
13        that it applies to records received before, on, or
          after, the effective date of the bill.
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