House Bill hb1679c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
By the Council for Smarter Government and Committee on
State Administration and Representative Brummer
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; creating the
3 Study Committee on Public Records; providing
4 for membership and organization of the
5 committee; providing purpose, duties, and
6 responsibilities of the committee; requiring a
7 report; providing for expiration of the
8 committee; amending s. 28.2221, F.S., relating
9 to electronic access to official records;
10 revising declared state purpose with respect to
11 such access; providing limitations with respect
12 to a specified Internet index of documents;
13 providing that county recorders may not place
14 images or copies of specified public records on
15 a publicly available Internet website for
16 general public display; requiring that such
17 records placed on the Internet prior to the
18 effective date of the act be removed upon
19 request; providing that affected persons may
20 petition the court for an order of compliance;
21 requiring clerks of court to provide for
22 electronic retrieval of images of certain
23 documents by a specified date; providing an
24 appropriation; providing an effective date.
25
26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
27
28 Section 1. Study Committee on Public Records;
29 creation; membership; duties.--
30 (1) There is created a Study Committee on Public
31 Records. The committee shall be composed of 21 members, eight
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
405-177-02
1 of whom will serve in an advisory nonvoting capacity, as
2 follows:
3 (a) The Governor shall appoint one at-large member who
4 is a resident of the state, one attorney with expertise in
5 Florida's public records and privacy laws, a representative
6 from the First Amendment Foundation, and a representative from
7 the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. To serve in an
8 advisory capacity, the Governor shall appoint a representative
9 from the Department of Children and Family Services, a
10 representative from the Department of Juvenile Justice, and a
11 representative from the Department of Education.
12 (b) The President of the Senate shall appoint a member
13 of the Senate interested in and knowledgeable in the areas of
14 public records law, judicial records, and real property and
15 probate issues; one attorney with expertise in family law; and
16 a representative of the real property title industry. To serve
17 in an advisory capacity, the President of the Senate shall
18 appoint one domestic violence advocate and one child and
19 family advocate.
20 (c) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
21 appoint a member of the House of Representatives interested in
22 and knowledgeable in the areas of public records law, judicial
23 records, and family law issues; one attorney with expertise in
24 real property and probate law; and a representative from a
25 financial institution or from the credit industry. To serve in
26 an advisory capacity, the Speaker of the House of
27 Representatives shall appoint two representatives from among
28 local or community service providers.
29 (d) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall
30 appoint two judges or justices who are interested in and
31 knowledgeable regarding public records law and who are
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
405-177-02
1 familiar with the variety and types of judicial records. To
2 serve in an advisory capacity, the Chief Justice of the
3 Supreme Court shall appoint a representative from the judicial
4 branch.
5 (e) The Florida Association of Circuit Court Clerks
6 and Comptrollers shall appoint one Clerk of the Circuit Court.
7 (2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives and
8 the President of the Senate shall designate legislative staff
9 knowledgeable in the areas of public records and privacy laws
10 to assist the committee and provide all necessary data
11 collection, analysis, research, and support services.
12 (3) The attorney appointed by the Governor shall serve
13 as chair of the committee. Members must be appointed within
14 30 days after the effective date of this act. No sooner than
15 40 days and no later than 60 days after the effective date of
16 this act, the committee shall meet to establish procedures for
17 the conduct of its business and to elect a vice chair. The
18 committee shall meet at the call of the chair but no less
19 frequently than every 2 months. A majority of the members of
20 the committee constitutes a quorum, and a quorum is necessary
21 for the purpose of voting on any action or recommendation of
22 the committee. All meetings shall be held in Tallahassee,
23 unless otherwise decided by the committee. No more than two
24 meetings held in locations other than Tallahassee may be held
25 for the purpose of taking public testimony regarding the
26 issues set forth in subsection (4).
27 (4) The committee shall address:
28 (a) The issues of privacy and public access as they
29 relate to the collection and dissemination of information
30 contained in court records. With respect to such issues, the
31 committee shall specifically address:
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
405-177-02
1 1. How the collection, storage, retrieval,
2 dissemination, and accessibility of court records through
3 advanced technologies such as remote electronic access,
4 including Internet access, has affected:
5 a. The expectation of privacy to sensitive, personal,
6 or other evidentiary information contained in court records;
7 b. The role and effectiveness of the court and the
8 clerks of the court as custodians of these records;
9 c. The operations of other governmental entities that
10 use information in court records;
11 d. The security and safety of citizens; and
12 e. The interests of business, research, and media
13 industries in these records.
14 2. How best to balance the positive and negative
15 effects of electronic access to court records.
16 3. Whether the courts and participants in the judicial
17 process require or provide excessive and unnecessary
18 information, and if so, the best manner in which to address
19 such issues.
20 4. Whether categories of cases or information such as
21 financial affidavits, names and addresses of children,
22 psychological evaluations, testimony and reports of therapists
23 and counselors, and other evidentiary information found in
24 court records should be made confidential or exempt from
25 public disclosure in part or in totality.
26 5.a. What information is and should be accessible, the
27 circumstances warranting accessibility, and the need for
28 restrictions with respect thereto; and
29 b. Whether levels of accessibility should be
30 established based on the nature of the information and the
31 user of the information, circumstances warranting the
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
405-177-02
1 establishment of levels of accessibility, and the need for
2 restrictions with respect thereto.
3 6. How to ensure the privacy, security, and full
4 participation of children and families within the judicial
5 system without undermining the fairness of the judicial
6 process.
7 7. What changes, if any, in law, rule, policy, or
8 practice related to the collection, filing, and dissemination
9 of information contained in court records are necessary to
10 facilitate information sharing, admissibility of evidence, and
11 public access to court records, yet at the same time balance
12 security and privacy needs.
13 8.a. What impediments exist with regard to preventing
14 the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of confidential or
15 exempt information in current and future court records;
16 b. Who should be responsible for ensuring that such
17 information is kept exempt from public disclosure; and
18 c. What, if any, penalties should be in place if such
19 disclosure occurs.
20 (b) The issues of privacy and public access as they
21 relate to the collection and dissemination of information
22 contained in all official records. With respect to such
23 issues, the committee shall specifically address:
24 1. How the storage, retrieval, dissemination, and
25 accessibility of official records through advanced
26 technologies such as remote electronic access, including
27 Internet access, has affected:
28 a. The expectation of privacy with respect to
29 sensitive or personal information contained in official
30 records;
31 b. The role and effectiveness of the county recorder;
5
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
405-177-02
1 c. The operations of other governmental entities who
2 use official records;
3 d. The security and safety of citizens; and
4 e. The interests of business, research, and media
5 industries.
6 2. How best to balance the positive and negative
7 effects of access to official records, regardless of the
8 medium.
9 3. The question of whether confidential or exempt
10 information contained in official records should continue to
11 be disclosed to the public in copies of records disclosed at
12 the county recorder's office or obtained through electronic
13 means.
14 4.a. Who should be responsible for ensuring that
15 confidential or exempt information is identified, kept out of
16 official records, and kept exempt from public disclosure; and
17 b. What changes to the law, practices, and procedures
18 need to occur in order to most effectively and efficiently
19 keep confidential or exempt information out of official
20 records.
21 5. How the public and the legal and business
22 communities can be educated with regard to limiting the types
23 of personal information included in official records.
24 6. How to promote greater communication between all
25 branches of government regarding the collection and disclosure
26 of sensitive personal information.
27 7. What procedural safeguards, enforcement practices,
28 and underlying policies used by public records custodians
29 currently exist or could be implemented to protect the
30 disclosure of confidential or exempt information.
31
6
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
405-177-02
1 8. The question of whether sanctions should be created
2 with regard to what is placed in official records as well as
3 for disclosing confidential or exempt information.
4 (5) Committee members serving in an advisory capacity
5 shall provide information to the committee, as requested.
6 Advisory members are, in part, responsible for reporting to
7 the committee any recommendations regarding the following
8 issues:
9 (a) What information contained in agency records
10 pertaining to minors and family issues of a sensitive nature
11 should be exempt from public disclosure, and what is the best
12 method of protecting against the unlawful dissemination of
13 such information when these records are used for court
14 proceedings.
15 (b) What changes to agency policies and procedures are
16 necessary in order to ensure that sensitive personal
17 information relating to minors and family issues of a
18 sensitive nature is most effectively and efficiently
19 disseminated to the judiciary when such information is
20 pertinent to court proceedings.
21 (6) The committee, as it deems appropriate, may
22 examine and recommend changes to laws, rules, and policies
23 governing all public records.
24 (7) The committee shall review, at a minimum,
25 documents compiled by the legislative, executive, and judicial
26 branches; the clerks of court; and the Florida Bar, relating
27 to the topics of privacy, technology, and public records,
28 including official records and court records.
29 (8) The committee shall submit a final report to the
30 Governor, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the
31 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
7
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
405-177-02
1 Representatives, by January 1, 2003. The final report shall
2 include specific recommendations regarding the privacy and
3 public records issues identified in this act. To the extent
4 possible, the report shall include proposed legislation or
5 rule change recommendations. The report shall identify any
6 necessary support services, additional training, and fiscal
7 impact resulting from its recommendations.
8 (9) Members of the committee shall serve without
9 compensation but are entitled to be reimbursed for per diem
10 and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061. Per diem travel
11 and expenses for committee members who are employees of the
12 state shall be provided from the budgets of the employing
13 agencies.
14 (10) The committee is terminated June 30, 2003.
15 Section 2. Section 28.2221, Florida Statutes, is
16 amended to read:
17 28.2221 Electronic access to official records.--
18 (1) The Legislature finds that a proper and legitimate
19 state purpose is served by providing the public with access to
20 public records and information on the Internet. The
21 Legislature further finds that a proper and legitimate state
22 purpose is also served by preventing disclosure of records and
23 information made exempt by law from public disclosure and
24 hereby determines that the provisions of this section fulfill
25 and further an important state interest.
26 (2) No later than January 1, 2002, the county recorder
27 in each county shall provide a current index of documents
28 recorded in the official records of the county for the period
29 beginning no later than January 1, 1990, on a publicly
30 available Internet website which shall also contain a document
31 requisition point for obtaining images or copies of the
8
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
405-177-02
1 documents reflected in the index and which has the capability
2 of electronically providing the index data to a central
3 statewide search site. The index shall be limited to grantor
4 and grantee names, party names, date, book and page number,
5 comments, and type of record.
6 (3) Each county recorder shall use appropriate
7 Internet security measures to ensure that no person has the
8 ability to alter or to modify records placed on the Internet
9 by the county recorder any public record.
10 (4) Unless otherwise provided by law, no information
11 retrieved electronically pursuant to this section shall be
12 admissible in court as an authenticated document.
13 (5) No county recorder may place an image or copy of a
14 public record, including an official record, on a publicly
15 available Internet website for general public display if that
16 image or copy is of a military discharge; death certificate;
17 or a court file, record, or paper relating to matters or cases
18 governed by the Florida Rules of Family Law, the Florida Rules
19 of Juvenile Procedure, or the Florida Probate Rules. Any such
20 records made available by the county recorder on a publicly
21 available Internet website for general public display prior to
22 the effective date of this act must be removed if the affected
23 party identifies the document and requests that it be removed.
24 Any affected person may petition the circuit court for an
25 order directing compliance with this provision. By January 1,
26 2006, each county recorder or clerk of court shall provide for
27 electronic retrieval, at a minimum, of images of documents
28 referenced as the index required to be maintained on the
29 county's official records website by this section.
30 Section 3. There is hereby appropriated from the
31 General Revenue Fund to the Executive Office of the Governor
9
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2002 CS/HB 1679
405-177-02
1 the sum of $25,000 for the purpose of reimbursement for per
2 diem and travel expenses as authorized by this act.
3 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
4 law.
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
10
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.