Senate Bill sb1362c1

    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1362

    By the Committee on Home Defense, Public Security, and Ports;
    and Senator Bennett




    318-1955-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         119.07, F.S.; creating an exemption from

  4         public-records requirements to include building

  5         plans, blueprints, schematic drawings, and

  6         diagrams held by a public agency and relating

  7         to specified facilities and structures;

  8         providing exceptions; providing for legislative

  9         review and repeal; providing a statement of

10         public necessity; providing an effective date.

11  

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

13  

14         Section 1.  Present paragraph (ff) of subsection (3) of

15  section 119.07, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph

16  (gg), and a new paragraph (ff) is added to that subsection, to

17  read:

18         119.07  Inspection, examination, and duplication of

19  records; exemptions.--

20         (3)

21         (ff)  Building plans, blueprints, schematic drawings,

22  and diagrams, including draft, preliminary, and final formats,

23  which depict the internal or external layout or structural

24  elements of a privately owned building, arena, stadium, water

25  treatment facility, entertainment/resort complex as defined in

26  s. 561.01, tourist attraction, or industrial complex, which

27  documents are held by an agency as defined in s. 119.011, are

28  exempt from the provisions of subsection (1) and s. 24(a),

29  Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption applies to

30  any such documents held either permanently or temporarily by

31  an agency before or after the effective date of this act.

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






    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1362
    318-1955-03




 1  Information made exempt by this paragraph may be disclosed to

 2  another governmental entity if disclosure is necessary for the

 3  receiving entity to perform its duties and responsibilities;

 4  to the owner or owners of the structure in question; or upon a

 5  showing of good cause before a court of competent

 6  jurisdiction. Any entity or person that is not the owner or

 7  owners of the structure in question receiving such information

 8  shall maintain the exempt status of the information. This

 9  paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act

10  of 1995, in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand

11  repealed on October 2, 2008, unless reviewed and reenacted by

12  the Legislature.

13         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that the

14  public-records exemption created by this act is a public

15  necessity in order to ensure the safety of privately-owned

16  arenas, stadiums, water treatment facilities,

17  entertainment/resort complexes, tourist attractions, and

18  industrial complexes and to ensure public safety. Such exempt

19  information is a vital component of public safety, and, if it

20  were made publicly available, the ability of persons who

21  desire to harm individuals located in or using those

22  structures, the building plans, blueprints, schematic

23  drawings, and diagrams that are made exempt by this act, would

24  be increased. In addition, terrorists would have easy access

25  to the exempt information and use the information to inflict

26  harm on the public. Although skill would be required to use

27  such information to further an act of terrorism, ample

28  evidence exists of the capabilities of terrorists to conduct

29  complicated acts of terrorism. The attack on the World Trade

30  Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, as well as the

31  intentional spread of anthrax in this country and state,

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    Florida Senate - 2003                           CS for SB 1362
    318-1955-03




 1  provide evidence that such capabilities exist. These events

 2  also show the crippling effect that terrorist acts can have,

 3  not only on the lives of persons in a community affected by

 4  terrorism but also on the economy of the community, the state,

 5  and the nation. Consequently, the Legislature finds that the

 6  public-records exemption created by this act is a public

 7  necessity.

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

 9  law.

10  

11          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
12                         Senate Bill 1362

13                                 

14  Provide a public records exemption for building plans,
    blueprints, schematic drawings, and diagrams, including draft,
15  preliminary, and final formats which depict the internal or
    external layout or structural elements of a privately owned
16  building, arena, stadium, water treatment facility,
    entertainment/resort complex, tourist attraction or industrial
17  complex which documents held either permanently or temporarily
    by an agency before or after the effective date of the bill.
18  
    Provides exceptions to the public records exemption to allow
19  the disclosure of exempt information to:  another governmental
    entity if disclosure is necessary for the receiving entity to
20  perform its duties and responsibilities; the owners of the
    structure in question; or upon a showing of good cause before
21  a court of competent jurisdiction.

22  Provides that any entity or person that is not the owner or
    owners of a structure in question receiving such information
23  shall maintain the exempt status of the information.

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