Senate Bill sb1664

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1664

    By Senator Wise





    5-1479-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         119.07, F.S.; providing exemptions from

  4         public-records requirements for medical

  5         information relating to an individual's health

  6         held by local governmental entities or their

  7         service providers for purposes of determining

  8         eligibility for paratransit services under

  9         Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act

10         or the Transportation Disadvantaged Program as

11         provided in part I of ch. 427, F.S.; providing

12         conditions upon which such information may be

13         disclosed; providing for retroactive

14         application of the exemption; providing for

15         future review and repeal; providing a finding

16         of public necessity; providing an effective

17         date.

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

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21         Section 1.  Paragraph (gg) is added to subsection (3)

22  of section 119.07, Florida Statutes, to read:

23         119.07  Inspection, examination, and duplication of

24  records; exemptions.--

25         (3)

26         (gg)  All personal identifying information that is

27  contained in records relating to an individual's health held

28  by local governmental entities or their service providers for

29  the purpose of determining eligibility for paratransit

30  services under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act

31  or for determining eligibility for the Transportation

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1664
    5-1479-03




  1  Disadvantaged Program as provided in part I of chapter 427 is

  2  confidential and exempt from the provisions of subsection (1)

  3  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, except as

  4  otherwise provided in this paragraph. This exemption applies

  5  to personal identifying information contained in such records

  6  held by local governmental entities or their service providers

  7  before, on, or after the effective date of this exemption.

  8  Information made confidential and exempt by this paragraph may

  9  be disclosed:

10         1.  With the express written consent of the individual

11  or the individual's legally authorized representative;

12         2.  In a medical emergency, but only to the extent

13  necessary to protect the health or life of the individual;

14         3.  By order of a court upon a showing of good cause;

15  or

16         4.  For purposes of determining eligibility for

17  paratransit services, if the individual or the individual's

18  representative has filed an appeal or petition before an

19  administrative body of a local government or a court.

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21  This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review

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

23  repealed on October 2, 2008, unless reviewed and saved from

24  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

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

26  necessity that information made confidential and exempt by

27  this act be held confidential and exempt in order to protect

28  health-related information that is of a sensitive personal

29  nature concerning individuals. Matters of personal health are

30  traditionally private and confidential concerns between the

31  patient and the health care provider. The private and

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1664
    5-1479-03




  1  confidential nature of personal health matters pervades both

  2  the public and private health care sectors. For these reasons,

  3  the individual's expectation of and right to privacy in all

  4  matters relating to his or her personal health and eligibility

  5  for paratransit services or the Transportation Disadvantaged

  6  Program provided by local government or its service providers

  7  necessitates this exemption.

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

  9  law.

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12                          SENATE SUMMARY

13    Provides exemptions from public-records requirements for
      personal information held by a local governmental entity
14    or a service provider which is used to determine a
      person's eligibility for paratransit services or services
15    under the Transportation Disadvantaged Program. Provides
      conditions upon which such information may be disclosed.
16    Provides for future legislative review and repeal.
      Provides a finding of public necessity.
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