| 1 | Representatives Detert, Benson, and Brummer offered the |
| 2 | following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 5 | On page 6, line 21, |
| 6 | remove: all of said line |
| 7 |
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| 8 | and insert: |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Section 3. Paragraph (x) of subsection (3) of section |
| 11 | 119.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 12 | 119.07 Inspection, examination, and duplication of |
| 13 | records; exemptions.-- |
| 14 | (3) |
| 15 | (x)1. The social security numbers of all current and |
| 16 | former agency employees which numbers are contained in agency |
| 17 | employment records are exempt from subsection (1) and exempt |
| 18 | from s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. As used in this |
| 19 | paragraph, the term "agency" means an agency as defined in s. |
| 20 | 119.011. |
| 21 | 2. An agency that is the custodian of a social security |
| 22 | number specified in subparagraph 1. and that is not the |
| 23 | employing agency shall maintain the exempt status of the social |
| 24 | security number only if the employee or the employing agency of |
| 25 | the employee submits a written request for confidentiality to |
| 26 | the custodial agency. However, upon a request by a commercial |
| 27 | entity as provided in s. 119.0721 the custodial agency shall |
| 28 | release the last four digits of the exempt social security |
| 29 | number, except that a social security number provided in a lien |
| 30 | filed with the Department of State shall be released in its |
| 31 | entirety. This subparagraph is subject to the Open Government |
| 32 | Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall |
| 33 | stand repealed on October 2, 2009, unless reviewed and saved |
| 34 | from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 35 | Section 4. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 36 | necessity that social security numbers of agency employees held |
| 37 | by an agency be made exempt from public disclosure. The |
| 38 | Legislature also finds that it is no longer a necessity to allow |
| 39 | commercial entities access to complete social security numbers |
| 40 | of agency employees if the employee or the employing agency of |
| 41 | that employee has submitted a written request for |
| 42 | confidentiality of his or her social security number. Commercial |
| 43 | entities have cited a number of reasons for needing access to |
| 44 | the complete social security numbers of agency employees when |
| 45 | held by government agencies. The prevailing needs are for |
| 46 | commercial entity verification of the accuracy of personal |
| 47 | information received by such entity and for commercial entity |
| 48 | use in matching, verifying, or retrieving information. A |
| 49 | commercial entity can continue to verify the accuracy of |
| 50 | personal information received using only the last four digits of |
| 51 | social security numbers of agency employees. A commercial entity |
| 52 | can also continue matching, verifying, or retrieving information |
| 53 | utilizing the last four digits of such numbers. Additionally, |
| 54 | commercial entities are still provided access to complete social |
| 55 | security numbers of agency employees provided in a lien filed |
| 56 | with the Department of State. The social security number is not |
| 57 | the only source of information a business can utilize for such |
| 58 | purposes. Commercial entities can also use an employee's date of |
| 59 | birth or maiden name for matching, verifying, or retrieving |
| 60 | information regarding an individual. As such, a commercial |
| 61 | entity's performance will not be hampered if access to social |
| 62 | security numbers is limited to the last four digits of such |
| 63 | employee's social security number. Further, social security |
| 64 | numbers are of a sensitive personal nature and are often the |
| 65 | link to an individual's personal, financial, medical, or |
| 66 | familial records. It is the only nationwide, unique numeric form |
| 67 | of identification in existence in the United States. Commercial |
| 68 | entity access to such numbers in their entirety could lead to |
| 69 | misuse of those numbers. Such misuse could lead to increased |
| 70 | opportunities of fraud and identity theft. As such, the |
| 71 | Legislature finds that the harm from disclosing to commercial |
| 72 | entities complete social security numbers of agency employees |
| 73 | who have requested confidentiality of such numbers outweighs any |
| 74 | public benefit that can be derived from commercial entity access |
| 75 | to such numbers, as opposed to access that is restricted to the |
| 76 | final four digits of such social security numbers. |
| 77 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |
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| 79 |
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| 80 | ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================= |
| 81 | On page 1, line 14, |
| 82 | remove: all of said line |
| 83 |
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| 84 | and insert: |
| 85 |
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| 86 | a statement of public necessity; amending s. 119.07, F.S.; |
| 87 | providing an exemption from public records requirements |
| 88 | for social security numbers of agency employees upon |
| 89 | written request; providing for an exception to the |
| 90 | exemption; providing for future review and repeal; |
| 91 | providing a statement of public necessity; providing an |