HB 1591

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public records; amending s. 97.0585,
3	F.S.; revising an exemption from the public-records law
4	which is provided for information concerning persons who
5	decline to register to vote, information relating to the
6	place where a person registered to vote or updated a
7	registration, and a voter's signature and social security
8	number; creating exemptions from disclosure for a voter's
9	driver's license number and Florida identification number;
10	deleting an exemption from disclosure provided for the
11	voter's telephone number; providing certain exceptions;
12	providing for retroactive application of the exemption;
13	amending s. 741.465, F.S.; expanding a public-records
14	exemption for the names, addresses, and telephone numbers
15	of participants in the Address Confidentiality Program for
16	Victims of Domestic Violence contained in certain voter
17	records held by the supervisor of elections and the
18	Department of State; providing for future legislative
19	review and repeal under the Open Government Sunset Review
20	Act; providing a finding of public necessity; providing a
21	contingent effective date.
22
23	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25	Section 1.  Section 97.0585, Florida Statutes, is amended
26	to read:
27	97.0585  Public-records exemption; information regarding
28	voters and voter registration Declinations to register; place of
29	registration and registration information; confidentiality.--
30	(1)  The following information concerning voters and voter
31	registration held by an agency as defined in s. 119.011 is
32	confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I
33	of the State Constitution and may be used only for purposes of
34	voter registration:
35	(a)  All declinations to register to vote made pursuant to
36	ss. 97.057 and 97.058 are confidential and exempt from the
37	provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
38	Constitution and may be used only for voter registration
39	purposes.
40	(b)(2)  Information relating to the place where a person
41	registered to vote or where a person updated a voter
42	registration.
43	(c)  The social security number, driver's license number,
44	and Florida identification number of a voter registration
45	applicant or voter.
46	(2)  The signature of a voter registration applicant or a
47	voter is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s.
48	119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution; and a
49	voter's signature, social security number, and telephone number
50	may not be copied and is are exempt for that purpose from the
51	provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
52	Constitution.
53	(3)  This section applies to information held by an agency
54	before, on, or after the effective date of this exemption.
55	Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 741.465, Florida
56	Statutes, is amended to read:
57	741.465  Public records exemption for the Address
58	Confidentiality Program for Victims of Domestic Violence.--
59	(2)  The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of
60	participants in the Address Confidentiality Program for Victims
61	of Domestic Violence contained in voter registration and voting
62	records held by the supervisor of elections and the Department
63	of State are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of
64	the State Constitution, except the information may be disclosed
65	under the following circumstances: to a law enforcement agency
66	for purposes of assisting in the execution of an arrest warrant
67	or, if directed by a court order, to a person identified in the
68	order. This exemption applies to information made exempt by this
69	subsection before, on, or after the effective date of the
70	exemption.
71	Section 3.  Sections 97.0585 and 741.465, Florida Statutes,
72	as amended by this act, are subject to the Open Government
73	Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with section 119.15,
74	Florida Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2010,
75	unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the
76	Legislature.
77	Section 4.  (1)  The Legislature recognizes that the Help
78	America Vote Act of 2002 requires the implementation of a new
79	single, uniform, centralized, interactive, and computerized
80	statewide voter registration system by January 1, 2006. The
81	Florida Voter Registration System (FVRS) will replace the
82	existing state's voter registration system. The FVRS will
83	interface with and integrate voter registration information and
84	records from the offices of the 67 county supervisors of
85	elections. The FVRS will contain the name and other registration
86	information of every legally registered voter in the state. The
87	FVRS will be the official list of registered voters in the state
88	and will be used as the registration system for federal and
89	state elections. Any such system must keep information
90	concerning a person's decision not to register or information
91	concerning the place where a person registers to vote
92	confidential in accordance with the National Voter Registration
93	Act. Therefore, the Legislature finds it necessary to continue
94	the existing public-records exemption to keep such information
95	confidential and exempt in order to conform with the
96	requirements of the National Voter Registration Act.
97	Additionally, because persons may register to vote or update
98	voter registration information at designated voter registration
99	agencies that may include any office that provides public
100	assistance, this exemption is also necessary to protect from
101	disclosure personal information concerning those persons who
102	apply for or receive public assistance at these offices.
103	(2)  The Legislature also finds it necessary to broaden the
104	existing exemption from public-records access to social security
105	numbers of voters and voter registration applicants to include
106	driver's license numbers and Florida identification numbers. The
107	Legislature finds that access to such information can lead to
108	fraud, personal identity theft, and invasion of privacy. The
109	Florida Voter Statewide Voter Registration System, once
110	implemented and maintained, will constitute one of the most
111	comprehensive and up-to-date databases of persons in this state.
112	The Legislature finds it not only necessary to exempt from
113	copying social security numbers, driver's license numbers, and
114	Florida identification numbers of those persons in the Florida
115	Voter Registration System but also to exempt those numbers from
116	inspection. Even the memorization of a single person's social
117	security number, driver's license number, or Florida
118	identification number could result in economic and personal harm
119	to that individual whose numbers may be used to perpetrate fraud
120	or may be coupled with other readily available public
121	information to commit personal identity theft or to gain access
122	to records, such as financial, educational, or medical records.
123	The Legislature also finds it necessary to keep the social
124	security numbers, driver's license numbers, and Florida
125	identification numbers in the Florida Voter Registration System
126	confidential and exempt in order to encourage voter registration
127	and remove disincentives to registering to vote.
128	(3)  The Legislature also finds it necessary to continue
129	and to expand the existing exemption that precludes the copying
130	of a voter's signature. Currently, a voter's signature is exempt
131	from copying but only if contained on a voter registration
132	application or precinct register. Two advisory opinions from the
133	Attorney General issued in 2001 stated that a voter's signature
134	on an absentee ballot certificate is not part of the voter
135	registration record and therefore not exempt from copying.
136	Because express exemption from copying did not exist for
137	absentee ballot certificates, any person or entity may request
138	and obtain copies of all signatures of voters who voted absentee
139	in any particular election. Consequently, any person or entity
140	may also request and obtain copies of all signatures of voters
141	who signed provisional ballot envelopes, early voting
142	certificates, or any other voting-related documents other than a
143	voter registration application or a precinct register. The
144	Legislature intends that a voter's signature be protected in
145	order to prevent fraud, identity theft, or invasion of privacy
146	in all instances. Nonetheless, the Legislature finds that any
147	exemption for such signatures must be balanced against the
148	continuing administrative need to allow for public inspection of
149	the signatures of voters or voter registration applicants for
150	purposes of voter verification, matching, or authenticity as may
151	occur in a voter's challenge or canvassing of an absentee
152	ballot. Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is a public
153	necessity to continue the existing exemption solely from copying
154	of voters' signatures and to expand that exemption to apply to
155	voters' signatures as may also appear on absentee ballot
156	certificate envelopes, provisional ballot envelopes, early-
157	voting certificates, or any other voting-related document that
158	must be executed for purposes of voting or voter registration.
159	(4)  The Legislature also finds that it is a public
160	necessity that the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of
161	participants in the Address Confidentiality Program for Victims
162	of Domestic Violence which are contained in voter registration
163	and voting records held by the supervisor of elections and the
164	Department of State be made exempt from public-records
165	requirements. Participants in the program have demonstrated to
166	the Office of the Attorney General that there exists a risk to
167	their physical safety and security. Nonetheless, program
168	participants must be afforded the ability to participate in
169	society and cast a vote in elections. However, the supervisor of
170	elections and the Department of State must have a verifiable
171	address for a program participant in order to place that
172	participant in the proper voting district and to maintain
173	accurate records for compliance with state and federal
174	requirements. The public-records exemption for the participant's
175	name is a public necessity because access to such name narrows
176	the location of that participant to his or her voting area. In
177	addition, access to the participant's address and telephone
178	number provides specific location and contact information for
179	the participant. Therefore, access to the participant's name,
180	address, and telephone number defeats the sole purpose of the
181	Address Confidentiality Program for Victims of Domestic
182	Violence, which is to provide safety and security for each
183	participant.
184	Section 5.  This act shall take effect on the same date
185	that Senate Bill 2176 or similar legislation takes effect, if
186	such legislation is enacted in the same legislative session or
187	an extension thereof and becomes law.

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