Florida Senate - 2005                      COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
    Bill No. SB 2178
                        Barcode 171048
                            CHAMBER ACTION
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       04/01/2005 05:42 PM         .                    
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11  The Committee on Ethics and Elections (Posey) recommended the
12  following amendment:
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14         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 
15         Delete everything after the enacting clause
16  
17  and insert:  
18         Section 1.  Section 97.0585, Florida Statutes, is
19  amended to read:
20         97.0585  Public-records exemption; information
21  regarding voters and voter Declinations to register; place of
22  registration and registration information; confidentiality.--
23         (1)  The following information concerning voters and
24  voter registration is confidential and exempt from s.
25  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and
26  may be used only for purposes of voter registration:
27         (a)(1)  All declinations to register to vote made
28  pursuant to ss. 97.057 and 97.058 are confidential and exempt
29  from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of
30  the State Constitution and may be used only for voter
31  registration purposes.
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Florida Senate - 2005 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 2178 Barcode 171048 1 (b)(2) Information relating to the place where a 2 person registered to vote or where a person updated a voter 3 registration. 4 (c) The social security number and the telephone 5 number of a voter registration applicant or a voter. 6 (2) The signature of a voter registration applicant or 7 a voter is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 8 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution; and 9 a voter's signature, social security number, and telephone 10 number may not be copied and is are exempt for that purpose 11 from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 12 the State Constitution. 13 Section 2. Section 97.0585, Florida Statutes, as 14 amended by this act, is subject to the Open Government Sunset 15 Review Act of 1995 in accordance with section 119.15, Florida 16 Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2010, unless 17 reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 18 Legislature. 19 Section 3. (1) The Legislature recognizes that the 20 Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires the implementation of a 21 new single, uniform, centralized, interactive, and 22 computerized statewide voter registration system by January 1, 23 2006. The Florida Voter Registration System (FVRS) will 24 replace the existing state's voter registration system. The 25 FVRS will interface with and integrate voter registration 26 information and records from the offices of the 67 county 27 supervisors of elections. The FVRS will contain the name and 28 other registration information of every legally registered 29 voter in the state. The FVRS will be the official list of 30 registered voters in the state and will be used as the 31 registration system for federal and state elections. Any such 2 4:27 PM 03/25/05 s2178d-ee24-t2b
Florida Senate - 2005 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 2178 Barcode 171048 1 system must keep information concerning a person's decision 2 not to register or information concerning the place where a 3 person registers to vote confidential in accordance with the 4 National Voter Registration Act. Therefore, the Legislature 5 finds it necessary to continue the existing public-records 6 exemption to keep such information confidential and exempt in 7 order to conform with the requirements of the National Voter 8 Registration Act. Additionally, because persons may register 9 to vote or update voter registration information at designated 10 voter registration agencies that may include any office that 11 provides public assistance, this exemption is also necessary 12 to protect from disclosure personal information concerning 13 those persons who apply for or receive public assistance at 14 these offices. 15 (2) The Legislature also finds it necessary to 16 continue and expand the existing exemption from public-records 17 access to social security numbers and telephone numbers of 18 voters and voter registration applicants. The Legislature 19 finds that access to such information can lead to fraud, 20 personal identity theft, and invasion of privacy. The Florida 21 Voter Statewide Voter Registration System, once implemented 22 and maintained, will constitute one of the most comprehensive 23 and up-to-date databases of persons in this state. The 24 Legislature finds it not only necessary to continue to exempt 25 from copying social security numbers and telephone numbers of 26 those persons in the Florida Voter Registration System but 27 also to exempt those numbers from inspection. Even the 28 memorization of a single person's social security number or 29 telephone number could result in economic and personal harm to 30 that individual whose numbers may be used to perpetuate fraud 31 or may be coupled with other readily available public 3 4:27 PM 03/25/05 s2178d-ee24-t2b
Florida Senate - 2005 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 2178 Barcode 171048 1 information to commit personal identity theft or to gain 2 access to records, such as financial, educational, or medical 3 records. The Legislature also finds it necessary to continue 4 to keep the social security numbers and telephone numbers in 5 the Florida Voter Registration System confidential and exempt 6 in order to encourage voter registration and remove 7 disincentives to registering to vote. 8 (3) The Legislature also finds it necessary to 9 continue and to expand the existing exemption that precludes 10 the copying of a voter's signature. Currently, a voter's 11 signature is exempt from copying but only if contained on a 12 voter registration application or precinct register. Two 13 advisory opinions from the Attorney General issued in 2001 14 stated that a voter's signature on an absentee ballot 15 certificate is not part of the voter registration record and 16 therefore not exempt from copying. Because express exemption 17 from copying did not exist for absentee ballot certificates, 18 any person or entity may request and obtain copies of all 19 signatures of voters who voted absentee in any particular 20 election. Consequently, any person or entity may also request 21 and obtain copies of all signatures of voters who signed 22 provisional ballot envelopes, early voting certificates, or 23 any other voting-related documents other than a voter 24 registration application or a precinct register. The 25 Legislature intends that a voter's signature be protected in 26 order to prevent fraud, identity theft, or invasion of privacy 27 in all instances. Nonetheless, the Legislature finds that any 28 exemption for such signatures must be balanced against the 29 continuing administrative need to allow for public inspection 30 of the signatures of voters or voter registration applicants 31 for purposes of voter verification, matching, or authenticity 4 4:27 PM 03/25/05 s2178d-ee24-t2b
Florida Senate - 2005 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 2178 Barcode 171048 1 as may occur in a voter's challenge or canvassing of an 2 absentee ballot. Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is a 3 public necessity to continue the existing exemption solely 4 from copying of voters' signatures and to expand that 5 exemption to apply to voters' signatures as may also appear on 6 absentee ballot certificate envelopes, provisional ballot 7 envelopes, early-voting certificates, or any other 8 voting-related document that must be executed for purposes of 9 voting or voter registration. 10 Section 4. This act shall take effect on the same date 11 that Senate Bill 2176 or similar legislation takes effect, if 12 such legislation is enacted in the same legislative session or 13 an extension thereof and becomes law. 14 15 16 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T =============== 17 And the title is amended as follows: 18 On page 1, lines 8-13, delete those lines 19 20 and insert: 21 updated a registration, and a voter's 22 signature, social security number, and 23 telephone number; 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 5 4:27 PM 03/25/05 s2178d-ee24-t2b