| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public records; amending s. 119.071, |
| 3 | F.S.; exempting from public records requirements biometric |
| 4 | identification information held by an agency before, on, |
| 5 | or after the effective date of the exemption; providing a |
| 6 | definition; providing for future legislative review and |
| 7 | repeal; providing a finding of public necessity; providing |
| 8 | a contingent effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Paragraph (g) is added to subsection (5) of |
| 13 | section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 14 | 119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of |
| 15 | public records.-- |
| 16 | (5) OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION.-- |
| 17 | (g)1. Biometric identification information held by an |
| 18 | agency before, on, or after the effective date of this exemption |
| 19 | is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State |
| 20 | Constitution. As used in this paragraph, the term "biometric |
| 21 | identification information" means: |
| 22 | a. Any record of friction ridge detail; |
| 23 | b. Fingerprints; |
| 24 | c. Palm prints; and |
| 25 | d. Footprints. |
| 26 | 2. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset |
| 27 | Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed |
| 28 | on October 2, 2011, unless reviewed and saved from repeal |
| 29 | through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 30 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 31 | necessity that biometric identification information held by an |
| 32 | agency before, on, or after the effective date of this exemption |
| 33 | be made exempt from public records requirements. Biometric |
| 34 | identification information is used to verify the identity of |
| 35 | persons and by its very nature involves matters uniquely related |
| 36 | to individual persons. The use of multiple methods of biometric |
| 37 | identification is a growing technology in detecting and solving |
| 38 | crime, in preventing identity theft, and in providing enhanced |
| 39 | levels of security in agency and other operations. Given |
| 40 | existing technological capabilities for duplicating, enhancing, |
| 41 | modifying, and transferring records, the availability of |
| 42 | biometric identification information creates the opportunity for |
| 43 | improper, illegal, or otherwise harmful use of such information. |
| 44 | At the same time, use of biometric identification information by |
| 45 | agencies is a useful and increasingly valuable tool. Thus, the |
| 46 | Legislature finds that it is a public necessity to protect |
| 47 | biometric identification information held by an agency before, |
| 48 | on, or after the effective date of this act. |
| 49 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006, if |
| 50 | House Bill 151, or similar legislation relating to fingerprint |
| 51 | identification information held by an agency, is adopted in the |
| 52 | same legislative session or an extension thereof and becomes |
| 53 | law. |