| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to a public records exemption; creating s. |
| 3 | 324.242, F.S.; creating a public records exemption for |
| 4 | certain information regarding personal injury protection |
| 5 | and property damage liability insurance policies held by |
| 6 | the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; |
| 7 | authorizing conditional release of confidential and exempt |
| 8 | information to specified persons; providing for |
| 9 | retroactive application of the exemption; providing for |
| 10 | future review and repeal of the exemption; providing a |
| 11 | statement of public necessity; providing a contingent |
| 12 | effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Section 324.242, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 17 | to read: |
| 18 | 324.242 Personal injury protection and property damage |
| 19 | liability insurance policies; public records exemption.-- |
| 20 | (1) The following information regarding personal injury |
| 21 | protection and property damage liability insurance policies held |
| 22 | by the department is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) |
| 23 | and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution: |
| 24 | (a) Personal identifying information of an insured or |
| 25 | former insured; |
| 26 | (b) An insurance policy number; and |
| 27 | (c) Information that identifies the insurer. |
| 28 | (2) Upon receipt of a written request and a copy of a |
| 29 | crash report as required under s. 316.065, s. 316.066, or s. |
| 30 | 316.068, the department shall release the name of the insurer |
| 31 | and the policy number for a policy covering a vehicle involved |
| 32 | in a motor vehicle accident to: |
| 33 | (a) Any person involved in such accident; |
| 34 | (b) The attorney of any person involved in such accident; |
| 35 | or |
| 36 | (c) A representative of the insurer of any person involved |
| 37 | in such accident. |
| 38 | (3) This exemption applies to personal identifying |
| 39 | information of an insured or former insured, insurance policy |
| 40 | numbers, and information that identifies an insurer held by the |
| 41 | department before, on, or after the effective date of this |
| 42 | section. |
| 43 | (4) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset |
| 44 | Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed |
| 45 | on October 2, 2012, unless reviewed and saved from repeal |
| 46 | through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 47 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 48 | necessity to make confidential and exempt from public records |
| 49 | requirements certain information regarding personal injury |
| 50 | protection and property damage liability insurance policies held |
| 51 | by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. In order |
| 52 | to effectively and efficiently administer and enforce personal |
| 53 | injury protection and property damage liability insurance |
| 54 | coverage requirements, the Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 55 | necessity to protect the release of personal identifying |
| 56 | information of an insured or former insured, the insurance |
| 57 | policy number of an insured, and information identifying an |
| 58 | insurer. In order to ensure public safety on the roads and |
| 59 | highways of this state, it is imperative that automobile drivers |
| 60 | be properly insured for damage to personal and real property, as |
| 61 | well as personal injury. As such, insurers are required to |
| 62 | report to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles |
| 63 | and verify the issuance of a new policy to a driver, as well as |
| 64 | the renewal, nonrenewal, or cancellation of that policy. When |
| 65 | this information is compiled it could result in a customer list |
| 66 | of every insurer in the state. Customer lists contain detailed |
| 67 | client and policy information that is traditionally considered |
| 68 | proprietary business information because such lists could be |
| 69 | used by competitors to solicit customers. Consequently, the |
| 70 | release of that information could injure the insurer in the |
| 71 | marketplace by diminishing the advantage the insurer maintains |
| 72 | over those who do not possess such information. Therefore, the |
| 73 | Legislature finds that it is a public necessity to prevent the |
| 74 | release of such information held by the Department of Highway |
| 75 | Safety and Motor Vehicles and thereby makes such information |
| 76 | confidential and exempt from the requirements of s. 119.07(1), |
| 77 | Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State |
| 78 | Constitution. |
| 79 | Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date |
| 80 | that HB 13C or similar legislation takes effect, if such |
| 81 | legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an |
| 82 | extension thereof and becomes law. |