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The Committee on Community Affairs (Hill) recommended the

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following amendment:

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     Senate Amendment

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     Delete line(s) 56 through 71

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and insert:

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     Section 4. The Legislature finds that it is a public

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necessity that personal identifying information of an applicant

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for or recipient of paratransit services be made confidential

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and exempt from public-records requirements. Paratransit

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services include transportation services for persons who,

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because of physical or mental disability, income status, or age,

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are unable to transport themselves and are, therefore, dependent

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upon others to obtain access to health care, employment,

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education, shopping, social activities, or other life-sustaining

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activities. Paratransit services also include transportation

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services for children who are handicapped, such as the

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developmentally disabled, and children who are at high-risk or

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at-risk, such as children who are victims of child abuse or

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neglect. As such, information provided to an agency would be

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personal, sensitive information related to a person's physical

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or mental health or income status. Matters of personal health

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are traditionally private and confidential concerns between a

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patient and a health care provider. The private and confidential

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nature of personal health matters pervades both the public and

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private health care sectors. For this reason, a person's

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expectation of a right to privacy in all matters regarding his

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or her personal health necessitates the exemption. Furthermore,

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the exemption ensures the protection of the identity of an

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applicant for or recipient of paratransit services. If the

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identifying information was not protected, the administration of

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paratransit services would be significantly impaired because

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applicants would be less inclined to apply for those services

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due to the fact that the identifying information would be made

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available to the public, which would cause an unwarranted

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invasion into the life and privacy of applicants for and

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recipients of the services. Thus, the number of recipients would

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significantly decrease. As a result, the effective

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administration of paratransit services would be impaired.

3/4/2008  2:57:00 PM     578-04437-08