| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public records; creating s. 925.131, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing definitions; providing an exemption from |
| 4 | public records law for investigative or crime scene |
| 5 | photographs or video recordings of a deceased person, a |
| 6 | part of a deceased person, or any part of a person's |
| 7 | extreme, severe, or acute injuries held by a law |
| 8 | enforcement agency; providing exceptions for certain |
| 9 | relatives, injured persons, or their designees; permitting |
| 10 | a local or county governmental entity, or a state or |
| 11 | federal agency, in furtherance of its official duties, to |
| 12 | access such records pursuant to a written request to the |
| 13 | law enforcement agency in possession of such records; |
| 14 | permitting a court, upon a showing of good cause, to |
| 15 | authorize any person to view or copy such a record and |
| 16 | impose any restrictions or stipulations that it deems |
| 17 | appropriate; requiring notice of such a proceeding, a copy |
| 18 | of the petition, and notice of the opportunity to be |
| 19 | present and heard at any hearing to be provided to an |
| 20 | injured person or to specified relatives of a deceased |
| 21 | person; requiring that the viewing, copying, or other |
| 22 | handling of such a record be under the direct supervision |
| 23 | of the custodian of the record or his or her designee; |
| 24 | providing criminal penalties for violations of statute or |
| 25 | court order; exempting specified proceedings; permitting a |
| 26 | judge or other presiding officer in a criminal, civil, or |
| 27 | administrative proceeding upon good cause shown to |
| 28 | restrict or otherwise control the disclosure of such a |
| 29 | record; providing for future legislative review and |
| 30 | repeal; providing a finding of public necessity; providing |
| 31 | for retroactive effect; providing a contingent effective |
| 32 | date. |
| 33 |
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| 34 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 35 |
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| 36 | Section 1. Section 925.131, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 37 | to read: |
| 38 | 925.131 Public records exemption for certain law |
| 39 | enforcement photographs or video recordings.-- |
| 40 | (1) For purposes of this section, the term: |
| 41 | (a) "Law enforcement agency" means any state agency or |
| 42 | unit of government in this state that has authority to employ or |
| 43 | appoint law enforcement officers, as defined in s. 943.10, as |
| 44 | well as any employee, deputy, or agent of such an agency or any |
| 45 | other person who may obtain possession of a restricted |
| 46 | photograph or recording in the course of assisting such an |
| 47 | agency in the performance of its duties. |
| 48 | (b) "Restricted photograph or recording" means an |
| 49 | investigative or crime scene photograph or video recording of a |
| 50 | deceased person, a part of a deceased person, or any part of a |
| 51 | person's extreme, severe, or acute injuries. |
| 52 | (2)(a) A restricted photograph or recording held by a law |
| 53 | enforcement agency is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) |
| 54 | and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, except that: |
| 55 | 1. A restricted photograph or recording of a deceased |
| 56 | person may be viewed and copied by the surviving spouse of that |
| 57 | person, by a surviving parent of that person if there is no |
| 58 | surviving spouse, or by an adult child of the person if there is |
| 59 | no surviving spouse or parent. |
| 60 | 2. A person whose extreme, severe, or acute injury is |
| 61 | depicted in whole or in part in a restricted photograph or |
| 62 | recording may view and copy such restricted photograph or |
| 63 | recording. |
| 64 | (b) Any person authorized to obtain records under this |
| 65 | subsection may designate in writing an agent to obtain such |
| 66 | records on his or her behalf. |
| 67 | (c) Persons authorized under this subsection to obtain |
| 68 | such records shall be provided access thereto unless such |
| 69 | records are otherwise exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), |
| 70 | Art. I of the State Constitution. |
| 71 | (3) A local or county governmental entity, or a state or |
| 72 | federal agency, in furtherance of its official duties and |
| 73 | pursuant to a written request to the law enforcement agency in |
| 74 | possession of such records, may view or copy a restricted |
| 75 | photograph or recording; however, unless otherwise required in |
| 76 | the performance of the entity's or agency's duties, the identity |
| 77 | of the deceased or injured person shall retain its confidential |
| 78 | and exempt status. |
| 79 | (4) Any viewing, copying, or other handling of a |
| 80 | restricted photograph or recording must be under the direct |
| 81 | supervision of the custodian of the record or his or her |
| 82 | designee. The custodian or his or her designee may not permit |
| 83 | any person, other than a person so authorized under subsection |
| 84 | (2) or subsection (3), to view or copy a restricted photograph |
| 85 | or recording unless required to do so by court order under |
| 86 | subsection (5). |
| 87 | (5)(a) A court, upon a showing of good cause, may issue an |
| 88 | order as provided in this subsection authorizing any person to |
| 89 | view or copy a restricted photograph or recording and may |
| 90 | prescribe any restrictions or stipulations that the court deems |
| 91 | appropriate. |
| 92 | (b) In determining good cause for purposes of paragraph |
| 93 | (a), the court shall consider whether such disclosure is |
| 94 | necessary for the public evaluation of governmental performance, |
| 95 | the seriousness of the intrusion into the family's or injured |
| 96 | person's right to privacy, whether such disclosure is the least |
| 97 | intrusive means available to enable public evaluation of |
| 98 | governmental performance, and the availability of similar |
| 99 | information in other public records, regardless of form. |
| 100 | (c) A surviving spouse of a deceased person or an injured |
| 101 | person appearing in a restricted photograph or recording shall |
| 102 | be given reasonable notice of a petition filed with the court |
| 103 | under this subsection to view or copy the restricted photograph |
| 104 | or recording, a copy of such petition, and reasonable notice of |
| 105 | the opportunity to be present and heard at any hearing on the |
| 106 | matter. If there is no surviving spouse, then such notice must |
| 107 | be given to the parents of the deceased, and if the deceased has |
| 108 | no living parent, then to the adult children of the deceased. |
| 109 | (6)(a) Any custodian or a designee of a custodian of a |
| 110 | restricted photograph or recording who willfully and knowingly |
| 111 | violates a provision of this section commits a felony of the |
| 112 | third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, |
| 113 | or s. 775.084. |
| 114 | (b) Any person who willfully and knowingly violates a |
| 115 | court order issued pursuant to this section commits a felony of |
| 116 | the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. |
| 117 | 775.083, or s. 775.084. |
| 118 | (7) A criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding is |
| 119 | exempt from the application of this section as to any |
| 120 | photographs or recordings, but unless such photographs or |
| 121 | recordings are otherwise exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), |
| 122 | Art. I of the State Constitution, the photographs or recordings |
| 123 | are subject to all other provisions of chapter 119. However, |
| 124 | this section does not prohibit a judge or other presiding |
| 125 | officer in a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, upon |
| 126 | good cause shown, from restricting or otherwise controlling the |
| 127 | disclosure of a restricted photograph or recording, or a similar |
| 128 | photograph or recording, in the manner prescribed in this |
| 129 | section. |
| 130 | (8) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset |
| 131 | Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed |
| 132 | on October 2, 2014, unless reviewed and saved from repeal |
| 133 | through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 134 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 135 | necessity that investigative or crime scene photographs or video |
| 136 | recordings of a deceased person, a part of a deceased person, or |
| 137 | any part of a person's extreme, severe, or acute injuries be |
| 138 | confidential and exempt from disclosure. The Legislature finds |
| 139 | that such photographs or video recordings may depict or describe |
| 140 | a deceased or suffering person in graphic and disturbing |
| 141 | fashion. Such photographs or video recordings, if viewed, |
| 142 | copied, or publicized, could result in trauma, sorrow, |
| 143 | humiliation, or emotional injury to the individual depicted or |
| 144 | his or her immediate family. If the individual is deceased, such |
| 145 | dissemination could also cause injury to the memory of the |
| 146 | deceased. The Legislature notes that the existence of the |
| 147 | Internet and the proliferation of personal computers throughout |
| 148 | the world encourages and promotes the wide dissemination of |
| 149 | photographs and video recordings 24 hours a day and that |
| 150 | widespread unauthorized dissemination of photographs and video |
| 151 | recordings would subject a suffering individual and the |
| 152 | immediate family of a deceased or suffering individual to |
| 153 | continuous injury. The Legislature further notes that there |
| 154 | continue to be other types of available information, such as |
| 155 | police reports, that are less intrusive and injurious and that |
| 156 | continue to provide for public oversight. The Legislature |
| 157 | further finds that the exemption provided in this act should be |
| 158 | given retroactive application because it is remedial in nature. |
| 159 | Section 3. This act shall apply to all photographs or |
| 160 | video recordings subject to its terms regardless of whether they |
| 161 | were created before, on, or after the effective date of this |
| 162 | act. |
| 163 | Section 4. This act shall take effect on the same date |
| 164 | that HB 275 or similar legislation takes effect, if such |
| 165 | legislation is enacted in the same legislative session or an |
| 166 | extension thereof and becomes law. |