Florida Senate - 2012                             CS for SB 1208
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Banking and Insurance
       
       
       
       585-03769-12                                          20121208c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         717.117, F.S.; revising the public records exemption
    4         for information held by the Department of Financial
    5         Services relating to unclaimed property to permanently
    6         exempt social security numbers from the public records
    7         law; allowing the release of the first five digits of
    8         the number for certain purposes; providing for future
    9         legislative review and repeal of the exemption under
   10         the Open Government Sunset Review Act; providing a
   11         statement of public necessity; providing an effective
   12         date.
   13  
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 717.117, Florida
   17  Statutes, is amended to read:
   18         717.117 Report of unclaimed property.—
   19         (8)(a) As used in this subsection, the term “property
   20  identifier” means the descriptor used by the holder to identify
   21  the unclaimed property.
   22         (b) Social security numbers and property identifiers
   23  contained in reports required under this section, held by the
   24  department, are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s.
   25  24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   26         (a)(c) The first five digits of social security numbers
   27  shall be released, for the limited purpose of locating owners of
   28  abandoned or unclaimed property, to a person registered with the
   29  department under this chapter who is an attorney, a Florida
   30  certified public accountant, a private investigator who is duly
   31  licensed in this state, or a private investigative agency
   32  licensed under chapter 493.
   33         (b)(d) This exemption applies to social security numbers
   34  and property identifiers held by the department before, on, or
   35  after the effective date of this exemption.
   36         (c) As used in this subsection, the term “property
   37  identifier” means the descriptor used by the holder to identify
   38  the unclaimed property.
   39         (d)(e) This subsection is subject to the Open Government
   40  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand
   41  repealed October 2, 2017 2012, unless reviewed and saved from
   42  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   43         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   44  necessity that social security numbers contained in reports of
   45  unclaimed property remain confidential and exempt from public
   46  records requirements. Social security numbers, which are used by
   47  a holder of unclaimed property to identify such property, could
   48  be used to fraudulently obtain unclaimed property. The release
   49  of social security numbers could also place owners of unclaimed
   50  property at risk of identity theft. Therefore, the protection of
   51  social security numbers is a public necessity in order to
   52  prevent the fraudulent use of such information by creating
   53  falsified or forged documents that appear to demonstrate
   54  entitlement to unclaimed property and to prevent opportunities
   55  for identity theft. Such use defrauds the rightful owner or the
   56  State School Fund, which is the depository for all remaining
   57  unclaimed funds.
   58         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2012.