Florida Senate - 2017                             CS for SB 1062
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Senators Powell and Bracy
       
       
       
       
       585-02713-17                                          20171062c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         119.0714, F.S.; providing an exemption from public
    4         records requirements for petitions, and the contents
    5         thereof, for injunctions for protection against
    6         domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence,
    7         sexual violence, stalking, or cyberstalking which are
    8         dismissed in certain circumstances; providing a
    9         statement of public necessity; providing an effective
   10         date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (1) of
   15  section 119.0714, Florida Statutes, to read:
   16         119.0714 Court files; court records; official records.—
   17         (1) COURT FILES.—Nothing in this chapter shall be construed
   18  to exempt from s. 119.07(1) a public record that was made a part
   19  of a court file and that is not specifically closed by order of
   20  court, except:
   21         (k)1. A petition, and the contents thereof, for an
   22  injunction for protection against domestic violence, repeat
   23  violence, dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, or
   24  cyberstalking which is dismissed without a hearing, dismissed at
   25  an ex parte hearing due to failure to state a claim or lack of
   26  jurisdiction, or dismissed for any reason having to do with the
   27  sufficiency of the petition itself without an injunction being
   28  issued on or after July 1, 2017, is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and
   29  s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   30         2. A petition, and the contents thereof, for an injunction
   31  for protection against domestic violence, repeat violence,
   32  dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, or cyberstalking
   33  which is dismissed without a hearing, dismissed at an ex parte
   34  hearing due to failure to state a claim or lack of jurisdiction,
   35  or dismissed for any reason having to do with the sufficiency of
   36  the petition itself without an injunction being issued before
   37  July 1, 2017, is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I
   38  of the State Constitution only upon request by an individual
   39  named in the petition as a respondent. The request must be in
   40  the form of a signed, legibly written request specifying the
   41  case name, case number, document heading, and page number. The
   42  request must be delivered by mail, facsimile, or electronic
   43  transmission or in person to the clerk of the court. A fee may
   44  not be charged for such request.
   45         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   46  necessity that a petition, and the contents thereof, for an
   47  injunction for protection against domestic violence, repeat
   48  violence, dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, or
   49  cyberstalking which is dismissed without a hearing, dismissed at
   50  an ex parte hearing due to failure to state a claim or lack of
   51  jurisdiction, or dismissed for any reason having to do with the
   52  sufficiency of the petition itself without an injunction being
   53  issued be made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and
   54  s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The Legislature
   55  finds that the existence of, and the unverified allegations
   56  contained in, such a petition may be defamatory to an individual
   57  named in it and cause unwarranted damage to the reputation of
   58  such individual. The Legislature further finds that removing
   59  such a record from public disclosure is the sole means of
   60  protecting the reputation of such an individual.
   61         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.