Florida Senate - 2017                      CS for CS for SB 1062
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Rules; and Governmental Oversight and
       Accountability; and Senators Powell and Bracy
       
       
       
       
       595-03067A-17                                         20171062c2
    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 certain protective injunctions that are
    6         dismissed in certain circumstances; providing a
    7         statement of public necessity; providing an effective
    8         date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (1) of
   13  section 119.0714, Florida Statutes, to read:
   14         119.0714 Court files; court records; official records.—
   15         (1) COURT FILES.—Nothing in this chapter shall be construed
   16  to exempt from s. 119.07(1) a public record that was made a part
   17  of a court file and that is not specifically closed by order of
   18  court, except:
   19         (k)1. A petition, and the contents thereof, for an
   20  injunction for protection against domestic violence, repeat
   21  violence, dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, or
   22  cyberstalking that is dismissed without a hearing, dismissed at
   23  an ex parte hearing due to failure to state a claim or lack of
   24  jurisdiction, or dismissed for any reason having to do with the
   25  sufficiency of the petition itself without an injunction being
   26  issued on or after July 1, 2017, is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and
   27  s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   28         2. A petition, and the contents thereof, for an injunction
   29  for protection against domestic violence, repeat violence,
   30  dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, or cyberstalking
   31  that is dismissed without a hearing, dismissed at an ex parte
   32  hearing due to failure to state a claim or lack of jurisdiction,
   33  or dismissed for any reason having to do with the sufficiency of
   34  the petition itself without an injunction being issued before
   35  July 1, 2017, is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I
   36  of the State Constitution only upon request by an individual
   37  named in the petition as a respondent. The request must be in
   38  the form of a signed, legibly written request specifying the
   39  case name, case number, document heading, and page number. The
   40  request must be delivered by mail, facsimile, or electronic
   41  transmission or in person to the clerk of the court. A fee may
   42  not be charged for such request.
   43         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   44  necessity that a petition, and the contents thereof, for an
   45  injunction for protection against domestic violence, repeat
   46  violence, dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, or
   47  cyberstalking that is dismissed without a hearing, dismissed at
   48  an ex parte hearing due to failure to state a claim or lack of
   49  jurisdiction, or dismissed for any reason having to do with the
   50  sufficiency of the petition itself without an injunction being
   51  issued be made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and
   52  s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The Legislature
   53  finds that the existence of, and the unverified allegations
   54  contained in, such a petition may be defamatory to an individual
   55  named in it and cause unwarranted damage to the reputation of
   56  such individual. The Legislature further finds that removing
   57  such a record from public disclosure is the sole means of
   58  protecting the reputation of such an individual.
   59         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.