Florida Senate - 2017 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 686
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/03/2017 .
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The Committee on Criminal Justice (Baxley) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Substitute for Amendment (351510) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete everything after the enacting clause
5 and insert:
6 Section 1. Paragraph (l) is added to subsection (5) of
7 section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read:
8 119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of
9 public records.—
10 (5) OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION.—
11 (l)1. As used in this paragraph, the term:
12 a. “Electronic mail address” has the same meaning as in s.
13 668.602.
14 b. “Internet identifier” has the same meaning as in s.
15 775.21.
16 2. Electronic mail addresses and Internet identifiers
17 registered by sexual predators or sexual offenders and held by
18 agencies pursuant to s. 775.21, s. 943.0435, s. 944.606, s.
19 944.607, s. 985.481, or s. 985.4815 are exempt from s. 119.07(1)
20 and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption
21 applies to records held before, on, or after the effective date
22 of this act.
23 3. This paragraph does not prohibit a law enforcement
24 agency from confirming to a member of the public that an
25 electronic mail address or Internet identifier reported pursuant
26 to s. 775.21, s. 943.0435, s. 944.606, s. 944.607, s. 985.481,
27 or s. 985.4815 is registered in the Department of Law
28 Enforcement sexual offender and sexual predator registry.
29 4. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset
30 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
31 on October 2, 2022, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
32 through reenactment by the Legislature.
33 Section 2. (1) The Legislature finds that it is a public
34 necessity that electronic mail addresses and Internet
35 identifiers registered by sexual predators and sexual offenders
36 and held by agencies pursuant to s. 775.21, s. 943.0435, s.
37 944.606, s. 944.607, s. 985.481, or s. 985.4815, Florida
38 Statutes, be made exempt from s. 119.071(1), Florida Statutes,
39 and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The
40 Legislature finds that the exemption strikes an important
41 balance between the government’s legitimate interest in public
42 safety and protecting individuals’ rights afforded under the
43 Constitution of the State of Florida and the First Amendment
44 rights protected by the United States Constitution. The
45 exemption maintains the ability of members of the public to
46 confirm whether an electronic mail address or Internet
47 identifier is associated with or is contained in the sexual
48 offender and sexual predator registry without obtaining the
49 personal identifying information of the registrant associated
50 with the electronic mail address or Internet identifier. This
51 exemption allows members of the public access to safety
52 information which assists them in making informed decisions
53 regarding communicating or otherwise interacting with registered
54 sexual predators and sexual offenders. Additionally, this
55 exemption preserves the ability of criminal justice agencies to
56 access valuable investigative information. Criminal justice
57 agencies are tasked with the prevention of crimes to protect
58 residents, particularly children, from sexual exploitation
59 through investigating and bringing offenders to justice. As
60 daily life necessitates increasing dependence upon access to the
61 Internet, sexual exploitation through the use of the Internet
62 grows as well. There is a nexus between commercial social
63 networking sites and Internet sex crimes. Commercial social
64 networking sites are widely used among youth and adults for
65 introduction, communication, and publication of personal details
66 that may be exploited. Additionally, locating missing children
67 and sexual predators and sexual offenders who have evaded
68 registration is greatly aided through the use of registered
69 electronic mail addresses and Internet identifiers. Without this
70 exemption, criminal justice agencies may lose access to
71 information which has become a valuable investigative tool since
72 the inception of this registration requirement. Absent a
73 registration requirement for electronic mail addresses and
74 Internet identifiers, investigative agencies will be severely
75 hampered in the growing call to protect our residents from
76 sexual exploitation online.
77 (2) The Legislature recognizes the importance of protecting
78 rights provided in the First Amendment to the United States
79 Constitution for all citizens. Equally, the Legislature
80 recognizes the importance of preserving the civil regulatory
81 processes of sexual offender and sexual predator registration
82 and ensuring criminal justice agencies have the critical
83 resource of sexual offender and sexual predator electronic mail
84 address and Internet identifier registration information
85 necessary to protect our residents. Electronic mail addresses
86 and Internet identifiers have an exceptional distinction from
87 other registration requirements in that they are used as unique
88 personal identifiers for speech and communication. Because of
89 this distinction, a public records exemption is required to
90 avoid any appearance of infringement on registrants’
91 constitutional rights. If the ability to collect this
92 information were prevented, it would greatly disrupt the ability
93 of criminal justice agencies to use this essential information
94 in combatting the prevalent problem of online sexual
95 exploitation of children. For these reasons and for the
96 preservation of and continued collection of this information,
97 the Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that the
98 electronic mail addresses and Internet identifiers continue to
99 be registered by sexual predators and sexual offenders and held
100 by agencies pursuant to ss. 775.21, 943.0435, 944.606, 944.607,
101 985.481, and 985.4815, Florida Statutes, be exempt from public
102 record requirements.
103 Section 3. The Division of Law Revision and Information is
104 directed to replace the phrase “the effective date of this act”
105 whenever it occurs in this act with the date the act becomes a
106 law.
107 Section 4. This act shall take effect on the same date that
108 SB 684 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
109 is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
110 thereof and becomes a law.
111
112 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
113 And the title is amended as follows:
114 Delete everything before the enacting clause
115 and insert:
116 A bill to be entitled
117 An act relating to public records; amending s.
118 119.071, F.S.; defining terms; requiring that
119 electronic mail addresses and Internet identifiers of
120 sexual predators or sexual offenders reported pursuant
121 to specified laws be exempt from public records
122 requirements; providing retroactive applicability;
123 providing construction; providing for future review
124 and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of
125 public necessity; providing a directive to the
126 Division of Law Revision and Information; providing a
127 contingent effective date.