Florida Senate - 2019                                     SB 836
       
       
        
       By Senator Powell
       
       
       
       
       
       30-00226A-19                                           2019836__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         252.385, F.S.; creating an exemption from public
    4         records requirements for certain information of a
    5         person using a public shelter during an emergency;
    6         providing for future legislative review and repeal of
    7         the exemption; creating s. 252.64, F.S.; creating an
    8         exemption from public records requirements for certain
    9         identifying information related to damage assessments
   10         held by an agency following a disaster; specifying a
   11         limited duration of the exemption; providing for
   12         future legislative review and repeal of the exemption;
   13         transferring and amending s. 252.905, F.S.; creating
   14         an exemption from public records requirements for data
   15         and records contained in emergency management
   16         electronic collaboration systems or databases used by
   17         local emergency management agencies for certain
   18         purposes; providing retroactive application of the
   19         exemption; providing for future legislative review and
   20         repeal of the exemption; providing statements of
   21         public necessity; providing an effective date.
   22          
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Section 252.385, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   26  read:
   27         252.385 Public shelter space; public records exemption.—
   28         (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that this state not
   29  have a deficit of safe public hurricane evacuation shelter space
   30  in any region of the state by 1998 and thereafter.
   31         (2)(a) The division shall administer a program to survey
   32  existing schools, universities, community colleges, and other
   33  state-owned, municipally owned, and county-owned public
   34  buildings and any private facility that the owner, in writing,
   35  agrees to provide for use as a public hurricane evacuation
   36  shelter to identify those that are appropriately designed and
   37  located to serve as such shelters. The owners of the facilities
   38  must be given the opportunity to participate in the surveys. The
   39  state university boards of trustees, district school boards,
   40  community college boards of trustees, and the Department of
   41  Education are responsible for coordinating and implementing the
   42  survey of public schools, universities, and community colleges
   43  with the division or the local emergency management agency.
   44         (b) By January 31 of each even-numbered year, the division
   45  shall prepare and submit a statewide emergency shelter plan to
   46  the Governor and Cabinet for approval, subject to the
   47  requirements for approval in s. 1013.37(2). The plan shall
   48  identify the general location and square footage of special
   49  needs shelters, by regional planning council region, during the
   50  next 5 years. The plan shall also include information on the
   51  availability of shelters that accept pets. The Department of
   52  Health shall assist the division in determining the estimated
   53  need for special needs shelter space and the adequacy of
   54  facilities to meet the needs of persons with special needs based
   55  on information from the registries of persons with special needs
   56  and other information.
   57         (3) The division shall annually provide to the President of
   58  the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the
   59  Governor a list of facilities recommended to be retrofitted
   60  using state funds. State funds should be maximized and targeted
   61  to regional planning council regions with hurricane evacuation
   62  shelter deficits. Retrofitting facilities in regions with public
   63  hurricane evacuation shelter deficits shall be given first
   64  priority and should be completed by 2003. All recommended
   65  facilities should be retrofitted by 2008. The owner or lessee of
   66  a public hurricane evacuation shelter that is included on the
   67  list of facilities recommended for retrofitting is not required
   68  to perform any recommended improvements.
   69         (4)(a) Public facilities, including schools, postsecondary
   70  education facilities, and other facilities owned or leased by
   71  the state or local governments, but excluding hospitals, hospice
   72  care facilities, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes,
   73  which are suitable for use as public hurricane evacuation
   74  shelters shall be made available at the request of the local
   75  emergency management agencies. The local emergency management
   76  agency shall coordinate with these entities to ensure that
   77  designated facilities are ready to activate prior to a specific
   78  hurricane or disaster. Such agencies shall coordinate with the
   79  appropriate school board, university, community college, state
   80  agency, or local governing board when requesting the use of such
   81  facilities as public hurricane evacuation shelters.
   82         (b) The Department of Management Services shall incorporate
   83  provisions for the use of suitable leased public facilities as
   84  public hurricane evacuation shelters into lease agreements for
   85  state agencies. Suitable leased public facilities include leased
   86  public facilities that are solely occupied by state agencies and
   87  have at least 2,000 square feet of net floor area in a single
   88  room or in a combination of rooms having a minimum of 400 square
   89  feet in each room. The net square footage of floor area shall be
   90  determined by subtracting from the gross square footage the
   91  square footage of spaces such as mechanical and electrical
   92  rooms, storage rooms, open corridors, restrooms, kitchens,
   93  science or computer laboratories, shop or mechanical areas,
   94  administrative offices, records vaults, and crawl spaces.
   95         (c) The Department of Management Services shall, in
   96  consultation with local and state emergency management agencies,
   97  assess Department of Management Services facilities to identify
   98  the extent to which each facility has public hurricane
   99  evacuation shelter space. The Department of Management Services
  100  shall submit proposed facility retrofit projects that
  101  incorporate hurricane protection enhancements to the division
  102  for assessment and inclusion in the annual report prepared in
  103  accordance with subsection (3).
  104         (d) The Department of Management Services shall include in
  105  the annual state facilities inventory report required under ss.
  106  216.015-216.016 a separate list of state-owned facilities,
  107  including, but not limited to, meeting halls, auditoriums,
  108  conference centers, and training centers that have unoccupied
  109  space suitable for use as an emergency shelter during a storm or
  110  other catastrophic event. Facilities must be listed by the
  111  county and municipality where the facility is located and must
  112  be made available in accordance with paragraph (a). As used in
  113  this paragraph, the term “suitable for use as an emergency
  114  shelter” means meeting the standards set by the American Red
  115  Cross for a hurricane evacuation shelter, and the term
  116  “unoccupied” means vacant due to suspended operation or nonuse.
  117  The list must be updated by May 31 of each year.
  118         (5)The name, address, and telephone number of a person
  119  using a public shelter during an emergency which are held by an
  120  agency, as defined in s. 119.011, are exempt from s. 119.07(1)
  121  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This subsection
  122  is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in
  123  accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2,
  124  2024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment
  125  of the Legislature.
  126         Section 2. Section 252.64, Florida Statutes, is created to
  127  read:
  128         252.64Public records exemption; damage assessments.—The
  129  name, address, and telephone number of a homeowner or tenant
  130  which are held by an agency, as defined in s. 119.011, for the
  131  purpose of providing or receiving damage assessment data
  132  following a disaster are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a),
  133  Art. I of the State Constitution. Such information is no longer
  134  exempt 1 year after the date of the disaster. This section is
  135  subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance
  136  with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2024,
  137  unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment of the
  138  Legislature.
  139         Section 3. Section 252.905, Florida Statutes, is renumbered
  140  as s. 252.65, Florida Statutes, and amended to read:
  141         252.65 252.905 Emergency planning information; public
  142  records exemption.—
  143         (1) The following information is exempt from s. 119.07(1)
  144  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution:
  145         (a) Any information furnished by a person or a business to
  146  the division for the purpose of being provided assistance with
  147  emergency planning.
  148         (b) Data and records contained in emergency management
  149  electronic collaboration systems or databases that are used by a
  150  local emergency management agency to share information among
  151  agencies in response to, or in preparation for, an emergency
  152  situation is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of
  153  the State Constitution.
  154         (2) This exemption applies to information held by the
  155  division and data and records contained in an emergency
  156  management electronic collaboration system or database before,
  157  on, or after the effective date of this exemption.
  158         (3)(2) This section is subject to the Open Government
  159  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand
  160  repealed on October 2, 2024 2019, unless reviewed and saved from
  161  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
  162         Section 4. (1)The Legislature finds that it is a public
  163  necessity that the name, address, and telephone number of a
  164  person using a public shelter during an emergency which are held
  165  by an agency be made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes,
  166  and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. Shelters are
  167  made available to the public to provide a safe place of
  168  accommodation before, during, and immediately following an
  169  emergency. During an emergency, the people affected are in a
  170  vulnerable state because they have voluntarily displaced
  171  themselves from their residences and possessions to seek refuge.
  172  The information submitted by such a shelter user could be used
  173  by persons seeking to take advantage of their vulnerability
  174  during or following the emergency. In addition, people seeking
  175  shelter for their safety and the safety of their families should
  176  not be forced to forfeit their privacy for the sake of such
  177  safety. Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is a public
  178  necessity to protect such information from public disclosure.
  179         (2)The Legislature further finds that it is a public
  180  necessity that the name, address, and telephone number of a
  181  person which are held by an agency for the purpose of providing
  182  or receiving damage assessment data be made exempt from s.
  183  119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the
  184  State Constitution for 1 year following the date of a disaster.
  185  In response to a disaster, an agency, in trying to ascertain the
  186  damage to certain areas, may ask residents to submit damage
  187  assessment data detailing the damage to their properties. The
  188  agency may also create damage assessment data or amend the
  189  submitted data to enhance the accuracy of all damage assessments
  190  within a given area. The data may include a person’s name,
  191  address, and telephone number, which may be used to locate the
  192  damaged property, identify the owner or tenant, and contact
  193  them, if needed. Following a disaster, the people affected are
  194  vulnerable, frequently displaced, and living without their
  195  possessions, and their homes may be severely damaged, often to
  196  the point of being uninhabitable. The information could, if
  197  released, be used by thieves, predatory lenders, deceptive
  198  contractors, or individuals otherwise seeking to take advantage
  199  of the vulnerability of an affected homeowner or tenant
  200  following a disaster. Therefore, it is necessary that this
  201  information be protected for a limited time to ensure that
  202  people affected by a disaster are not harassed, intimidated, or
  203  potentially defrauded.
  204         (3) The Legislature further finds that it is a public
  205  necessity that data and records contained in emergency
  206  management electronic collaboration systems or databases that
  207  are used by a local emergency management agency to share
  208  information among agencies in response to, or preparation for,
  209  an emergency situation be exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida
  210  Statutes, and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
  211  Numerous local emergency management agencies use electronic
  212  collaboration systems or databases in order to maximize
  213  information-sharing abilities between agencies to facilitate a
  214  prompt response to emergencies and disasters. In addition, these
  215  systems and databases are used to plan for, track, and manage
  216  numerous functions including, but not limited to, the
  217  registration of persons with special needs, tabulation of
  218  responder contact information, tabulation and analysis of damage
  219  assessment data, and the assignment, and the fulfillment
  220  thereof, of missions to agencies. As a result, these systems and
  221  databases contain large amounts of data, some of which are
  222  already covered by other public records exemptions. As exempt
  223  information is embedded throughout the systems and databases,
  224  such information could potentially be inadvertently released in
  225  response to broad public records requests. The release of
  226  information in such databases and systems could be used by
  227  unscrupulous businesses or individuals to take advantage of a
  228  vulnerable individual impacted by an emergency or a disaster.
  229  Furthermore, the release of certain information embedded within
  230  large datasets, such as certain agency personnel information,
  231  could result in the harassment of employees and the
  232  dissemination of the location of critical facilities or
  233  unoccupied domiciles. Therefore, the Legislature finds that it
  234  is necessary to protect such information from public disclosure.
  235         Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.