Florida Senate - 2020                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 878
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       The Committee on Health Policy (Harrell) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Paragraph (l) is added to subsection (5) of
    6  section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read:
    7         119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of
    8  public records.—
    9         (5) OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION.—
   10         (l)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “emergency
   11  room health care practitioner” means any licensed health care
   12  practitioner whose duties are performed in a hospital emergency
   13  department, including, but not limited to, a physician or a
   14  physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459;
   15  an advanced practice registered nurse, a registered nurse, or a
   16  licensed practical nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464;
   17  or any other licensed health care personnel.
   18         2. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth,
   19  places of employment, and photographs of current or former
   20  emergency room health care practitioners; the names, home
   21  addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of
   22  employment of the spouses and children of such practitioners;
   23  and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities
   24  attended by the children of such practitioners are exempt from
   25  s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   26         3. The exemption in subparagraph 2. applies to information
   27  held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the
   28  exemption.
   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   30  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed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, 2025, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   32  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   33         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   34  necessity that the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of
   35  birth, places of employment, and photographs of current or
   36  former emergency room health care practitioners; the names, home
   37  addresses, telephone numbers, and places of employment of the
   38  spouses and children of such practitioners; and the names and
   39  locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the
   40  children of such practitioners be exempt from public records
   41  requirements. Emergency room health care practitioners, by
   42  nature of their duties, are often placed in traumatic
   43  circumstances in which loss of life and severe bodily injuries
   44  have occurred. Such practitioners are particularly vulnerable to
   45  physical violence, harassment, and intimidation perpetrated by
   46  patients or relatives of patients who can be violent, angry, or
   47  mentally unstable. As a result, the Legislature finds that the
   48  release of identifying and location information of emergency
   49  room health care practitioners, or the spouses and children of
   50  such practitioners, could place them in danger of being
   51  physically or emotionally harmed or stalked by a person who has
   52  a hostile reaction to his or her encounter with such
   53  practitioners. The Legislature further finds that the harm that
   54  may result from the release of such identifying and location
   55  information outweighs any public benefit that may be derived
   56  from the disclosure of the information.
   57         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
   58  
   59  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   60  And the title is amended as follows:
   61         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   62  and insert:
   63                        A bill to be entitled                      
   64         An act relating to public records; amending s.
   65         119.071, F.S.; defining the term “emergency room
   66         health care practitioner”; providing an exemption from
   67         public records requirements for the identifying and
   68         location information of current or former emergency
   69         room health care practitioners and the spouses and
   70         children of such practitioners; providing for
   71         retroactive application; providing for future
   72         legislative review and repeal of the exemption;
   73         providing a statement of public necessity; providing
   74         an effective date.