Florida Senate - 2022                                    SB 1046
       
       
        
       By Senator Hooper
       
       
       
       
       
       16-00985A-22                                          20221046__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         119.071, F.S.; defining the term “law enforcement
    4         geolocation information”; providing an exemption from
    5         public records requirements for law enforcement
    6         geolocation information held by a law enforcement
    7         agency; providing for retroactive application;
    8         providing applicability; providing for future
    9         legislative review and repeal of the exemption;
   10         providing a statement of public necessity; providing
   11         an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (4) of
   16  section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read:
   17         119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of
   18  public records.—
   19         (4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION.—
   20         (e)1. As used in this paragraph, the term “law enforcement
   21  geolocation information” means information collected using a
   22  global positioning system or another mapping, locational, or
   23  directional information system that allows tracking of the
   24  location or movement of a law enforcement officer or a law
   25  enforcement vehicle.
   26         2. Law enforcement geolocation information held by a law
   27  enforcement agency is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a),
   28  Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption applies to such
   29  information held by an agency before, on, or after the effective
   30  date of the exemption. This exemption does not apply to uniform
   31  traffic citations, crash reports, homicide reports, arrest
   32  reports, incident reports, or any other official reports issued
   33  by an agency which contain law enforcement geolocation
   34  information.
   35         3. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   36  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   37  on October 2, 2027, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   38  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   39         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   40  necessity that geolocation information of law enforcement
   41  officers and law enforcement vehicles be made exempt from s.
   42  119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the
   43  State Constitution so that the safety of this state’s law
   44  enforcement officers and the privacy of this state’s residents
   45  may be reasonably assured. The Legislature recognizes that the
   46  regular and unregulated release of law enforcement geolocation
   47  information can pose a danger to officers while on patrol, can
   48  potentially result in the exposure of law enforcement officers’
   49  residences, can release otherwise exempt surveillance and
   50  investigative techniques, and can inadvertently disclose
   51  information about private residents which would otherwise be
   52  exempt. Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is a public
   53  necessity that law enforcement geolocation information be made
   54  exempt from public record requirements and that such exemption
   55  be applied retroactively.
   56         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.