Florida Senate - 2022                                     SB 346
       
       
        
       By Senator Polsky
       
       
       
       
       
       29-00609-22                                            2022346__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         790.065, F.S.; providing an exemption from public
    4         records requirements for records containing certain
    5         information pertaining to a buyer or transferee who is
    6         not found to be prohibited from receipt or transfer of
    7         ammunition; providing for future legislative review
    8         and repeal of the exemption; providing for the
    9         reversion of specified statutory text if certain
   10         conditions are met; providing a statement of public
   11         necessity; providing a contingent effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
   16  790.065, Florida Statutes, as amended by SB 334, 2022 Regular
   17  Session, is amended to read:
   18         790.065 Sale and delivery of firearms and ammunition.—
   19         (4)(a) Any records containing any of the information set
   20  forth in subsection (1) pertaining to a buyer or transferee who
   21  is not found to be prohibited from receipt or transfer of a
   22  firearm or ammunition by reason of Florida and federal law which
   23  records are created by the Department of Law Enforcement to
   24  conduct the criminal history record check shall be confidential
   25  and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a),
   26  Art. I of the State Constitution and may not be disclosed by the
   27  Department of Law Enforcement or any officer or employee thereof
   28  to any person or to another agency. The Department of Law
   29  Enforcement shall destroy any such records forthwith after it
   30  communicates the approval and nonapproval numbers to the
   31  licensee and, in any event, such records shall be destroyed
   32  within 48 hours after the day of the response to the licensee’s
   33  request.
   34         Section 2. The amendments to s. 790.065(4)(a), Florida
   35  Statutes, made by this act are subject to the Open Government
   36  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, Florida
   37  Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution and
   38  shall stand repealed on October 2, 2027, and the text of this
   39  paragraph shall revert to that in existence on September 30,
   40  2022, except that any amendments to such text enacted other than
   41  by this act shall be preserved and continue to operate to the
   42  extent that such amendments are not dependent upon the portions
   43  of text which expire pursuant to this section, unless reviewed
   44  and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   45         Section 3. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   46  necessity that the information pertaining to an individual who
   47  is a buyer or transferee who is not found to be prohibited from
   48  receipt or transfer of ammunition under s. 790.065, Florida
   49  Statutes, be made confidential and exempt from public records
   50  requirements under s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a),
   51  Article I of the State Constitution. The knowledge that someone
   52  has purchased ammunition can easily lead to the conclusion that
   53  the applicant or licensee has in fact armed himself or herself.
   54  The Legislature has found in prior legislative sessions and has
   55  expressed in s. 790.335(1)(a)3., Florida Statutes, that a list,
   56  record, or registry of legally owned firearms or law-abiding
   57  firearm owners is “an instrument that can be used as a means to
   58  profile innocent citizens and to harass and abuse American
   59  citizens based solely on their choice to own firearms and
   60  exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms as
   61  guaranteed under the United States Constitution.” Release of
   62  personal identifying information of an individual who has
   63  purchased ammunition could be used to harass an innocent person
   64  based solely on that person’s exercised right to own a firearm.
   65  Therefore, the Legislature finds that such information must be
   66  held confidential and exempt from public records requirements.
   67         Section 4. This act shall take effect on the same date that
   68  SB 334 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
   69  is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
   70  thereof and becomes a law.