Florida Senate - 2024                                    SB 7034
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs
       
       
       
       
       
       586-02179-24                                          20247034__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to a review under the Open Government
    3         Sunset Review Act; amending s. 394.464, F.S., which
    4         provides an exemption from public records requirements
    5         for petitions for voluntary and involuntary admission
    6         for mental health treatment, court orders, related
    7         records, and personal identifying information
    8         regarding persons seeking mental health treatment and
    9         services; abrogating the scheduled repeal of the
   10         exemption; providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 394.464, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   15  read:
   16         394.464 Court records; confidentiality.—
   17         (1) All petitions for voluntary and involuntary admission
   18  for mental health treatment, court orders, and related records
   19  that are filed with or by a court under this part are
   20  confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I
   21  of the State Constitution. Pleadings and other documents made
   22  confidential and exempt by this section may be disclosed by the
   23  clerk of the court, upon request, to any of the following:
   24         (a) The petitioner.
   25         (b) The petitioner’s attorney.
   26         (c) The respondent.
   27         (d) The respondent’s attorney.
   28         (e) The respondent’s guardian or guardian advocate, if
   29  applicable.
   30         (f) In the case of a minor respondent, the respondent’s
   31  parent, guardian, legal custodian, or guardian advocate.
   32         (g) The respondent’s treating health care practitioner.
   33         (h) The respondent’s health care surrogate or proxy.
   34         (i) The Department of Children and Families, without
   35  charge.
   36         (j) The Department of Corrections, without charge, if the
   37  respondent is committed or is to be returned to the custody of
   38  the Department of Corrections from the Department of Children
   39  and Families.
   40         (k) A person or entity authorized to view records upon a
   41  court order for good cause. In determining if there is good
   42  cause for the disclosure of records, the court must weigh the
   43  person or entity’s need for the information against potential
   44  harm to the respondent from the disclosure.
   45         (2) This section does not preclude the clerk of the court
   46  from submitting the information required by s. 790.065 to the
   47  Department of Law Enforcement.
   48         (3) The clerk of the court may not publish personal
   49  identifying information on a court docket or in a publicly
   50  accessible file.
   51         (4) A person or entity receiving information pursuant to
   52  this section shall maintain that information as confidential and
   53  exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
   54  Constitution.
   55         (5) The exemption under this section applies to all
   56  documents filed with a court before, on, or after July 1, 2019.
   57         (6) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   58  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   59  on October 2, 2024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   60  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   61         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2024.