Florida Senate - 2025                             CS for SB 1640
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Senator Grall
       
       
       
       
       585-03152-25                                          20251640c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s. 741.29,
    3         F.S.; providing an exemption from public records
    4         requirements for a lethality assessment form that
    5         contains certain information and responses;
    6         authorizing the disclosure of a lethality assessment
    7         form to a domestic violence center; prohibiting the
    8         disclosure of such information and responses to a
    9         state attorney’s office; providing for future
   10         legislative review and repeal of the exemption;
   11         providing for retroactive application of the
   12         exemption; providing a statement of public necessity;
   13         providing an effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Paragraph (i) is added to subsection (2) of
   18  section 741.29, Florida Statutes, to read:
   19         741.29 Domestic violence; investigation of incidents;
   20  notice to victims of legal rights and remedies; reporting.—
   21         (2) The department shall consult with the Department of
   22  Children and Families, the Florida Sheriffs Association, the
   23  Florida Police Chiefs Association, the Florida Partnership to
   24  End Domestic Violence, and at least two domestic violence
   25  advocacy organizations to develop the policies, procedures, and
   26  training necessary for implementation of a statewide evidence
   27  based lethality assessment. Such policies, procedures, and
   28  training must establish how to determine whether a victim and
   29  aggressor are intimate partners and establish a statewide
   30  process for referring a victim to a certified domestic violence
   31  center. The group must review the questions in paragraph (e) and
   32  make a recommendation as to whether all questions should be
   33  included in the statewide lethality assessment instrument and
   34  form. By January 1, 2025, the department must adopt a statewide
   35  lethality assessment instrument and form. If a question in
   36  paragraph (e) is eliminated from the assessment, the department
   37  must confirm that the remaining or altered questions constitute
   38  an evidence-based lethality assessment. By January 31, 2025, the
   39  department shall report to the President of the Senate and the
   40  Speaker of the House of Representatives the results and
   41  recommendations of the group, including any proposed statutory
   42  changes that are necessary for implementation of a statewide
   43  lethality assessment. Training on how to administer a lethality
   44  assessment and the approved lethality assessment form must be
   45  accessible to a law enforcement officer in an online format.
   46         (i) A lethality assessment form that contains a victim’s
   47  information and responses to the lethality assessment completed
   48  on, before, or after January 1, 2025, is confidential and exempt
   49  from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
   50  Constitution. A lethality assessment form may be disclosed to a
   51  domestic violence center, as defined in s. 39.902, and the
   52  domestic violence center must treat the form and the information
   53  on such form as confidential. However, the victim’s information
   54  and responses on a lethality assessment form may not be
   55  disclosed to, or used by, a state attorney’s office. This
   56  paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in
   57  accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2,
   58  2030, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment
   59  by the Legislature.
   60         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   61  necessity that a lethality assessment form that contains a
   62  victim’s information and responses to the lethality assessment
   63  be made confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida
   64  Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The
   65  Legislature finds that the release of information included on a
   66  lethality assessment form could subject victims of domestic
   67  violence to an increased risk of abuse. Such information
   68  contained on a lethality assessment form is sensitive in nature.
   69  The Legislature further finds that such victims are more likely
   70  to participate in a lethality assessment if such form is
   71  protected from public disclosure. The Legislature finds that the
   72  harm that may result from the release of such information
   73  outweighs the public benefit that may be derived from the
   74  disclosure of the information.
   75         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.