Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 268
By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senators Rodriguez and
Harrell
588-02409-26 2026268c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; amending s.
3 119.071, F.S.; defining the term “emergency department
4 physician”; providing exemptions from public records
5 requirements for the personal identifying and location
6 information of current emergency department physicians
7 and the spouses and certain children of such emergency
8 department physicians; providing for retroactive
9 application of the exemption; requiring certain
10 agencies that are custodians of the exempt information
11 to maintain the exempt status of such information
12 under certain circumstances; specifying procedures for
13 requesting an agency to maintain the exempt status of
14 such information; providing that an individual has a
15 duty to withdraw a request if the exemption no longer
16 applies to him or her; requiring custodial agencies to
17 maintain the exempt status of such information until
18 the exemption no longer applies to the individual;
19 providing for future legislative review and repeal of
20 the exemption; providing a statement of public
21 necessity; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. Paragraph (l) is added to subsection (5) of
26 section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read:
27 119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of
28 public records.—
29 (5) OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION.—
30 (l)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “emergency
31 department physician” means a physician licensed under chapter
32 458 or chapter 459 whose duties are performed in a hospital
33 emergency department licensed under chapter 395.
34 2. The home addresses, personal telephone numbers, and
35 dates of birth of current emergency department physicians; the
36 names, home addresses, personal telephone numbers, dates of
37 birth, and places of employment of the spouses and children
38 younger than 26 years of age of such emergency department
39 physicians; and the names and locations of schools and day care
40 facilities attended by the children younger than 26 years of age
41 of such emergency department physicians are exempt from s.
42 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
43 3. The exemption in subparagraph 2. applies to information
44 held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the
45 exemption.
46 4. An agency that is the custodian of information specified
47 in subparagraph 2. and that is not the employer of the emergency
48 department physician must maintain the exempt status of that
49 information only if the individual requests the maintenance of
50 an exemption under subparagraph 2. on the basis of eligibility
51 as a current emergency department physician or the spouse or
52 child of such emergency department physician and the individual
53 submits a written and notarized request for maintenance of the
54 exemption to the custodial agency. The request must state under
55 oath the statutory basis for the individual’s exemption request
56 and confirm the individual’s eligibility for the exemption. An
57 individual who has submitted such a request has a duty to
58 withdraw the request if the exemption no longer applies to the
59 individual. If a custodial agency receives a request meeting the
60 requirements of this subparagraph, the custodial agency must
61 maintain the exempt status of such information applicable to the
62 individual until the qualifying conditions for the exemption
63 under subparagraph 2. no longer apply to the individual subject
64 to the exemption.
65 5. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset
66 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
67 on October 2, 2031, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
68 through reenactment by the Legislature.
69 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
70 necessity that the home addresses, personal telephone numbers,
71 and dates of birth of current emergency department physicians;
72 the names, home addresses, personal telephone numbers, and
73 places of employment of the spouses and children younger than 26
74 years of age of such emergency department physicians; and the
75 names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended
76 by the children younger than 26 years of age of such emergency
77 department physicians be made exempt from public records
78 requirements. Emergency department physicians, by the nature of
79 their duties, are often placed in traumatic circumstances in
80 which loss of life and severe bodily injuries have occurred.
81 Such emergency department physicians are particularly vulnerable
82 to physical violence, harassment, and intimidation perpetrated
83 by patients or relatives of patients who can be violent, angry,
84 or mentally unstable. As a result, the Legislature finds that
85 the release of personal identifying and location information of
86 emergency department physicians, or of the spouses and children
87 of such emergency department physicians, could place them in
88 danger of being physically or emotionally harmed or stalked by a
89 person who has a hostile reaction to his or her encounter with
90 such physicians. The Legislature further finds that the harm
91 that may result from the release of such personal identifying
92 and location information outweighs any public benefit that may
93 be derived from the disclosure of the information.
94 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.