HB0473 Pub. Rec./Civilian Contractors and Government Employees |…

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text contains a conflict regarding the repeal date, listing both October 2, 2031 and 2029; the summary uses 2031 as it appears first in the line.

Exemption for Public Records on Certain Government Workers

This bill creates an exemption from public records laws to keep private the home addresses and phone numbers of certain government workers, military personnel with access to secret information or in special operations forces, along with their spouses and dependents.

What This Bill Does

Creates a new exemption from public records requirements for specific personal data held by state agencies regarding covered individuals.
Defines 'civilian contractor' or 'government employee' as anyone authorized to access federal information deemed 'secret' or 'top secret'.
Requires workers to submit a written request and a statement that they have made reasonable efforts to protect their own privacy before the exemption applies.
Applies retroactively to records held by agencies before, on, or after July 1, 2026.
Sets an automatic repeal date of October 2, 2031, unless the Legislature reviews and keeps the law in place.

Who It Names or Affects

Current and former civilian contractors authorized to access secret federal information
Government employees authorized to access secret federal information
Military personnel with access to secret information or who serve in special operations forces
Spouses and dependents of the workers listed above

Terms To Know

Civilian contractor or government employee: Any person authorized by the Federal Government to access information deemed 'secret' or 'top secret'.
Identification and location information: Home addresses, telephone numbers (including personal devices), dates of birth, and school locations for covered workers and their families.
Special operations force: A specific type of military unit defined in Florida Statute 943.10(22).

Limits and Unknowns

The exemption only applies if the worker submits a written request and states they have made reasonable efforts to protect their own information.
The law does not specify what actions count as 'reasonable efforts' to keep personal data private from other public sources.

Official Summary Text

Pub. Rec./Civilian Contractors and Government Employees; Provides exemption from public records requirements for certain current & former civilian contractors & government employees & their spouses & dependents; provides for retroactive application; provides for future legislative review & repeal of exemption; provides statement of public necessity.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB 473 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb473-00
Page 1 of 4
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to public records; amending s. 2
119.071, F.S.; defining the terms "civilian 3
contractor" and "government employee"; providing an 4
exemption from public records requirements for certain 5
current and former civilian contractors and government 6
employees and their spouses and dependents; providing 7
for retroactive application; providing for future 8
legislative review and repeal of the exemption; 9
providing a statement of public necessity; providing 10
an effective date. 11
12
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13
14
Section 1. Paragraph (k) of subsection (5) of section 15
119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 16
119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of 17
public records.— 18
(5) OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION.— 19
(k)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term: 20
a. "Civilian contractor" or "government employee" means 21
any person who is authorized to access information that is 22
deemed "secret" or "top secret" by the Federal Government. 23
b.a. "Identification and location information" means the: 24
(I) Home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of birth 25

HB 473 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb473-00
Page 2 of 4
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

of current and former civilian contractors, government 26
employees, and military personnel, and the telephone numbers 27
associated with the personal communication devices of current 28
and former civilian contractors, government employees, and 29
military personnel. 30
(II) Home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of birth 31
of the spouses and dependents of current and former civilian 32
contractors, government employees, and military personnel, and 33
the telephone numbers associated with the personal communication 34
devices of such spouses and dependents. 35
(III) Names and locations of schools attended by the 36
spouses of current and former civilian contractors, government 37
employees, and military personnel and schools or day care 38
facilities attended by dependents of current and former civilian 39
contractors, government employees, and military personnel. 40
c.b. "Military personnel" means persons employed by the 41
United States Department of Defense who are authorized to access 42
information that is deemed "secret" or "top secret" by the 43
Federal Government or who are servicemembers of a special 44
operations force. 45
d.c. "Special operations force" has the same meaning as 46
provided in s. 943.10(22). 47
2. Identification and location information held by an 48
agency is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the 49
State Constitution if the current or former civilian contractor, 50

HB 473 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb473-00
Page 3 of 4
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

government employee, or military personnel member submits to an 51
agency that has custody of the identification and location 52
information: 53
a. A written request to exempt the identification and 54
location information from public disclosure; and 55
b. A written statement that he or she has made reasonable 56
efforts to protect the identification and location information 57
from being accessible through other means available to the 58
public. 59
3. This exemption applies to identification and location 60
information held by an agency before, on, or after the effective 61
date of this exemption. 62
4. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset 63
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 64
on October 2, 2031 2029, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 65
through reenactment by the Legislature. 66
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 67
necessity that the identification and location information of 68
current and former civilian contractors and government employees 69
who are authorized to access information that is deemed "secret" 70
or "top secret" by the Federal Government, and their spouses and 71
dependents, which is held by an agency be made exempt from s. 72
119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 73
State Constitution. Such current and former civilian contractors 74
and government employees are at risk of being threatened by 75

HB 473 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb473-00
Page 4 of 4
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

terrorist groups because of their access to such information. 76
The Legislature finds that allowing continued public access to 77
the identification and location information of such current and 78
former civilian contractors and government employees, and their 79
spouses and dependents, jeopardizes the safety of such personnel 80
and their spouses and dependents. The Legislature further finds 81
that protecting the safety and security of such current and 82
former civilian contractors and government employees, and their 83
spouses and dependents, outweighs any public benefit that may be 84
derived from the public disclosure of the identification and 85
location information. 86
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 87