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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
447.205, F.S.; exempting from public records 3
requirements written communications developed in 4
preparation for, or preliminary to, the issuance of 5
any order by the Public Employees Relations Commission 6
or its designees; providing for future legislative 7
review and repeal of the exemption; providing a 8
statement of public necessity; amending s. 447.308, 9
F.S.; exempting from public records requirements 10
showing of interest statements signed by public 11
employees and filed with the Public Employees 12
Relations Commission; providing an exception; 13
providing for future legislative review and repeal of 14
the exemption; providing a statement of public 15
necessity; amending s. 119.071, F.S.; exempting from 16
public records requirements the personal identifying 17
and location information of the chair, commissioners, 18
and hearing officers of the Public Employees Relations 19
Commission and the personal identifying and location 20
information of spouses and children of such personnel; 21
providing for future legislative review and repeal of 22
the exemption; providing a statement of public 23
necessity; providing a contingent effective date. 24
25
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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
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26
27
Section 1. Subsection (10) of section 447.205, Florida 28
Statutes, is amended to read: 29
447.205 Public Employees Relations Commission.— 30
(10) The deliberations of the commission in any proceeding 31
before it are closed and exempt from the provisions of s. 32
286.011. However, any hearing held or oral argument heard by the 33
commission pursuant to chapter 120 or this chapter must shall be 34
open to the public. All draft orders and related written 35
communications that are developed in preparation for, or 36
preliminary to, the issuance of any order by the commission or 37
its designees a final written order are confidential and exempt 38
from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the 39
State Constitution. 40
Section 2. The amendment made by this act to s. 41
447.205(10), Florida Statutes, is subject to the Open Government 42
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, Florida 43
Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2031, unless 44
reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 45
Legislature and the text of that subsection shall revert to that 46
in existence on June 30, 2026, except that any amendments to 47
such text enacted other than by this act shall be preserved and 48
continue to operate to the extent that such amendments are not 49
dependent upon the amendment to the text which expires pursuant 50
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to this section. 51
Section 3. The Legislature finds that it is a public 52
necessity that draft orders and related written communications 53
that are developed in preparation for, or preliminary to, the 54
issuance of any order by the Public Employees Relations 55
Commission or its designees be made confidential and exempt from 56
s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 57
State Constitution. The Public Employees Relations Commission, 58
as a quasi-judicial agency, speaks through its written orders 59
based on the law and facts. The commission and its hearing 60
officers rely on the confidentiality of draft orders and written 61
communications related to these drafts before they become final 62
and are released to the public. The existing provision in s. 63
447.205(10), Florida Statutes, addresses this confidentiality 64
and recognizes its importance to the proper functioning of the 65
commission. However, it was adopted in 1977, with the only 66
substantive amendment being made in 1991. To avoid the existing 67
provision from being inadvertently read so as to allow public 68
access to draft orders or commission deliberations, including 69
preliminary work prepared by commission hearing officers, the 70
Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that the 71
language of the provision providing for confidentiality and 72
exemption of commission deliberations and draft orders be 73
clarified to reflect updates in technology, current practices of 74
the commission related to the use of hearing officers, and 75
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modern methods of communication. The confidentiality and 76
exemption of commission deliberations and draft orders are 77
essential to the operation of the commission. Likewise, the 78
confidentiality and exemption of written communications related 79
to draft orders are essential to the operation of the commission 80
given updates in technology, commission practice of using 81
hearing officers as designees to prepare draft orders and assist 82
in preparing final orders, and modern methods of communication. 83
The Legislature further finds that the harm that may result from 84
the release of written communications related to draft orders, 85
in light of current technology, practices, and methods of 86
communication, outweighs any public benefit that may be derived 87
from the disclosure of such written communications. 88
Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 447.308, Florida 89
Statutes, as amended by HB 995, 2026 Regular Session, is amended 90
to read: 91
447.308 Decertification of certification of employee 92
organizations.— 93
(1) A public employee or group of public employees that no 94
longer desires to be represented by a bargaining agent may file 95
with the commission a petition to decertify the bargaining 96
agent. The petition must be accompanied by a showing of interest 97
from at least 30 percent of the public employees in the 98
bargaining unit. The showing of interest statements must be 99
signed and dated by the public employees not more than 12 months 100
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before the filing of the petition. The showing of interest 101
signed by an employee is confidential and exempt from s. 102
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, except 103
that any public employee, public employer, or employee 104
organization having sufficient reason to believe that the 105
showing of interest was obtained by collusion, coercion, 106
intimidation, or misrepresentation or is otherwise invalid shall 107
be given a reasonable opportunity to verify and challenge the 108
showing of interest. 109
Section 5. The amendment made by this act to s. 110
447.308(1), Florida Statutes, is subject to the Open Government 111
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, Florida 112
Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2031, unless 113
reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 114
Legislature, and the text of that subsection shall revert to 115
that in existence on June 30, 2026, except that any amendments 116
to such text enacted other than by this act shall be preserved 117
and continue to operate to the extent that such amendments are 118
not dependent upon the amendment to the text which expires 119
pursuant to this section. 120
Section 6. The Legislature finds that it is a public 121
necessity that showing of interest statements signed by public 122
employees indicating their desire to no longer be represented by 123
their bargaining agent be made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida 124
Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. 125
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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
Showing of interest statements signed by public employees 126
indicating their desire to be represented by a bargaining agent 127
are already exempt and confidential pursuant to s. 447.307, 128
Florida Statutes, in order avoid the practical effect of 129
chilling the employees' exercise of the right to form and join a 130
union. Similarly, showing of interest statements seeking to 131
decertify a union must be kept confidential in order to avoid 132
the practical effect of chilling the employees' exercise of the 133
right to no longer be represented by a union. The Legislature 134
finds that the harm that may result from the release of this 135
showing of interest information outweighs any public benefit 136
that may be derived from disclosure of the information. 137
Section 7. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section 138
119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 139
119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of 140
public records.— 141
(4) AGENCY PERSONNEL INFORMATION.— 142
(d)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term: 143
a. "Home addresses" means the dwelling location at which 144
an individual resides and includes the physical address, mailing 145
address, street address, parcel identification number, plot 146
identification number, legal property description, neighborhood 147
name and lot number, GPS coordinates, and any other descriptive 148
property information that may reveal the home address. 149
b. "Judicial assistant" means a court employee assigned to 150
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the following class codes: 8140, 8150, 8310, and 8320. 151
c. "Telephone numbers" includes home telephone numbers, 152
personal cellular telephone numbers, personal pager telephone 153
numbers, and telephone numbers associated with personal 154
communications devices. 155
2.a. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of 156
birth, and photographs of active or former sworn law enforcement 157
personnel or of active or former civilian personnel employed by 158
a law enforcement agency, including correctional and 159
correctional probation officers, personnel of the Department of 160
Children and Families whose duties include the investigation of 161
abuse, neglect, exploitation, fraud, theft, or other criminal 162
activities, personnel of the Department of Health whose duties 163
are to support the investigation of child abuse or neglect, and 164
personnel of the Department of Revenue or local governments 165
whose responsibilities include revenue collection and 166
enforcement or child support enforcement; the names, home 167
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 168
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 169
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 170
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 171
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 172
Constitution. 173
b. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 174
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 175
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personnel of the Department of Financial Services whose duties 176
include the investigation of fraud, theft, workers' compensation 177
coverage requirements and compliance, other related criminal 178
activities, or state regulatory requirement violations; the 179
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 180
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 181
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 182
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 183
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 184
Constitution. 185
c. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 186
and photographs of current or former nonsworn investigative 187
personnel of the Office of Financial Regulation's Bureau of 188
Financial Investigations whose duties include the investigation 189
of fraud, theft, other related criminal activities, or state 190
regulatory requirement violations; the names, home addresses, 191
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 192
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 193
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 194
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 195
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 196
d. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 197
and photographs of current or former firefighters certified in 198
compliance with s. 633.408; the names, home addresses, telephone 199
numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment 200
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of the spouses and children of such firefighters; and the names 201
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 202
children of such firefighters are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 203
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 204
e. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 205
numbers of current or former justices of the Supreme Court, 206
district court of appeal judges, circuit court judges, and 207
county court judges and current judicial assistants; the names, 208
home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 209
employment of the spouses and children of current or former 210
justices and judges and current judicial assistants; and the 211
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 212
by the children of current or former justices and judges and of 213
current judicial assistants are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 214
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This sub-subparagraph 215
is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in 216
accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 217
2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment 218
by the Legislature. 219
f. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 220
and photographs of current or former state attorneys, assistant 221
state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant statewide 222
prosecutors; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 223
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 224
spouses and children of current or former state attorneys, 225
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assistant state attorneys, statewide prosecutors, or assistant 226
statewide prosecutors; and the names and locations of schools 227
and day care facilities attended by the children of current or 228
former state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, statewide 229
prosecutors, or assistant statewide prosecutors are exempt from 230
s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 231
g. The home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 232
numbers of general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of 233
compensation claims, administrative law judges of the Division 234
of Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement 235
hearing officers, and the chair, commissioners, and hearing 236
officers of the Public Employees Relations Commission; the 237
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 238
places of employment of the spouses and children of general 239
magistrates, special magistrates, judges of compensation claims, 240
administrative law judges of the Division of Administrative 241
Hearings, and child support enforcement hearing officers, and 242
the chair, commissioners, and hearing officers of the Public 243
Employees Relations Commission; and the names and locations of 244
schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 245
general magistrates, special magistrates, judges of compensation 246
claims, administrative law judges of the Division of 247
Administrative Hearings, and child support enforcement hearing 248
officers, and the chair, commissioners, and hearing officers of 249
the Public Employees Relations Commission are exempt from s. 250
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119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 251
h. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 252
and photographs of current or former human resource, labor 253
relations, or employee relations directors, assistant directors, 254
managers, or assistant managers of any local government agency 255
or water management district whose duties include hiring and 256
firing employees, labor contract negotiation, administration, or 257
other personnel-related duties; the names, home addresses, 258
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 259
the spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 260
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 261
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 262
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 263
i. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 264
and photographs of current or former code enforcement officers; 265
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 266
and places of employment of the spouses and children of such 267
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 268
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 269
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 270
Constitution. 271
j. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 272
employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 273
guardians ad litem, as defined in s. 39.01; the names, home 274
addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 275
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employment of the spouses and children of such persons; and the 276
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 277
by the children of such persons are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 278
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 279
k. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 280
and photographs of current or former juvenile probation 281
officers, juvenile probation supervisors, detention 282
superintendents, assistant detention superintendents, juvenile 283
justice detention officers I and II, juvenile justice detention 284
officer supervisors, juvenile justice residential officers, 285
juvenile justice residential officer supervisors I and II, 286
juvenile justice counselors, juvenile justice counselor 287
supervisors, human services counselor administrators, senior 288
human services counselor administrators, rehabilitation 289
therapists, and social services counselors of the Department of 290
Juvenile Justice; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 291
dates of birth, and places of employment of spouses and children 292
of such personnel; and the names and locations of schools and 293
day care facilities attended by the children of such personnel 294
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 295
Constitution. 296
l. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 297
and photographs of current or former public defenders, assistant 298
public defenders, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, 299
and assistant criminal conflict and civil regional counsel; the 300
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names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 301
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 302
former public defenders, assistant public defenders, criminal 303
conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant criminal 304
conflict and civil regional counsel; and the names and locations 305
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 306
current or former public defenders, assistant public defenders, 307
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant 308
criminal conflict and civil regional counsel are exempt from s. 309
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 310
m. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 311
and photographs of current or former investigators or inspectors 312
of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation; the 313
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 314
places of employment of the spouses and children of such current 315
or former investigators and inspectors; and the names and 316
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 317
children of such current or former investigators and inspectors 318
are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 319
Constitution. 320
n. The home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of 321
birth of county tax collectors; the names, home addresses, 322
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 323
the spouses and children of such tax collectors; and the names 324
and locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 325
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children of such tax collectors are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and 326
s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 327
o. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 328
and photographs of current or former personnel of the Department 329
of Health whose duties include, or result in, the determination 330
or adjudication of eligibility for social security disability 331
benefits, the investigation or prosecution of complaints filed 332
against health care practitioners, or the inspection of health 333
care practitioners or health care facilities licensed by the 334
Department of Health; the names, home addresses, telephone 335
numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of the spouses 336
and children of such personnel; and the names and locations of 337
schools and day care facilities attended by the children of such 338
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 339
the State Constitution. 340
p. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 341
and photographs of current or former impaired practitioner 342
consultants who are retained by an agency or current or former 343
employees of an impaired practitioner consultant whose duties 344
result in a determination of a person's skill and safety to 345
practice a licensed profession; the names, home addresses, 346
telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of 347
the spouses and children of such consultants or their employees; 348
and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 349
attended by the children of such consultants or employees are 350
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exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 351
Constitution. 352
q. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 353
and photographs of current or former emergency medical 354
technicians or paramedics certified under chapter 401; the 355
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 356
places of employment of the spouses and children of such 357
emergency medical technicians or paramedics; and the names and 358
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 359
children of such emergency medical technicians or paramedics are 360
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 361
Constitution. 362
r. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 363
and photographs of current or former personnel employed in an 364
agency's office of inspector general or internal audit 365
department whose duties include auditing or investigating waste, 366
fraud, abuse, theft, exploitation, or other activities that 367
could lead to criminal prosecution or administrative discipline; 368
the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 369
and places of employment of spouses and children of such 370
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 371
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 372
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 373
Constitution. 374
s. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 375
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and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 376
supervisors, nurses, and clinical employees of an addiction 377
treatment facility; the home addresses, telephone numbers, 378
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 379
spouses and children of such personnel; and the names and 380
locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the 381
children of such personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 382
24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. For purposes of this 383
sub-subparagraph, the term "addiction treatment facility" means 384
a county government, or agency thereof, that is licensed 385
pursuant to s. 397.401 and provides substance abuse prevention, 386
intervention, or clinical treatment, including any licensed 387
service component described in s. 397.311(27). 388
t. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 389
and photographs of current or former directors, managers, 390
supervisors, and clinical employees of a child advocacy center 391
that meets the standards of s. 39.3035(2) and fulfills the 392
screening requirement of s. 39.3035(3), and the members of a 393
Child Protection Team as described in s. 39.303 whose duties 394
include supporting the investigation of child abuse or sexual 395
abuse, child abandonment, child neglect, and child exploitation 396
or to provide services as part of a multidisciplinary case 397
review team; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, 398
photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of the 399
spouses and children of such personnel and members; and the 400
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names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 401
by the children of such personnel and members are exempt from s. 402
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 403
u. The home addresses, telephone numbers, places of 404
employment, dates of birth, and photographs of current or former 405
staff and domestic violence advocates, as defined in s. 406
90.5036(1)(b), of domestic violence centers certified by the 407
Department of Children and Families under chapter 39; the names, 408
home addresses, telephone numbers, places of employment, dates 409
of birth, and photographs of the spouses and children of such 410
personnel; and the names and locations of schools and day care 411
facilities attended by the children of such personnel are exempt 412
from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 413
Constitution. 414
v. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 415
and photographs of current or former inspectors or investigators 416
of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the 417
names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and 418
places of employment of the spouses and children of current or 419
former inspectors or investigators; and the names and locations 420
of schools and day care facilities attended by the children of 421
current or former inspectors or investigators are exempt from s. 422
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This 423
sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review 424
Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on 425
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October 2, 2028, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through 426
reenactment by the Legislature. 427
w. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 428
and photographs of current county attorneys, assistant county 429
attorneys, deputy county attorneys, city attorneys, assistant 430
city attorneys, and deputy city attorneys; the names, home 431
addresses, telephone numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and 432
places of employment of the spouses and children of current 433
county attorneys, assistant county attorneys, deputy county 434
attorneys, city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy 435
city attorneys; and the names and locations of schools and day 436
care facilities attended by the children of current county 437
attorneys, assistant county attorneys, deputy county attorneys, 438
city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, and deputy city 439
attorneys are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 440
the State Constitution. This exemption does not apply to a 441
county attorney, assistant county attorney, deputy county 442
attorney, city attorney, assistant city attorney, or deputy city 443
attorney who qualifies as a candidate for election to public 444
office. This sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government 445
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 446
repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from 447
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 448
x. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 449
and photographs of current or former commissioners of the 450
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Florida Gaming Control Commission; the names, home addresses, 451
telephone numbers, dates of birth, photographs, and places of 452
employment of the spouses and children of such current or former 453
commissioners; and the names and locations of schools and day 454
care facilities attended by the children of such current or 455
former commissioners are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), 456
Art. I of the State Constitution. This sub-subparagraph is 457
subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance 458
with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, 459
unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 460
Legislature. 461
y. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, 462
and photographs of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy 463
clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court 464
personnel; the names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates 465
of birth, and places of employment of the spouses and children 466
of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy clerks of the 467
circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court personnel; and the 468
names and locations of schools and day care facilities attended 469
by the children of current clerks of the circuit court, deputy 470
clerks of the circuit court, and clerk of the circuit court 471
personnel are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of 472
the State Constitution. This sub-subparagraph is subject to the 473
Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 474
and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and 475
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saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 476
477
z.(I) As used in this sub-subparagraph, the term: 478
(A) "Congressional member" means a person who is elected 479
to serve as a member of the United States House of 480
Representatives or is elected or appointed to serve as a member 481
of the United States Senate. 482
(B) "Partial home address" means the dwelling location at 483
which an individual resides and includes the physical address, 484
mailing address, street address, parcel identification number, 485
plot identification number, legal property description, 486
neighborhood name and lot number, GPS coordinates, and any other 487
descriptive property information that may reveal the partial 488
home address, except for the city and zip code. 489
(C) "Public officer" means a person who holds one of the 490
following offices: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Chief 491
Financial Officer, Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner, 492
state representative, state senator, property appraiser, 493
supervisor of elections, school superintendent, school board 494
member, mayor, city commissioner, or county commissioner. 495
(II) The following information is exempt from s. 119.07(1) 496
and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution: 497
(A) The partial home addresses of a current congressional 498
member or public officer and his or her spouse or adult child. 499
(B) The telephone numbers of a current congressional 500
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member or public officer and his or her spouse or adult child. 501
(C) The name, home addresses, telephone numbers, and date 502
of birth of a minor child of a current congressional member or 503
public officer and the name and location of the school or day 504
care facility attended by the minor child. 505
(III) This sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open 506
Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and 507
shall stand repealed on October 2, 2030, unless reviewed and 508
saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 509
3.a. An agency that is the custodian of the information 510
specified in subparagraph 2. and that is not the employer of the 511
officer, employee, justice, judge, or other person specified in 512
subparagraph 2. must maintain the exempt status of that 513
information only if the officer, employee, justice, judge, other 514
person, or employing agency of the designated employee submits a 515
written and notarized request for maintenance of the exemption 516
to the custodial agency. The request must state under oath the 517
statutory basis for the individual's exemption request and 518
confirm the individual's status as a party eligible for exempt 519
status. 520
b. An agency that is the custodian of information 521
specified in sub-subparagraph 2.z. and that is not the employer 522
of the congressional member, public officer, or other person 523
specified in sub-subparagraph 2.z. must maintain the exempt 524
status of that information only if an individual requests the 525
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maintenance of an exemption pursuant to sub-subparagraph 2.z. on 526
the basis of eligibility as a current congressional member or 527
public officer and his or her spouse or child submits, as part 528
of the written and notarized request required by sub-529
subparagraph a., the date of the congressional member's or 530
public officer's election or appointment to public office, the 531
date on which that office is next subject to election, and, if 532
applicable, the date on which the current congressional member's 533
or public officer's minor child reaches the age of majority. The 534
custodian must maintain an exemption granted pursuant to sub-535
subparagraph 2.z. until the qualifying conditions for the 536
exemption no longer apply to the person subject to the 537
exemption. 538
4.a. A county property appraiser, as defined in s. 539
192.001(3), or a county tax collector, as defined in s. 540
192.001(4), who receives a written and notarized request for 541
maintenance of the exemption pursuant to subparagraph 3. must 542
comply by removing the name of the individual with exempt status 543
and the instrument number or Official Records book and page 544
number identifying the property with the exempt status from all 545
publicly available records maintained by the property appraiser 546
or tax collector. For written requests received on or before 547
July 1, 2021, a county property appraiser or county tax 548
collector must comply with this sub-subparagraph by October 1, 549
2021. A county property appraiser or county tax collector may 550
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not remove the street address, legal description, or other 551
information identifying real property within the agency's 552
records so long as a name or personal information otherwise 553
exempt from inspection and copying pursuant to this section is 554
not associated with the property or otherwise displayed in the 555
public records of the agency. 556
b. Any information restricted from public display, 557
inspection, or copying under sub-subparagraph a. must be 558
provided to the individual whose information was removed. 559
5. An officer, an employee, a justice, a judge, or other 560
person specified in subparagraph 2. may submit a written request 561
for the release of his or her exempt information to the 562
custodial agency. The written request must be notarized and must 563
specify the information to be released and the party authorized 564
to receive the information. Upon receipt of the written request, 565
the custodial agency must release the specified information to 566
the party authorized to receive such information. 567
6. The exemptions in this paragraph apply to information 568
held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the 569
exemption. 570
7. Information made exempt under this paragraph may be 571
disclosed pursuant to s. 28.2221 to a title insurer authorized 572
pursuant to s. 624.401 and its affiliates as defined in s. 573
624.10; a title insurance agent or title insurance agency as 574
defined in s. 626.841(1) or (2), respectively; or an attorney 575
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duly admitted to practice law in this state and in good standing 576
with The Florida Bar. 577
8. The exempt status of a home address contained in the 578
Official Records is maintained only during the period when a 579
protected party resides at the dwelling location. Upon 580
conveyance of real property after October 1, 2021, and when such 581
real property no longer constitutes a protected party's home 582
address as defined in sub-subparagraph 1.a., the protected party 583
must submit a written request to release the removed information 584
to the county recorder. The written request to release the 585
removed information must be notarized, must confirm that a 586
protected party's request for release is pursuant to a 587
conveyance of his or her dwelling location, and must specify the 588
Official Records book and page, instrument number, or clerk's 589
file number for each document containing the information to be 590
released. 591
9. Upon the death of a protected party as verified by a 592
certified copy of a death certificate or court order, any party 593
can request the county recorder to release a protected 594
decedent's removed information unless there is a related request 595
on file with the county recorder for continued removal of the 596
decedent's information or unless such removal is otherwise 597
prohibited by statute or by court order. The written request to 598
release the removed information upon the death of a protected 599
party must attach the certified copy of a death certificate or 600
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court order and must be notarized, must confirm the request for 601
release is due to the death of a protected party, and must 602
specify the Official Records book and page number, instrument 603
number, or clerk's file number for each document containing the 604
information to be released. A fee may not be charged for the 605
release of any document pursuant to such request. 606
Section 8. The amendment made by this act to s. 607
119.071(4)(d)2.g., Florida Statutes, is subject to the Open 608
Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, 609
Florida Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2031, 610
unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the 611
Legislature and the text of that sub-subparagraph shall revert 612
to that in existence on June 30, 2026, except that any 613
amendments to such text enacted other than by this act shall be 614
preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such 615
amendments are not dependent upon the amendment to the text 616
which expires pursuant to this section. 617
Section 9. The Legislature finds that it is a public 618
necessity that the home addresses, dates of birth, and telephone 619
numbers of the chair, commissioners, and hearing officers of the 620
Public Employees Relations Commission; the names, home 621
addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of 622
employment of the spouses and children of such personnel; and 623
the names and locations of schools and day care facilities 624
attended by the children of such personnel be made exempt from 625
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s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 626
State Constitution. Such personnel and their families are at a 627
heightened risk of physical and emotional harm from disgruntled 628
individuals who have contentious reactions to actions taken by 629
the commission. In addition, such personnel may be subject to 630
threats or acts of revenge because of the duties they perform. 631
The spouses and children of such personnel are also endangered 632
by individuals who seek to intimidate or harm such personnel. 633
The Legislature finds that the harm that may result from the 634
release of such personal identifying and location information 635
outweighs any public benefit that may be derived from disclosure 636
of the information. 637
Section 10. This act shall take effect on the same date 638
that HB 995 or similar legislation takes effect, if such 639
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 640
extension thereof and becomes a law. 641