Read the full stored bill text
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 physician
s; 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
physician
s; 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 physician
s 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 eligib
ility
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
exempt
ion
. An
57
individual who has submitted such a request has a duty to
58
withdraw the request if the exempt
ion
no longer applies to the
59
individual.
If a custodial agency receives a request meeting the
60
requirements of this subparagraph, t
he
custodia
l agency
must
61
maintain
the exempt status of such information applicable to the
62
individual u
ntil
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, 203
1
, 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 physician
s
;
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 physician
s; 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 physician
s be
made
exempt from public records
78
requirements.
Emergency department physician
s, 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 physician
s 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 physician
s, or
of
the spouses and children
87
of such
emergency department physician
s, 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.