Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 1792
By
Senator Yarborough
4-02252-26 20261792__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; amending s.
3 539.003, F.S.; expanding the exemption from public
4 records requirements for records relating to
5 pawnbroker transactions to include those records
6 delivered to the Department of Law Enforcement;
7 providing for future legislative review and repeal of
8 the exemption; providing a statement of public
9 necessity; providing a contingent effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Section 539.003, Florida Statutes, is amended to
14 read:
15 539.003 Confidentiality.—
16
(1)
All records relating to pawnbroker transactions
17 delivered to appropriate law enforcement officials
and the
18
Department of Law Enforcement
pursuant to s. 539.001 are
19 confidential and exempt from
the provisions of
s. 119.07(1) and
20 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and may be used only
21 for official law enforcement purposes. This section does not
22 prohibit the disclosure by the appropriate law enforcement
23 officials
or the Department of Law Enforcement
of the name and
24 address of the pawnbroker, the name and address of the conveying
25 customer, or a description of pawned property to the alleged
26 owner of pawned property.
27
(2) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
28
Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
29
on October 2, 2031, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
30
through reenactment by the Legislature.
31 Section 2.
The Legislature finds that it is a public
32
necessity that
the
records relating to pawnbroker transactions
33
which are delivered to the Department of Law Enforcement be made
34
confidential and
exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and
35
s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. Such records
36
contain sensitive
personal identifying information
from
pawn
37
transactions, such as the pledgor’s or seller’s name, address,
38
telephone number, birth date, physical description, and right
39
thumbprint. Access to such sensitive information would expose
40
pledgors
and
sellers to increased risks of identity theft.
The
41
Legislature finds that expanding the public records exemption to
42
include records of pawnbroker transactions delivered to the
43
Department of Law Enforcement helps ensure uniformity with the
44
current exemption when such records are delivered to other law
45
enforcement officials and protects the effective administration
46
of statewide data sharing of secondhand dealer transactions.
The
47
Legislature further finds that the harm that may result from the
48
release of such personal identifying information outweighs any
49
public benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of the
50
information.
51 Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that
52 SB 1582 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
53 is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
54 thereof and becomes a law