Title: Public Records

Summary: Providing an exemption from public records requirements for certain official records relating to matters or cases governed by the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure; providing an exemption from public records requirements for a petition for an injunction that is dismissed and the petition's contents; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to public records; amending s. 28.2221, F.S.; making technical changes; providing an exemption from public records requirements for certain official records relating to matters or cases governed by the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of public necessity; amending s. 119.0714, F.S.; providing an exemption from public records requirements for a petition for an injunction that is dismissed and the petition s contents; providing for removal of petitions that were dismissed before the effective date of the act from publicly accessible records; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of public necessity; providing a directive to the Division of Law Revision and Information; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 28.2221, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 28.2221 Electronic access to official records.  (5)(a)  A No county recorder or clerk of the court may not place an image or copy of a public record, including an official record, on a publicly available Internet website for general public display if that image or copy is of a military discharge; a death certificate; or a court file, record, or paper relating to matters or cases governed by the Florida Rules of Family Law Rules of Procedure,the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, or the Florida Probate Rules. (b) Any records specified in this subsection made available by the county recorder or clerk of the court on a publicly available Internet website for general public display before prior to June 5, 2002, must be removed if the affected party identifies the record and requests that it be removed. Such request must be in writing and delivered by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission,or in person to the county recorder or clerk of the court. The request must specify the identification page number of the document to be removed. A No fee may not be charged for the removal of a document pursuant to such request. (c) No later than days after June 5, 2002, notice of the right of any affected party to request removal of records pursuant to this subsection shall be conspicuously and clearly displayed by the county recorder or clerk of the court on the publicly available Internet website on which images or copies of the county s public records are placed and in the office of each county recorder or clerk of the court. In addition, no later than days after June 5, 2002, the county recorder or the clerk of the court must have published, on two separate dates, a notice of such right in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the county recorder s office is located as provided for in chapter 50. Such notice must contain appropriate instructions for making the removal request in person, by mail, by facsimile, or by electronic transmission. The notice shall state, in substantially similar form, that any person has a right to request that a county recorder or clerk of the court remove an image or copy of a public record, including an official record, from a publicly available Internet website if that image or copy is of a military discharge; a death certificate; or a court file, record, or paper relating to matters or cases governed by the Florida Rules of Family Law Rules of Procedure,the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, or the Florida Probate Rules. Such request must be made in writing and delivered by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission,or in person to the county recorder or clerk of the court. The request must identify the document identification page number of the document to be removed. A No fee may not will be charged for the removal of a document pursuant to such request. (d) Any affected person may petition the circuit court for an order directing compliance with this subsection. (e) By January 1, 2006, each county recorder or clerk of the court shall provide for electronic retrieval, at a minimum, of images of documents referenced as the index required to be maintained on the county s official records website by this section. (f)1. A public record that relates to a matter or case governed by the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure which may not be placed on a publicly available website or which must be removed from such a website pursuant to this subsection is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 2. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2021, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that a public record that relates to a matter or case governed by the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure which may not be placed on a publicly available website or that must be removed from such a website pursuant to s. 28.2221(5), Florida Statutes, be made confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The Legislature finds that such records often contain material that is of a personal, sensitive nature and that the damage to the privacy interests of persons involved in such matters or cases by making such information public outweighs any public benefit in making such information accessible. Additionally, such records may contain financial information that may facilitate identity theft or other criminal activity, and making such records confidential and exempt would prevent such activity. Section 3. Paragraph (g) is added to subsection (3) of section 119.0714, Florida Statutes, to read: 119.0714 Court files; court records; official records.  (3) OFFICIAL RECORDS. A person who prepares or files a record for recording in the official records as provided in chapter may not include in that record a social security number or a bank account, debit, charge, or credit card number unless otherwise expressly required by law. (g)1. A petition for an injunction that is dismissed without a hearing or at an ex parte hearing due to failure to state a claim, lack of jurisdiction, or any reason having to do with the sufficiency of the petition itself without an injunction being issued, and the contents thereof, are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 2.a. A petition described in subparagraph 1. dismissed on or after the effective date of this act, and the contents thereof, must be removed from all publically accessible records upon dismissal. b. A petition described in subparagraph 1. dismissed before the effective date of this act, and the contents thereof, shall be removed upon request by an individual named in the petition as a respondent. The request must be in the form of a signed, legibly written request specifying the case name, case number, document heading, and page number. The request must be delivered by mail, facsimile, electronic transmission, or in person to the clerk of the court. A fee may not be charged for the removal pursuant to the request. 3. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2021, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. Section 4.  The Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that a petition for an injunction that is dismissed without a hearing or at an ex parte hearing due to failure to state a claim, lack of jurisdiction, or any reason having to do with the sufficiency of the petition itself without an injunction being issued, and the contents thereof, be made confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The Legislature finds that the existence of such a petition and of the unverified allegations contained in such a petition could be defamatory to an individual and cause unwarranted damage to the reputation of such individual and that correction of the public record by the removal of such a petition is the sole means of protecting the reputation of an individual named in such a petition. Section 5.  The Division of Law Revision and Information is directed to replace the phrase  the effective date of this act  wherever it occurs in this act with such date. Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.