Title: Public Records/Toll Facilities

Summary: Providing an exemption from public records requirements for personal identifying information held by the Department of Transportation, a county, a municipality, or an expressway authority for the purpose of paying, prepaying, or collecting tolls and associated administrative charges for the use of toll facilities; providing for application of the exemption; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption under the Open Government Sunset Review Act; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to public records; amending s. 338.155, F.S.; providing an exemption from public records requirements for personal identifying information held by the Department of Transportation, a county, a municipality, or an expressway authority for the purpose of paying, prepaying, or collecting tolls and associated administrative charges for the use of toll facilities; providing for application of the exemption; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption under the Open Government Sunset Review Act; providing a statement of public necessity; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsection (6) of section 338.155, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 338.155 Payment of toll on toll facilities required; exemptions.  (6) Personal identifying information held by provided to, acquired by, or in the possession of the Department of Transportation, a county, a municipality, or an expressway authority for the purpose of paying, prepaying, or collecting tolls and associated administrative charges for the use of using a credit card, charge card, or check for the prepayment of electronic toll facilities charges to the department, a county, or an expressway authority is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This exemption applies to personal identifying information held by the department, a county, a municipality, or an expressway authority before, on, or after the effective date of the exemption. This subsection is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2019, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public necessity to exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution,personal identifying information of individuals held by the Department of Transportation, a county, a municipality, or an expressway authority for the purpose of paying, prepaying, or collecting tolls and associated administrative charges for the use of toll facilities. The exemption puts individuals who pay for tolls by TOLL-BY-PLATE, which uses photographic images of the vehicle license plate for billing purposes, on equal footing with individuals who prepay for tolls by check, debit card, or credit card, or who pay for tolls with cash at the toll booth. The exemption protects the health and safety of the public by making exempt information regarding the location,travel patterns, and travel activity of individuals who use the toll road system. The exemption protects the anonymity of all individuals on toll roads, not just cash customers, regardless of the method they use to pay tolls. The exemption also thereby promotes the use of the more efficient and effective electronic toll collection system, since paying for tolls by TOLL-BY-PLATE or prepaying for tolls by check, debit card, or credit card not only saves individuals time when passing through the toll facilities, compared to individuals who pay for tolls with cash, but also costs much less for the state to administer. Further, the exemption protects an individual   sright to privacy by prohibiting the public disclosure of private information about the finances and location of an individual using the toll road system. Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.