Florida Senate - 2016                             CS for SB 1278
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Ring
       
       590-02354-16                                          20161278c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending ss.
    3         394.463, 394.4655, 394.467, and 394.4615, F.S.;
    4         providing exemptions from public records requirements
    5         for petitions to determine incapacity; listing persons
    6         to whom the clerk of the court shall allow access to
    7         the petition; providing for future legislative review
    8         and repeal of the exemptions; providing a statement of
    9         public necessity; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   14  394.463, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   15         394.463 Involuntary examination.—
   16         (2) INVOLUNTARY EXAMINATION.—
   17         (a) An involuntary examination may be initiated by any one
   18  of the following means:
   19         1.a. A court may enter an ex parte order stating that a
   20  person appears to meet the criteria for involuntary examination,
   21  giving the findings on which that conclusion is based. The ex
   22  parte order for involuntary examination must be based on sworn
   23  testimony, written or oral. If other less restrictive means are
   24  not available, such as voluntary appearance for outpatient
   25  evaluation, a law enforcement officer, or other designated agent
   26  of the court, shall take the person into custody and deliver him
   27  or her to the nearest receiving facility for involuntary
   28  examination. The order of the court shall be made a part of the
   29  patient’s clinical record. No fee shall be charged for the
   30  filing of an order under this subsection. Any receiving facility
   31  accepting the patient based on this order must send a copy of
   32  the order to the Agency for Health Care Administration on the
   33  next working day. The order shall be valid only until executed
   34  or, if not executed, for the period specified in the order
   35  itself. If no time limit is specified in the order, the order
   36  shall be valid for 7 days after the date that the order was
   37  signed.
   38         b.The petition and any ex parte order entered by the court
   39  under this subparagraph are confidential and exempt from s.
   40  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. A
   41  petition made confidential and exempt by this sub-subparagraph
   42  shall be disclosed by the clerk of the court, upon request, to a
   43  judge of the circuit, the respondent, a guardian, a health care
   44  surrogate or proxy, an attorney of record for the respondent,
   45  and to any other person as directed by order of the court. This
   46  sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review
   47  Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on
   48  October 2, 2021, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through
   49  reenactment by the Legislature.
   50         2. A law enforcement officer shall take a person who
   51  appears to meet the criteria for involuntary examination into
   52  custody and deliver the person or have him or her delivered to
   53  the nearest receiving facility for examination. The officer
   54  shall execute a written report detailing the circumstances under
   55  which the person was taken into custody, and the report shall be
   56  made a part of the patient’s clinical record. Any receiving
   57  facility accepting the patient based on this report must send a
   58  copy of the report to the Agency for Health Care Administration
   59  on the next working day.
   60         3. A physician, clinical psychologist, psychiatric nurse,
   61  mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, or
   62  clinical social worker may execute a certificate stating that he
   63  or she has examined a person within the preceding 48 hours and
   64  finds that the person appears to meet the criteria for
   65  involuntary examination and stating the observations upon which
   66  that conclusion is based. If other less restrictive means are
   67  not available, such as voluntary appearance for outpatient
   68  evaluation, a law enforcement officer shall take the person
   69  named in the certificate into custody and deliver him or her to
   70  the nearest receiving facility for involuntary examination. The
   71  law enforcement officer shall execute a written report detailing
   72  the circumstances under which the person was taken into custody.
   73  The report and certificate shall be made a part of the patient’s
   74  clinical record. Any receiving facility accepting the patient
   75  based on this certificate must send a copy of the certificate to
   76  the Agency for Health Care Administration on the next working
   77  day.
   78         Section 2. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (3) of
   79  section 394.4655, Florida Statutes, to read:
   80         394.4655 Involuntary outpatient placement.—
   81         (3) PETITION FOR INVOLUNTARY OUTPATIENT PLACEMENT.—
   82         (d)The petition and any order entered by the court under
   83  this section are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and
   84  s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. A petition made
   85  confidential and exempt by this paragraph shall be disclosed by
   86  the clerk of the court, upon request, to a judge of the circuit,
   87  the respondent, a guardian, a health care surrogate or proxy, an
   88  attorney of record for the respondent, and to any other person
   89  as directed by order of the court. The clerk of the court may
   90  not post any personal identifying information on the docket or
   91  in publicly accessible files. This paragraph is subject to the
   92  Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15
   93  and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2021, unless reviewed and
   94  saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   95         Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 394.467, Florida
   96  Statutes, is amended to read:
   97         394.467 Involuntary inpatient placement.—
   98         (3) PETITION FOR INVOLUNTARY INPATIENT PLACEMENT.—
   99         (a) The administrator of the facility shall file a petition
  100  for involuntary inpatient placement in the court in the county
  101  where the patient is located. Upon filing, the clerk of the
  102  court shall provide copies to the department, the patient, the
  103  patient’s guardian or representative, and the state attorney and
  104  public defender of the judicial circuit in which the patient is
  105  located. No fee shall be charged for the filing of a petition
  106  under this subsection.
  107         (b)The petition and any order entered by the court under
  108  this section are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and
  109  s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. A petition made
  110  confidential and exempt by this paragraph shall be disclosed by
  111  the clerk of the court, upon request, to a judge of the circuit,
  112  the respondent, a guardian, a health care surrogate or proxy, an
  113  attorney of record for the respondent, and to any other person
  114  as directed by order of the court. The clerk of the court may
  115  not post any personal identifying information on the docket or
  116  in publicly accessible files. This paragraph is subject to the
  117  Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15
  118  and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2021, unless reviewed and
  119  saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
  120         Section 4. Subsection (12) is added to section 394.4615,
  121  Florida Statutes, to read:
  122         394.4615 Clinical records; confidentiality.—
  123         (12)All personal identifying information about an
  124  individual for whom a petition is filed or order entered by a
  125  judge pursuant to part I of chapter 394, and filed with the
  126  clerk of the court is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1)
  127  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. A petition or
  128  order made confidential and exempt by this subsection shall be
  129  disclosed by the clerk of the court, upon request, to a judge of
  130  the circuit, the respondent, a guardian, a health care surrogate
  131  or proxy, an attorney of record for the respondent, and to any
  132  other person as directed by order of the court. The clerk of the
  133  court may not post any personal identifying information on the
  134  docket or in publicly accessible files. This subsection is
  135  subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance
  136  with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2021,
  137  unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the
  138  Legislature.
  139         Section 5. The Legislature finds that it is a public
  140  necessity to exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s.
  141  24(a), Article I of the State Constitution all personal
  142  identifying information about an individual for whom a petition
  143  is filed or order entered by a judge pursuant to part I of
  144  chapter 394, Florida Statutes, that is contained in such
  145  petitions or orders, or dockets concerning them, whether
  146  initial, amended, or supplementary, in order to preserve the
  147  privacy of the person by preserving the privacy of information
  148  in the petition or order or docket that would otherwise be
  149  accessible to the public. The Legislature finds that the public
  150  disclosure of such information in the petition or order or
  151  docket would produce undue harm to an individual alleged to have
  152  a mental illness.
  153         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.