Florida Senate - 2017                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1008
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì357448KÎ357448                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/25/2017           .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       The Committee on Rules (Perry) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 440.1851, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         440.1851 Personal identifying information of an injured or
    8  deceased employee; public records exemption.—
    9         (1) The personal identifying information of an injured or
   10  deceased employee which is contained in reports, notices,
   11  records, or supporting documentation held by the department
   12  pursuant to this chapter is confidential and exempt from s.
   13  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   14         (a) As used in this section, the term “personal identifying
   15  information” means the injured or deceased employee’s name, date
   16  of birth, home address or mailing address, e-mail address, or
   17  telephone number.
   18         (b)The department may disclose information made
   19  confidential and exempt under this section only:
   20         1. To the injured employee, to the spouse or a dependent of
   21  the deceased employee, to the spouse or a dependent of the
   22  injured employee if authorized by the injured employee, or to
   23  the legal representative of the deceased employee’s estate;
   24         2. To a party litigant, or his or her authorized
   25  representative, in matters pending before the Office of the
   26  Judges of Compensation Claims;
   27         3.To a carrier or an employer for the purpose of
   28  investigating the compensability of a claim or for the purpose
   29  of administering its anti-fraud investigative unit established
   30  pursuant to s. 626.9891;
   31         4. In an aggregate reporting format that does not reveal
   32  the personal identifying information of any employee;
   33         5. Pursuant to a court order or subpoena;
   34         6. To an agency for administering its anti-fraud
   35  investigative function or in the furtherance of the agency’s
   36  official duties and responsibilities; or
   37         7. To a federal governmental entity in the furtherance of
   38  the entity’s official duties and responsibilities.
   39  
   40  A carrier, employer, agency, or governmental entity receiving
   41  personal identifying information from the department shall
   42  maintain the confidential and exempt status of the information.
   43         (c) This public records exemption applies to personal
   44  identifying information held by the department before, on, or
   45  after the effective date of this exemption.
   46         (2)A person who willfully and knowingly discloses personal
   47  identifying information made confidential and exempt under this
   48  section to an unauthorized person or entity commits a
   49  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
   50  775.082 or s. 775.083.
   51         (3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   52  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   53  on October 2, 2022, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   54  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   55         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   56  necessity to make confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1),
   57  Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State
   58  Constitution the personal identifying information of an injured
   59  or deceased employee which is contained in reports, notices,
   60  records, or supporting documentation held by the Department of
   61  Financial Services pursuant to chapter 440, Florida Statutes.
   62  Such information is of a sensitive, personal nature, and
   63  disclosure of such information about an injured or deceased
   64  employee is an invasion of that employee’s privacy or the
   65  privacy of his or her family. Because of Florida’s workers
   66  compensation system, an employee’s personal identifying
   67  information becomes public record once the Department of
   68  Financial Services is notified that the employee has been
   69  injured or has died in a work-related incident. Public records
   70  requests for this information have resulted in unwanted
   71  solicitation of injured workers and their families. Further, the
   72  release of such information could lead to discrimination against
   73  the employee by coworkers, potential employers, and others
   74  because of perceived social stigma related to injuries or
   75  disabilities. The harm caused to such an employee or his or her
   76  family by the release of this information outweighs any public
   77  benefit derived from its release.
   78         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.
   79  
   80  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   81  And the title is amended as follows:
   82         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   83  and insert:
   84                        A bill to be entitled                      
   85         An act relating to public records; creating s.
   86         440.1851, F.S.; providing an exemption from public
   87         records requirements for the personal identifying
   88         information of an injured or deceased employee which
   89         is contained in reports, notices, records, or
   90         supporting documentation held by the Department of
   91         Financial Services pursuant to the Workers’
   92         Compensation Law; defining the term “personal
   93         identifying information”; specifying circumstances
   94         under which the department may disclose such
   95         information; requiring certain entities receiving such
   96         information to maintain the confidential and exempt
   97         status of such information; providing retroactive
   98         applicability; providing a criminal penalty for
   99         willful and knowing disclosure of such information to
  100         an unauthorized person or entity; providing for future
  101         review and repeal of the exemption; providing a
  102         statement of public necessity; providing an effective
  103         date.