Senate Bill sb1534c1

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1534

    By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Productivity;
    and Senator Sebesta




    302-2239-02

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         119.07, F.S.; providing exemptions from

  4         public-records requirements for medical

  5         information relating to an individual's health

  6         held by local governmental entities or their

  7         service providers for purposes of determining

  8         eligibility for paratransit services under

  9         Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act

10         or the Transportation Disadvantaged Program as

11         provided in part I of ch. 427, F.S.; providing

12         conditions upon which such information may be

13         disclosed; providing for retroactive

14         application of the exemption; providing for

15         future review and repeal; providing a finding

16         of public necessity; providing an effective

17         date.

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19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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21         Section 1.  Paragraph (ee) is added to subsection (3)

22  of section 119.07, Florida Statutes, as amended by section 1

23  of chapter 2001-364, Laws of Florida, to read:

24         119.07  Inspection, examination, and duplication of

25  records; exemptions.--

26         (3)

27         (ee)  All personally identifying information that is

28  contained in records relating to an individual's health held

29  by local governmental entities or their service providers for

30  the purpose of determining eligibility for paratransit

31  services under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1534
    302-2239-02




  1  or for determining eligibility for the Transportation

  2  Disadvantaged Program as provided in part I of chapter 427 is

  3  confidential and exempt from the provisions of subsection (1)

  4  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, except as

  5  otherwise provided in this paragraph. This exemption applies

  6  to personal identifying information contained in such records

  7  held by local governmental entities or their service providers

  8  before, on, or after the effective date of this exemption.

  9  Information made confidential and exempt by this paragraph may

10  be disclosed:

11         1.  With the express written consent of the individual

12  or the individual's legally authorized representative;

13         2.  In a medical emergency, but only to the extent

14  necessary to protect the health or life of the individual;

15         3.  By order of a court upon a showing of good cause;

16  or

17         4.  For purposes of determining eligibility for

18  paratransit services, if the individual or the individual's

19  representative has filed an appeal or petition before an

20  administrative body of a local government or a court.

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22  This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review

23  Act of 1995 in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand

24  repealed on October 2, 2007, unless reviewed and saved from

25  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.

26         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public

27  necessity that information made confidential and exempt by

28  this act be held confidential and exempt in order to protect

29  health-related information that is of a sensitive personal

30  nature concerning individuals. Matters of personal health are

31  traditionally private and confidential concerns between the

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    Florida Senate - 2002                           CS for SB 1534
    302-2239-02




  1  patient and the health care provider. The private and

  2  confidential nature of personal health matters pervades both

  3  the public and private health care sectors. For these reasons,

  4  the individual's expectation of and right to privacy in all

  5  matters relating to his or her personal health and eligibility

  6  for paratransit services or the Transportation Disadvantaged

  7  Program provided by local government or its service providers

  8  necessitates this exemption.

  9         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

10  law.

11

12          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
13                         Senate Bill 1534

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15  Adds records relating to a person's health that are held by a
    local governmental entity for purposes of determining
16  eligibility for Transportation Disadvantaged Program as
    provided in part I of ch. 427, F.S.
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    Adds an exception to the exemption when person or his or her
18  representative has filed an appeal before a court or local
    administrative body.
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