House Bill hb1679er

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    ENROLLED

    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



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  2         An act relating to public records; creating the

  3         Study Committee on Public Records; providing

  4         for membership and organization of the

  5         committee; providing purpose, duties, and

  6         responsibilities of the committee; requiring a

  7         report; providing for expiration of the

  8         committee; amending s. 28.2221, F.S., relating

  9         to electronic access to official records;

10         revising declared state purpose with respect to

11         such access; providing limitations with respect

12         to a specified Internet index of documents;

13         providing that county recorders may not place

14         images or copies of specified public records on

15         a publicly available Internet website for

16         general public display; requiring that such

17         records placed on the Internet prior to the

18         effective date of the act be removed upon

19         request; providing certain notice requirements

20         and requiring publication of notice by county

21         recorders and clerks of the court; providing

22         that affected persons may petition the court

23         for an order of compliance; requiring clerks of

24         court to provide for electronic retrieval of

25         images of certain documents by a specified

26         date; providing an appropriation; providing an

27         effective date.

28

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

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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1         Section 1.  Study Committee on Public Records;

  2  creation; membership; duties.--

  3         (1)  There is created a Study Committee on Public

  4  Records.  The committee shall be composed of twenty-two

  5  members, nine of whom will serve in an advisory, nonvoting

  6  capacity, as follows:

  7         (a)  The Governor shall appoint one at-large member who

  8  is a resident of the state, one attorney with expertise in

  9  Florida's public records and privacy laws, a representative

10  from the First Amendment Foundation, and a representative of

11  the data aggregation industry.  To serve in an advisory

12  capacity, the Governor shall appoint a representative from the

13  Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a representative from

14  the Department of Children and Family Services, a

15  representative from the Department of Juvenile Justice, and a

16  representative from the Department of Education.

17         (b)  The President of the Senate shall appoint a member

18  of the Senate interested in and knowledgeable in the areas of

19  public records law, judicial records, and real property and

20  probate issues; one attorney with expertise in family law; and

21  a representative of the real property title industry. To serve

22  in an advisory capacity, the President of the Senate shall

23  appoint one domestic violence advocate and one child and

24  family advocate.

25         (c)  The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall

26  appoint a member of the House of Representatives interested in

27  and knowledgeable in the areas of public records law, judicial

28  records, and family law issues; one attorney with expertise in

29  real property and probate law; and a representative from a

30  financial institution or from the credit industry. To serve in

31  an advisory capacity, the Speaker of the House of


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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1  Representatives shall appoint two representatives from among

  2  local or community service providers.

  3         (d)  The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall

  4  appoint two judges or justices who are interested in and

  5  knowledgeable regarding public records law and who are

  6  familiar with the variety and types of judicial records. To

  7  serve in an advisory capacity, the Chief Justice of the

  8  Supreme Court shall appoint a representative from the judicial

  9  branch.

10         (e)  The Florida Association of Circuit Court Clerks

11  and Comptrollers shall appoint one Clerk of the Circuit Court.

12         (2)  The Speaker of the House of Representatives and

13  the President of the Senate shall designate legislative staff

14  knowledgeable in the areas of public records and privacy laws

15  to assist the committee and provide all necessary data

16  collection, analysis, research, and support services.

17         (3)  The attorney appointed by the Governor shall serve

18  as chair of the committee.  Members must be appointed within

19  30 days after the effective date of this act. No sooner than

20  40 days and no later than 60 days after the effective date of

21  this act, the committee shall meet to establish procedures for

22  the conduct of its business and to elect a vice chair.  The

23  committee shall meet at the call of the chair but no less

24  frequently than every 2 months.  A majority of the members of

25  the committee constitutes a quorum, and a quorum is necessary

26  for the purpose of voting on any action or recommendation of

27  the committee.  All meetings shall be held in Tallahassee,

28  unless otherwise decided by the committee. No more than two

29  meetings held in locations other than Tallahassee may be held

30  for the purpose of taking public testimony regarding the

31  issues set forth in subsection (4).


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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1         (4)  The committee shall address:

  2         (a)  The issues of privacy and public access as they

  3  relate to the collection and dissemination of information

  4  contained in court records. With respect to such issues, the

  5  committee shall specifically address:

  6         1.  How the collection, storage, retrieval,

  7  dissemination, and accessibility of court records through

  8  advanced technologies such as remote electronic access,

  9  including Internet access, has affected:

10         a.  The expectation of privacy to sensitive, personal,

11  or other evidentiary information contained in court records;

12         b.  The role and effectiveness of the court and the

13  clerks of the court as custodians of these records;

14         c.  The operations of other governmental entities that

15  use information in court records;

16         d.  The security and safety of citizens; and

17         e.  The interests of business, research, and media

18  industries in these records.

19         2.  How best to balance the positive and negative

20  effects of electronic access to court records.

21         3.  Whether the courts and participants in the judicial

22  process require or provide excessive and unnecessary

23  information, and if so, the best manner in which to address

24  such issues.

25         4.  Whether categories of cases or information such as

26  financial affidavits, names and addresses of children,

27  psychological evaluations, testimony and reports of therapists

28  and counselors, and other evidentiary information found in

29  court records should be made confidential or exempt from

30  public disclosure in part or in totality.

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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1         5.a.  What information is and should be accessible, the

  2  circumstances warranting accessibility, and the need for

  3  restrictions with respect thereto; and

  4         b.  Whether levels of accessibility should be

  5  established based on the nature of the information and the

  6  user of the information, circumstances warranting the

  7  establishment of levels of accessibility, and the need for

  8  restrictions with respect thereto.

  9         6.  How to ensure the privacy, security, and full

10  participation of children and families within the judicial

11  system without undermining the fairness of the judicial

12  process.

13         7.  What changes, if any, in law, rule, policy, or

14  practice related to the collection, filing, and dissemination

15  of information contained in court records are necessary to

16  facilitate information sharing, admissibility of evidence, and

17  public access to court records, yet at the same time balance

18  security and privacy needs.

19         8.a.  What impediments exist with regard to preventing

20  the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of confidential or

21  exempt information in current and future court records;

22         b.  Who should be responsible for ensuring that such

23  information is kept exempt from public disclosure; and

24         c.  What, if any, penalties should be in place if such

25  disclosure occurs.

26         (b)  The issues of privacy and public access as they

27  relate to the collection and dissemination of information

28  contained in all official records.  With respect to such

29  issues, the committee shall specifically address:

30         1.  How the storage, retrieval, dissemination, and

31  accessibility of official records through advanced


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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1  technologies such as remote electronic access, including

  2  Internet access, has affected:

  3         a.  The expectation of privacy with respect to

  4  sensitive or personal information contained in official

  5  records;

  6         b.  The role and effectiveness of the county recorder;

  7         c.  The operations of other governmental entities who

  8  use official records;

  9         d.  The security and safety of citizens; and

10         e.  The interests of business, research, and media

11  industries.

12         2.  How best to balance the positive and negative

13  effects of access to official records, regardless of the

14  medium.

15         3.  The question of whether confidential or exempt

16  information contained in official records should continue to

17  be disclosed to the public in copies of records disclosed at

18  the county recorder's office or obtained through electronic

19  means.

20         4.a.  Who should be responsible for ensuring that

21  confidential or exempt information is identified, kept out of

22  official records, and kept exempt from public disclosure; and

23         b.  What changes to the law, practices, and procedures

24  need to occur in order to most effectively and efficiently

25  keep confidential or exempt information out of official

26  records.

27         5.  How the public and the legal and business

28  communities can be educated with regard to limiting the types

29  of personal information included in official records.

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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1         6.  How to promote greater communication between all

  2  branches of government regarding the collection and disclosure

  3  of sensitive personal information.

  4         7.  What procedural safeguards, enforcement practices,

  5  and underlying policies used by public records custodians

  6  currently exist or could be implemented to protect the

  7  disclosure of confidential or exempt information.

  8         8.  The question of whether sanctions should be created

  9  with regard to what is placed in official records as well as

10  for disclosing confidential or exempt information.

11         (5)  Committee members serving in an advisory capacity

12  shall provide information to the committee, as requested.

13  Advisory members are, in part, responsible for reporting to

14  the committee any recommendations regarding the following

15  issues:

16         (a)  What information contained in agency records

17  pertaining to minors and family issues of a sensitive nature

18  should be exempt from public disclosure, and what is the best

19  method of protecting against the unlawful dissemination of

20  such information when these records are used for court

21  proceedings.

22         (b)  What changes to agency policies and procedures are

23  necessary in order to ensure that sensitive personal

24  information relating to minors and family issues of a

25  sensitive nature is most effectively and efficiently

26  disseminated to the judiciary when such information is

27  pertinent to court proceedings.

28         (6)  The committee, as it deems appropriate, may

29  examine and recommend changes to laws, rules, and policies

30  governing all public records.

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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1         (7)  The committee shall review, at a minimum,

  2  documents compiled by the legislative, executive, and judicial

  3  branches; the clerks of court; and the Florida Bar, relating

  4  to the topics of privacy, technology, and public records,

  5  including official records and court records.

  6         (8)  The committee shall submit a final report to the

  7  Governor, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the

  8  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of

  9  Representatives, by January 1, 2003.  The final report shall

10  include specific recommendations regarding the privacy and

11  public records issues identified in this act.  To the extent

12  possible, the report shall include proposed legislation or

13  rule change recommendations.  The report shall identify any

14  necessary support services, additional training, and fiscal

15  impact resulting from its recommendations.

16         (9)  Members of the committee shall serve without

17  compensation but are entitled to be reimbursed for per diem

18  and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061. Per diem travel

19  and expenses for committee members who are employees of the

20  state shall be provided from the budgets of the employing

21  agencies.

22         (10)  The committee is terminated June 30, 2003.

23         Section 2.  Section 28.2221, Florida Statutes, is

24  amended to read:

25         28.2221  Electronic access to official records.--

26         (1)  The Legislature finds that a proper and legitimate

27  state purpose is served by providing the public with access to

28  public records and information on the Internet. The

29  Legislature further finds that a proper and legitimate state

30  purpose is also served by preventing disclosure of records and

31  information made exempt by law from public disclosure and


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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1  hereby determines that the provisions of this section fulfill

  2  and further an important  state interest.

  3         (2)  No later than January 1, 2002, the county recorder

  4  in each county shall provide a current index of documents

  5  recorded in the official records of the county for the period

  6  beginning no later than January 1, 1990, on a publicly

  7  available Internet website which shall also contain a document

  8  requisition point for obtaining images or copies of the

  9  documents reflected in the index and which has the capability

10  of electronically providing the index data to a central

11  statewide search site. The index shall be limited to grantor

12  and grantee names, party names, date, book and page number,

13  comments, and type of record.

14         (3)  Each county recorder shall use appropriate

15  Internet security measures to ensure that no person has the

16  ability to alter or to modify records placed on the Internet

17  by the county recorder any public record.

18         (4)  Unless otherwise provided by law, no information

19  retrieved electronically pursuant to this section shall be

20  admissible in court as an authenticated document.

21         (5)(a)  No county recorder or clerk of the court may

22  place an image or copy of a public record, including an

23  official record, on a publicly available Internet website for

24  general public display if that image or copy is of a military

25  discharge; death certificate; or a court file, record, or

26  paper relating to matters or cases governed by the Florida

27  Rules of Family Law, the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure,

28  or the Florida Probate Rules.

29         (b)  Any records specified in this subsection made

30  available by the county recorder or clerk of the court on a

31  publicly available Internet website for general public display


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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1  prior to the effective date of this act must be removed if the

  2  affected party identifies the record and requests that it be

  3  removed.  Such request must be in writing and delivered by

  4  mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission, or in person to

  5  the county recorder or clerk of the court.  The request must

  6  specify the identification page number of the document to be

  7  removed.  No fee may be charged for the removal of a document

  8  pursuant to such request.

  9         (c)  No later than 30 days after the effective date of

10  this act, notice of the right of any affected party to request

11  removal of records pursuant to this subsection shall be

12  conspicuously and clearly displayed by the county recorder or

13  clerk of the court on the publicly available Internet website

14  on which images or copies of the county's public records are

15  placed and in the office of each county recorder or clerk of

16  the court. In addition, no later than 30 days after the

17  effective date of this act, the county recorder or the clerk

18  of the court must have published, on two separate dates, a

19  notice of such right in a newspaper of general circulation in

20  the county where the county recorder's office is located as

21  provided for in chapter 50.  Such notice must contain

22  appropriate instructions for making the removal request in

23  person, by mail, by facsimile, or by electronic transmission.

24  The notice shall state, in substantially similar form, that

25  any person has a right to request that a county recorder or

26  clerk of the court remove an image or copy of a public record,

27  including an official record, from a publicly available

28  Internet website if that image or copy is of a military

29  discharge; death certificate; or a court file, record, or

30  paper relating to matters or cases governed by the Florida

31  Rules of Family Law, the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure,


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    2002 Legislature                  CS/HB 1679, Second Engrossed



  1  or the Florida Probate Rules.  Such request must be made in

  2  writing and delivered by mail, facsimile, or electronic

  3  transmission, or in person to the county recorder or clerk of

  4  the court. The request must identify the document

  5  identification page number of the document to be removed. No

  6  fee will be charged for the removal of a document pursuant to

  7  such request.

  8         (d)  Any affected person may petition the circuit court

  9  for an order directing compliance with this subsection.

10         (e)  By January 1, 2006, each county recorder or clerk

11  of the court shall provide for electronic retrieval, at a

12  minimum, of images of documents referenced as the index

13  required to be maintained on the county's official records

14  website by this section.

15         Section 3.  There is hereby appropriated from the

16  General Revenue Fund to the Executive Office of the Governor

17  the sum of $25,000 for the purpose of reimbursement for per

18  diem and travel expenses as authorized by this act.

19         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

20  law.  For purposes of codifying the Florida Statutes 2002, the

21  Division of Statutory Revision of the Office of Legislative

22  Services is directed to substitute the effective date of

23  Council Substitute for House Bill 1679, First Engrossed, for

24  the language "the effective date of this act" as used in

25  section 28.2221(5)(b) and (c), Florida Statutes, as amended by

26  section 2 of Council Substitute for House Bill 1679, First

27  Engrossed.

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