Senate Bill sb2178c1
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Florida Senate - 2005 CS for SB 2178
By the Committee on Ethics and Elections; and Senator Posey
582-1919-05
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; amending s.
3 97.0585, F.S.; revising an exemption from the
4 public-records law which is provided for
5 information concerning persons who decline to
6 register to vote, information relating to the
7 place where a person registered to vote or
8 updated a registration, and a voter's signature
9 and social security number; creating exemptions
10 from disclosure for a voter's driver's license
11 number and Florida identification number;
12 deleting an exemption from disclosure provided
13 for the voter's telephone number; providing
14 certain exceptions; providing for future
15 legislative review and repeal under the Open
16 Government Sunset Review Act; providing a
17 finding of public necessity; providing a
18 contingent effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Section 97.0585, Florida Statutes, is
23 amended to read:
24 97.0585 Public-records exemption; information
25 regarding voters and voter registration Declinations to
26 register; place of registration and registration information;
27 confidentiality.--
28 (1) The following information concerning voters and
29 voter registration is confidential and exempt from s.
30 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and
31 may be used only for purposes of voter registration:
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Florida Senate - 2005 CS for SB 2178
582-1919-05
1 (a) All declinations to register to vote made pursuant
2 to ss. 97.057 and 97.058 are confidential and exempt from the
3 provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
4 Constitution and may be used only for voter registration
5 purposes.
6 (b)(2) Information relating to the place where a
7 person registered to vote or where a person updated a voter
8 registration.
9 (c) The social security number, driver's license
10 number, and Florida identification number of a voter
11 registration applicant or voter.
12 (2) The signature of a voter registration applicant or
13 a voter is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s.
14 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution; and
15 a voter's signature, social security number, and telephone
16 number may not be copied and is are exempt for that purpose
17 from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of
18 the State Constitution.
19 Section 2. Section 97.0585, Florida Statutes, as
20 amended by this act, is subject to the Open Government Sunset
21 Review Act of 1995 in accordance with section 119.15, Florida
22 Statutes, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2010, unless
23 reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the
24 Legislature.
25 Section 3. (1) The Legislature recognizes that the
26 Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires the implementation of a
27 new single, uniform, centralized, interactive, and
28 computerized statewide voter registration system by January 1,
29 2006. The Florida Voter Registration System (FVRS) will
30 replace the existing state's voter registration system. The
31 FVRS will interface with and integrate voter registration
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Florida Senate - 2005 CS for SB 2178
582-1919-05
1 information and records from the offices of the 67 county
2 supervisors of elections. The FVRS will contain the name and
3 other registration information of every legally registered
4 voter in the state. The FVRS will be the official list of
5 registered voters in the state and will be used as the
6 registration system for federal and state elections. Any such
7 system must keep information concerning a person's decision
8 not to register or information concerning the place where a
9 person registers to vote confidential in accordance with the
10 National Voter Registration Act. Therefore, the Legislature
11 finds it necessary to continue the existing public-records
12 exemption to keep such information confidential and exempt in
13 order to conform with the requirements of the National Voter
14 Registration Act. Additionally, because persons may register
15 to vote or update voter registration information at designated
16 voter registration agencies that may include any office that
17 provides public assistance, this exemption is also necessary
18 to protect from disclosure personal information concerning
19 those persons who apply for or receive public assistance at
20 these offices.
21 (2) The Legislature also finds it necessary to broaden
22 the existing exemption from public-records access to social
23 security numbers of voters and voter registration applicants
24 to include driver's license numbers and Florida identification
25 numbers. The Legislature finds that access to such information
26 can lead to fraud, personal identity theft, and invasion of
27 privacy. The Florida Voter Statewide Voter Registration
28 System, once implemented and maintained, will constitute one
29 of the most comprehensive and up-to-date databases of persons
30 in this state. The Legislature finds it not only necessary to
31 exempt from copying social security numbers, driver's license
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Florida Senate - 2005 CS for SB 2178
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1 numbers, and Florida identification numbers of those persons
2 in the Florida Voter Registration System but also to exempt
3 those numbers from inspection. Even the memorization of a
4 single person's social security number, driver's license
5 number, or Florida identification number could result in
6 economic and personal harm to that individual whose numbers
7 may be used to perpetuate fraud or may be coupled with other
8 readily available public information to commit personal
9 identity theft or to gain access to records, such as
10 financial, educational, or medical records. The Legislature
11 also finds it necessary to keep the social security numbers,
12 driver's license numbers, and Florida identification numbers
13 in the Florida Voter Registration System confidential and
14 exempt in order to encourage voter registration and remove
15 disincentives to registering to vote.
16 (3) The Legislature also finds it necessary to
17 continue and to expand the existing exemption that precludes
18 the copying of a voter's signature. Currently, a voter's
19 signature is exempt from copying but only if contained on a
20 voter registration application or precinct register. Two
21 advisory opinions from the Attorney General issued in 2001
22 stated that a voter's signature on an absentee ballot
23 certificate is not part of the voter registration record and
24 therefore not exempt from copying. Because express exemption
25 from copying did not exist for absentee ballot certificates,
26 any person or entity may request and obtain copies of all
27 signatures of voters who voted absentee in any particular
28 election. Consequently, any person or entity may also request
29 and obtain copies of all signatures of voters who signed
30 provisional ballot envelopes, early voting certificates, or
31 any other voting-related documents other than a voter
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Florida Senate - 2005 CS for SB 2178
582-1919-05
1 registration application or a precinct register. The
2 Legislature intends that a voter's signature be protected in
3 order to prevent fraud, identity theft, or invasion of privacy
4 in all instances. Nonetheless, the Legislature finds that any
5 exemption for such signatures must be balanced against the
6 continuing administrative need to allow for public inspection
7 of the signatures of voters or voter registration applicants
8 for purposes of voter verification, matching, or authenticity
9 as may occur in a voter's challenge or canvassing of an
10 absentee ballot. Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is a
11 public necessity to continue the existing exemption solely
12 from copying of voters' signatures and to expand that
13 exemption to apply to voters' signatures as may also appear on
14 absentee ballot certificate envelopes, provisional ballot
15 envelopes, early-voting certificates, or any other
16 voting-related document that must be executed for purposes of
17 voting or voter registration.
18 Section 4. This act shall take effect on the same date
19 that Senate Bill 2176 or similar legislation takes effect, if
20 such legislation is enacted in the same legislative session or
21 an extension thereof and becomes law.
22
23 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
24 Senate Bill 2178
25
26 The committee substitute makes a voter's driver's license
number and Florida identification number confidential and
27 exempt from public disclosure. It also removes a limited
public-records exemption for a voter's telephone number.
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