Florida Senate - 2009 SB 1044
By Senator Smith
29-01388-09 20091044__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; providing an
3 exemption from public-records requirements for
4 specified identifying information contained in the
5 statewide Internet registry maintained under the
6 Vacant or Abandoned Real Property Registration,
7 Maintenance, and Foreclosure Reporting Act; providing
8 exceptions; providing for future review and repeal of
9 the exemption; providing a statement of public
10 necessity; providing a contingent effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Statewide Internet registry maintained under the
15 Vacant or Abandoned Real Property Registration, Maintenance, and
16 Foreclosure Reporting Act; public-records exemption.—
17 (1) The following information filed in the statewide
18 Internet registry maintained under the Vacant or Abandoned Real
19 Property Registration, Maintenance, and Foreclosure Reporting
20 Act is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a),
21 Art. I of the State Constitution:
22 (a) The name of the owner of the property that is the
23 subject of the filing.
24 (b) The address of the property that is the subject of the
25 filing.
26 (c) The mortgage loan number of the property that is the
27 subject of the filing.
28 (2)(a) The information made confidential and exempt under
29 subsection (1) may be made available to a state agency, the
30 lender, or the local government in which the property is
31 located.
32 (b) The Department of Financial Services may use the
33 filings in the registry to provide statistical information
34 concerning vacant or abandoned property and property
35 foreclosures.
36 (3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
37 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand
38 repealed on October 2, 2014, unless reviewed and saved from
39 repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
40 Section 2. Because mortgage foreclosures and the many
41 problems that arise as a result of foreclosures have become a
42 problem both nationally and particularly in the State of
43 Florida, a statewide Internet registry was created under the
44 Vacant or Abandoned Real Property Registration, Maintenance, and
45 Foreclosure Reporting Act for the purpose of helping the state,
46 local governments, and mortgage lenders address the problems
47 inherent in the increase of vacant and abandoned properties
48 throughout the state. By establishing the registry as a single
49 source that will facilitate the compilation, reporting, and
50 exchange of information relevant to foreclosures, the relevant
51 parties in property foreclosures will be better able to
52 communicate with each other concerning the problems related to
53 such vacant and abandoned properties. This capability will help
54 reduce the negative impact that increasing numbers of foreclosed
55 properties have on neighborhoods and communities throughout the
56 state. Issues concerning the maintenance of such properties are
57 better addressed at earlier stages, before the properties begin
58 to have a detrimental effect on neighborhoods and communities,
59 and the statewide registry will enable all relevant parties to a
60 foreclosure to act in a timely manner and thus avoid or minimize
61 such effects. Under Florida law, the statewide registry would be
62 subject to the state's public-records law and anyone could
63 obtain the information contained in the registry. This level of
64 access has the potential to provide criminals with specific
65 information about vacant or abandoned properties, thus making
66 the properties more susceptible to robbery, burglary, vandalism,
67 or other misuse. By making such information publicly available,
68 any resultant robbery, burglary, vandalism, or other misuse of
69 such unprotected properties would be completely contrary to some
70 of the primary purposes of establishing the registry, namely, to
71 protect properties from neglect and misuse and to increase the
72 general safety and quality of life of neighborhoods and
73 communities throughout the state. Under the provisions governing
74 the registry, the name of the owner of a subject property and
75 the address and mortgage loan number of such property would
76 still be available to state agencies, the mortgage lender, and
77 the local government in which the subject property is located.
78 It is therefore the finding of the Legislature that it is in the
79 best interests of the state that the name of the owner of a
80 property that is the subject of a filing in the statewide
81 Internet registry created under the Vacant or Abandoned Real
82 Property Registration, Maintenance, and Foreclosure Reporting
83 Act and the address and the loan number of the property that is
84 the subject of the filing be held exempt from public-records
85 requirements.
86 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009, if SB
87 ___ or similar legislation is adopted in the same legislative
88 session or an extension thereof and becomes law.