Florida Senate - 2017                             CS for SB 1008
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senators Perry
       and Bradley
       
       
       
       
       597-03360-17                                          20171008c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; creating s.
    3         440.1851, F.S.; providing an exemption from public
    4         records requirements for the personal identifying
    5         information of an injured or deceased employee which
    6         is contained in reports, notices, records, or
    7         supporting documentation held by the Department of
    8         Financial Services; defining the term “personal
    9         identifying information”; specifying circumstances
   10         under which the department may disclose such
   11         information; providing retroactive applicability;
   12         providing a criminal penalty for willful and knowing
   13         disclosure of such information; providing for future
   14         review and repeal of the exemption; providing a
   15         statement of public necessity; providing an effective
   16         date.
   17          
   18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   19  
   20         Section 1. Section 440.1851, Florida Statutes, is created
   21  to read:
   22         440.1851 Personal identifying information of an injured or
   23  deceased employee; public records exemption.—
   24         (1) The personal identifying information of an injured or
   25  deceased employee which is contained in reports, notices,
   26  records, or supporting documentation held by the department is
   27  confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I
   28  of the State Constitution.
   29         (a) As used in this section, the term “personal identifying
   30  information” means:
   31         1. The injured or deceased employee’s name;
   32         2. The injured or deceased employee’s date of birth;
   33         3. The injured or deceased employee’s home address or
   34  mailing address;
   35         4. The injured or deceased employee’s e-mail address; or
   36         5. The injured or deceased employee’s telephone number.
   37         (b) The department may disclose information made
   38  confidential and exempt under this section only:
   39         1. To the injured employee, to the spouse or a dependent of
   40  the deceased employee, to the spouse or a dependent of the
   41  injured employee if authorized by the injured employee, or to
   42  the legal representative of the deceased employee’s estate;
   43         2. To a party litigant, or his or her authorized
   44  representative, in matters pending before the Office of the
   45  Judges of Compensation Claims;
   46         3. To a carrier or an employer for the purpose of
   47  investigating the compensability of a claim or for the purpose
   48  of administering its anti-fraud investigative unit established
   49  pursuant to s. 626.9891;
   50         4. In an aggregate reporting format that does not reveal
   51  the personal identifying information of any employee;
   52         5. Pursuant to a court order or subpoena;
   53         6. To an agency for administering its anti-fraud
   54  investigative function or in the furtherance of the agency’s
   55  official duties and responsibilities; or
   56         7. To a federal governmental entity in the furtherance of
   57  the entity’s official duties and responsibilities.
   58  
   59  Any carrier, employer, agency, or governmental entity receiving
   60  such information shall maintain the confidentiality of the
   61  information as long as it would otherwise be confidential.
   62         (c) This exemption applies to personal identifying
   63  information held by the department before, on, or after the
   64  effective date of this exemption.
   65         (2) A person who willfully and knowingly discloses personal
   66  identifying information made confidential and exempt under this
   67  section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
   68  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   69         (3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   70  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, and shall stand
   71  repealed on October 2, 2022, unless reviewed and saved from
   72  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   73         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   74  necessity to make confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1),
   75  Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State
   76  Constitution the personal identifying information of an injured
   77  or deceased employee which is contained in reports, notices,
   78  records, or supporting documentation held by the Department of
   79  Financial Services. Such information is of a sensitive, personal
   80  nature, and disclosure of such information about an injured or
   81  deceased employee is an invasion of that employee’s privacy or
   82  the privacy of his or her family. Further, the release of such
   83  information could lead to discrimination against the employee by
   84  coworkers, potential employers, and others. The harm caused to
   85  such an employee or his or her family by the release of this
   86  information outweighs any public benefit derived from its
   87  release.
   88         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2017.