Florida Senate - 2017 SB 1062
By Senator Powell
30-00972-17 20171062__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; amending s.
3 119.0714, F.S.; providing an exemption from public
4 records requirements for petitions, and the contents
5 thereof, for certain protective injunctions that are
6 dismissed in certain circumstances; requiring the
7 removal of petitions dismissed before, on, or after a
8 specified date from publicly accessible records;
9 providing for future legislative review and repeal of
10 the exemption; providing a statement of public
11 necessity; providing an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (1) of
16 section 119.0714, Florida Statutes, to read:
17 119.0714 Court files; court records; official records.—
18 (1) COURT FILES.—Nothing in this chapter shall be construed
19 to exempt from s. 119.07(1) a public record that was made a part
20 of a court file and that is not specifically closed by order of
21 court, except:
22 (k)1. A petition, and the contents thereof, for an
23 injunction for protection against domestic violence, repeat
24 violence, dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, or
25 cyberstalking which is dismissed without a hearing or at an ex
26 parte hearing due to failure to state a claim, lack of
27 jurisdiction, or any reason having to do with the sufficiency of
28 the petition itself without an injunction being issued.
29 2.a. A petition, and the contents thereof, described in
30 subparagraph 1. which is dismissed on or after July 1, 2017,
31 must be removed from all publicly accessible records upon
32 dismissal.
33 b. A petition, and the contents thereof, described in
34 subparagraph 1. which are dismissed before July 1, 2017, shall
35 be removed upon request by an individual named in the petition
36 as a respondent. The request must be in the form of a signed,
37 legibly written request specifying the case name, case number,
38 document heading, and page number. The request must be delivered
39 by mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission or in person to
40 the clerk of the court. A fee may not be charged for such
41 removal.
42 3. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset
43 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
44 on October 2, 2022, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
45 through reenactment by the Legislature.
46 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
47 necessity that a petition, and the contents thereof, for an
48 injunction for protection against domestic violence, repeat
49 violence, dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, or
50 cyberstalking which is dismissed without a hearing or at an ex
51 parte hearing due to failure to state a claim, lack of
52 jurisdiction, or any reason having to do with the sufficiency of
53 the petition itself without an injunction being issued be made
54 confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and
55 s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. The Legislature
56 finds that the existence of, and the unverified allegations
57 contained in, such a petition may be defamatory to an individual
58 named in it and cause unwarranted damage to the reputation of
59 such individual. The Legislature further finds that correction
60 of the public record by the removal of such a petition, and the
61 contents thereof, is the sole means of protecting the reputation
62 of such individual.
63 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.