Florida Senate - 2020                                    SB 7030
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Infrastructure and Security
       
       
       
       
       
       596-02241-20                                          20207030__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         119.071, F.S.; exempting from public records
    4         requirements active threat assessments and threat
    5         management records; providing circumstances under
    6         which such records are considered active; defining
    7         terms; providing for future legislative review and
    8         repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of
    9         public necessity; providing a contingent effective
   10         date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
   15  119.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   16         119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of
   17  public records.—
   18         (2) AGENCY INVESTIGATIONS.—
   19         (c)1. Active criminal intelligence information and active
   20  criminal investigative information are exempt from s. 119.07(1)
   21  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   22         2.a. A request made by a law enforcement agency to inspect
   23  or copy a public record that is in the custody of another agency
   24  and the custodian’s response to the request, and any information
   25  that would identify whether a law enforcement agency has
   26  requested or received that public record are exempt from s.
   27  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, during
   28  the period in which the information constitutes active criminal
   29  intelligence information or active criminal investigative
   30  information.
   31         b. The law enforcement agency that made the request to
   32  inspect or copy a public record shall give notice to the
   33  custodial agency when the criminal intelligence information or
   34  criminal investigative information is no longer active so that
   35  the request made by the law enforcement agency, the custodian’s
   36  response to the request, and information that would identify
   37  whether the law enforcement agency had requested or received
   38  that public record are available to the public.
   39         c. This exemption is remedial in nature, and it is the
   40  intent of the Legislature that the exemption be applied to
   41  requests for information received before, on, or after the
   42  effective date of this paragraph.
   43         3.a. Active criminal intelligence information and active
   44  criminal investigative information or other exempt information
   45  or records shared with another agency or governmental entity in
   46  the furtherance of its official duties and responsibilities
   47  pursuant to a multidisciplinary information-sharing agreement
   48  retain their exempt status pursuant to s. 119.07(1) and s.
   49  24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   50         b. Active threat assessment and active threat management
   51  records are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the
   52  State Constitution. Threat assessment and threat management
   53  records shall be considered “active” as long as they relate to
   54  an ongoing good faith belief by the Department of Law
   55  Enforcement that a threat assessment or a threat management plan
   56  will lead to detection, reasonable anticipation, prevention, or
   57  monitoring of possible targeted violence when the assessment or
   58  records are in the possession of a criminal justice agency or
   59  its employees, a governmental agency, whether state or federal,
   60  or any other governmental entity pursuant to a multidisciplinary
   61  information-sharing agreement for a public safety purpose,
   62  including, but not limited to, a targeted violence threat
   63  assessment and management plan.
   64         c.As used in this subparagraph, the term:
   65         (I)“Multidisciplinary information-sharing agreement” means
   66  an agreement entered into between a law enforcement agency and
   67  another law enforcement agency, a criminal justice agency, or
   68  any other entity to share active criminal intelligence or active
   69  criminal investigative information for the purposes of
   70  furthering information sharing for law enforcement criminal
   71  intelligence purposes, criminal investigative purposes, threat
   72  assessments, or threat management plans.
   73         (II)“Targeted violence” means a situation involving an
   74  identifiable person or group of persons who actively pursue
   75  physical injury or harm toward an identifiable target or
   76  prospective victim, including, but not limited to, a specific
   77  person, a group of persons, an entity, or a location.
   78         (III)“Threat assessment” means the process of collecting
   79  and sharing active criminal intelligence information or active
   80  criminal investigative information in a multidisciplinary effort
   81  to contextualize and understand a targeted violence threat.
   82         (IV)“Threat management” means the process of developing,
   83  implementing, and monitoring an individualized plan in a
   84  multidisciplinary effort to intervene, mitigate, or prevent a
   85  targeted violence threat.
   86         d.This subparagraph is subject to the Open Government
   87  Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand
   88  repealed on October 2, 2025, unless reviewed and saved from
   89  repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   90         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   91  necessity that records related to active threat assessments and
   92  active threat management plans be made exempt from s. 119.07(1),
   93  Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State
   94  Constitution. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   95  necessity for law enforcement agencies and criminal justice
   96  agencies to be able to share active threat assessment and threat
   97  management records securely with vital multidisciplinary
   98  partners who have important roles in threat assessments and
   99  threat management plans and that the information retain its
  100  exempt status. The Legislature finds that the release of these
  101  records could hinder active criminal investigations and could
  102  cause harm to the person under the threat assessment and threat
  103  management plan and could potentially cause certain individuals
  104  to proceed with their intentions to cause targeted violence. The
  105  Legislature finds that the release of these records and the
  106  potential impact that the release may have on an individual
  107  under an active threat assessment or active threat management
  108  plan could cause harm to the residents in this state if such
  109  information were made public. The Legislature is gravely
  110  concerned and saddened by the horrific mass shootings
  111  perpetrated in this state. The Legislature is concerned about
  112  the increase in these targeted violence incidents and finds that
  113  it is important for law enforcement agencies, criminal justice
  114  agencies, and their multidisciplinary partners to use the
  115  valuable tool of threat assessments and threat management plans
  116  to proactively mitigate and prevent these threats and protect
  117  the people of this state.
  118         Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that
  119  SB 7028 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
  120  is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
  121  thereof and becomes a law.