Florida Senate - 2020                              CS for SB 878
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Harrell
       
       
       
       
       
       588-02264-20                                           2020878c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s.
    3         119.071, F.S.; defining the term “emergency room
    4         health care practitioner”; providing an exemption from
    5         public records requirements for the identifying and
    6         location information of current or former emergency
    7         room health care practitioners and the spouses and
    8         children of such practitioners; providing for
    9         retroactive application; providing for future
   10         legislative review and repeal of the exemption;
   11         providing a statement of public necessity; providing
   12         an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Paragraph (l) is added to subsection (5) of
   17  section 119.071, Florida Statutes, to read:
   18         119.071 General exemptions from inspection or copying of
   19  public records.—
   20         (5) OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION.—
   21         (l)1. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “emergency
   22  room health care practitioner” means any licensed health care
   23  practitioner whose duties are performed in a hospital emergency
   24  department, including, but not limited to, a physician or a
   25  physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459;
   26  an advanced practice registered nurse, a registered nurse, or a
   27  licensed practical nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464;
   28  or any other licensed health care personnel.
   29         2. The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth,
   30  places of employment, and photographs of current or former
   31  emergency room health care practitioners; the names, home
   32  addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of
   33  employment of the spouses and children of such practitioners;
   34  and the names and locations of schools and day care facilities
   35  attended by the children of such practitioners are exempt from
   36  s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   37         3. The exemption in subparagraph 2. applies to information
   38  held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of the
   39  exemption.
   40         4. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   41  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   42  on October 2, 2025, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   43  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   44         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   45  necessity that the home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of
   46  birth, places of employment, and photographs of current or
   47  former emergency room health care practitioners; the names, home
   48  addresses, telephone numbers, and places of employment of the
   49  spouses and children of such practitioners; and the names and
   50  locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the
   51  children of such practitioners be exempt from public records
   52  requirements. Emergency room health care practitioners, by
   53  nature of their duties, are often placed in traumatic
   54  circumstances in which loss of life and severe bodily injuries
   55  have occurred. Such practitioners are particularly vulnerable to
   56  physical violence, harassment, and intimidation perpetrated by
   57  patients or relatives of patients who can be violent, angry, or
   58  mentally unstable. As a result, the Legislature finds that the
   59  release of identifying and location information of emergency
   60  room health care practitioners, or the spouses and children of
   61  such practitioners, could place them in danger of being
   62  physically or emotionally harmed or stalked by a person who has
   63  a hostile reaction to his or her encounter with such
   64  practitioners. The Legislature further finds that the harm that
   65  may result from the release of such identifying and location
   66  information outweighs any public benefit that may be derived
   67  from the disclosure of the information.
   68         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.