Bill Text: FL S0268 | 2018 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

Florida Senate Bill 268 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Public Records/Public Guardians/Employees with Fiduciary Responsibility

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)

Status: (Passed) 2018-03-21 - Chapter No. 2018-16 [S0268 Detail]

Download: Florida-2018-S0268-Comm_Sub.html

       Florida Senate - 2018                       CS for CS for SB 268
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and Senator Passidomo
       
       
       
       
       585-02142-18                                           2018268c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; creating s.
    3         744.21031, F.S.; providing an exemption from public
    4         records requirements for certain identifying and
    5         location information of current or former public
    6         guardians, employees with fiduciary responsibility,
    7         and the spouses and children thereof; defining the
    8         term “employee with fiduciary responsibility”;
    9         providing for retroactive application; providing for
   10         future 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. Section 744.21031, Florida Statutes, is created
   17  to read:
   18         744.21031 Public records exemption.—The home addresses,
   19  telephone numbers, dates of birth, places of employment, and
   20  photographs of current or former public guardians and employees
   21  with fiduciary responsibility; the names, home addresses,
   22  telephone numbers, dates of birth, and places of employment of
   23  the spouses and children of such persons; and the names and
   24  locations of schools and day care facilities attended by the
   25  children of such persons are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s.
   26  24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. As used in this
   27  section, the term “employee with fiduciary responsibility” means
   28  an employee of a public guardian who has the ability to direct
   29  any withdrawals or investments made from a ward’s banking or
   30  investment accounts; who, under the supervision of the guardian,
   31  supervises the care of the ward; or who makes any health care
   32  decision, as defined in s. 765.101, on behalf of the ward. This
   33  exemption applies to information held by an agency before, on,
   34  or after July 1, 2018. This section is subject to the Open
   35  Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and
   36  shall stand repealed on October 2, 2023, unless reviewed and
   37  saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
   38         Section 2. (1) The Legislature finds that it is a public
   39  necessity that the following identifying and location
   40  information be exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and
   41  s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution:
   42         (a) The home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth,
   43  places of employment, and photographs of current or former
   44  public guardians and employees with fiduciary responsibility;
   45         (b) The names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of
   46  birth, and places of employment of spouses and children of such
   47  guardians and employees with fiduciary responsibility; and
   48         (c) The names and locations of schools and day care
   49  facilities attended by the children of such guardians and
   50  employees with fiduciary responsibility.
   51         (2) The Legislature finds that the release of such
   52  identifying and location information might place current or
   53  former public guardians and employees with fiduciary
   54  responsibility and their family members in danger of physical
   55  and emotional harm from disgruntled individuals who react
   56  inappropriately to actions taken by the public guardians and
   57  employees with fiduciary responsibility. Public guardians and
   58  employees with fiduciary responsibility provide a valuable
   59  service to the community by helping some of the state’s most
   60  vulnerable residents who lack the physical or mental capacity to
   61  take care of most aspects of their own personal affairs. Public
   62  guardians and employees with fiduciary responsibility help those
   63  who lack a willing and qualified family member or friend and do
   64  not have the income or assets to pay a professional guardian.
   65         (3) Despite the value of this service, however, some
   66  persons, including a public guardian’s own wards, become
   67  disgruntled with the assistance provided or the decisions a
   68  public guardian or an employee with fiduciary responsibility
   69  makes, which can result in a guardian or an employee with
   70  fiduciary responsibility or the family members of the guardian
   71  or the employee with fiduciary responsibility becoming potential
   72  targets for an act of revenge. Wards have harassed their public
   73  guardians with threats of incarceration, violence, and death
   74  through voicemail messages and social media. Wards have also
   75  left voicemail messages threating to kill themselves and others,
   76  as well as the public guardian. In the course of their duties,
   77  public guardians have also been subject to being physically
   78  assaulted.
   79         (4) After a public guardian or an employee with fiduciary
   80  responsibility concludes his or her service, the risk continues
   81  because a disgruntled individual may wait until then to commit
   82  an act of revenge. The harm that may result from the release of
   83  a public guardian’s or an employee with fiduciary
   84  responsibility’s personal identifying and location information
   85  outweighs any public benefit that may be derived from the
   86  disclosure of the information.
   87         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.