Bill Text: FL S1846 | 2022 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Public Records/Respondent's Name

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2022-03-14 - Died in Messages [S1846 Detail]

Download: Florida-2022-S1846-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2022                             CS for SB 1846
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
       Senator Bean
       
       
       
       
       586-02599-22                                          20221846c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending ss.
    3         394.464 and 397.6760, F.S.; exempting from public
    4         records requirements a respondent’s name in certain
    5         documents at trial and on appeal; expanding exemptions
    6         from public records requirements for certain
    7         petitions, court orders, and related records to
    8         include applications for voluntary and involuntary
    9         mental health examinations and substance abuse
   10         treatment, respectively; expanding exceptions
   11         authorizing the disclosure of such personal
   12         identifying information and records to include certain
   13         service providers; authorizing a court to use a
   14         respondent’s name for certain purposes; revising
   15         applicability to include appeals pending or filed on
   16         or after a specified date; revising the date for
   17         future legislative review and repeal of the
   18         exemptions; providing a statement of public necessity;
   19         providing a contingent effective date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Section 394.464, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   24  read:
   25         394.464 Court records; confidentiality.—
   26         (1) A respondent’s name, at trial and on appeal, and all
   27  petitions or applications for voluntary and involuntary
   28  admission for mental health examinations or treatment, court
   29  orders, and related records that are filed with or by a court
   30  under this part are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1)
   31  and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. Pleadings and
   32  other documents made confidential and exempt by this section may
   33  be disclosed by the clerk of the court, upon request, to any of
   34  the following:
   35         (a) The petitioner.
   36         (b) The petitioner’s attorney.
   37         (c) The respondent.
   38         (d) The respondent’s attorney.
   39         (e) The respondent’s guardian or guardian advocate, if
   40  applicable.
   41         (f) In the case of a minor respondent, the respondent’s
   42  parent, guardian, legal custodian, or guardian advocate.
   43         (g) The respondent’s treating health care practitioner and
   44  service provider.
   45         (h) The respondent’s health care surrogate or proxy.
   46         (i) The Department of Children and Families, without
   47  charge.
   48         (j) The Department of Corrections, without charge, if the
   49  respondent is committed or is to be returned to the custody of
   50  the Department of Corrections from the Department of Children
   51  and Families.
   52         (k) A person or entity authorized to view records upon a
   53  court order for good cause. In determining if there is good
   54  cause for the disclosure of records, the court must weigh the
   55  person or entity’s need for the information against potential
   56  harm to the respondent from the disclosure.
   57         (2) This section does not preclude the clerk of the court
   58  from submitting the information required by s. 790.065 to the
   59  Department of Law Enforcement.
   60         (3) The clerk of the court may not publish personal
   61  identifying information on a court docket or in a publicly
   62  accessible file, but the court may use a respondent’s name to
   63  schedule and adjudicate cases, which includes transmitting a
   64  copy of any court order to the parties.
   65         (4) A person or entity receiving information pursuant to
   66  this section shall maintain that information as confidential and
   67  exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
   68  Constitution.
   69         (5) The exemption under this section applies to all
   70  documents filed with a court before, on, or after July 1, 2019,
   71  and appeals pending or filed on or after July 1, 2022.
   72         (6) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   73  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   74  on October 2, 2027 2024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   75  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   76         Section 2. Section 397.6760, Florida Statutes, is amended
   77  to read:
   78         397.6760 Court records; confidentiality.—
   79         (1) A respondent’s name, at trial and on appeal, and all
   80  petitions or applications for voluntary and involuntary
   81  substance abuse treatment or assessment and stabilization, court
   82  orders, and related records that are filed with or by a court
   83  under this part or part IV are confidential and exempt from s.
   84  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.
   85  Pleadings and other documents made confidential and exempt by
   86  this section may be disclosed by the clerk of the court, upon
   87  request, to any of the following:
   88         (a) The petitioner.
   89         (b) The petitioner’s attorney.
   90         (c) The respondent.
   91         (d) The respondent’s attorney.
   92         (e) The respondent’s guardian or guardian advocate, if
   93  applicable.
   94         (f) In the case of a minor respondent, the respondent’s
   95  parent, guardian, legal custodian, or guardian advocate.
   96         (g) The respondent’s treating health care practitioner and
   97  service provider.
   98         (h) The respondent’s health care surrogate or proxy.
   99         (i) The Department of Children and Families, without
  100  charge.
  101         (j) The Department of Corrections, without charge, if the
  102  respondent is committed or is to be returned to the custody of
  103  the Department of Corrections from the Department of Children
  104  and Families.
  105         (k) A person or entity authorized to view records upon a
  106  court order for good cause. In determining if there is good
  107  cause for the disclosure of records, the court must weigh the
  108  person or entity’s need for the information against potential
  109  harm to the respondent from the disclosure.
  110         (2) This section does not preclude the clerk of the court
  111  from submitting the information required by s. 790.065 to the
  112  Department of Law Enforcement.
  113         (3) The clerk of the court may not publish personal
  114  identifying information on a court docket or in a publicly
  115  accessible file, but the court may use a respondent’s name to
  116  schedule and adjudicate cases, which includes transmitting a
  117  copy of any court order to the parties.
  118         (4) A person or entity receiving information pursuant to
  119  this section shall maintain that information as confidential and
  120  exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
  121  Constitution.
  122         (5) The exemption under this section applies to all
  123  documents filed with a court before, on, or after July 1, 2017,
  124  and appeals pending or filed on or after July 1, 2022.
  125         (6) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
  126  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
  127  on October 2, 2027 2022, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
  128  through reenactment by the Legislature.
  129         Section 3. The Legislature finds that it is a public
  130  necessity that applications for voluntary and involuntary mental
  131  health examinations and substance abuse treatment which are
  132  filed with or by a court and a respondent’s name, which is
  133  published on a court docket and maintained by the clerk of the
  134  court, under part I of chapter 394 and parts IV and V of chapter
  135  397, Florida Statutes, be made confidential and exempt from
  136  disclosure under s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a),
  137  Article I of the State Constitution. The mental health and
  138  substance abuse impairments of a person are medical conditions
  139  that should be protected from dissemination to the public. A
  140  person’s health and sensitive personal information regarding his
  141  or her mental health or substance abuse impairment are intensely
  142  private matters. Making such applications, petitions, orders,
  143  records, and identifying information confidential and exempt
  144  from disclosure will protect such persons from the release of
  145  sensitive, personal information that could damage their and
  146  their families’ reputations. The publication of personal
  147  identifying information on a physical or virtual docket,
  148  regardless of whether any other record is published, defeats the
  149  purpose of protections otherwise provided. Further, the
  150  knowledge that such sensitive, personal information is subject
  151  to disclosure could have a chilling effect on a person’s
  152  willingness to seek out and comply with mental health or
  153  substance abuse treatment services.
  154         Section 4. This act shall take effect on the same date that
  155  SB 1844 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
  156  is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
  157  thereof and becomes a law.