Florida’s public records laws, at one time nationally hailed as a model for government transparency and openness, are once again the target of multiple legislative efforts to restrict public access to key information.
Prominent among the bills are those which would curtail the public’s right to know personal information such as home addresses of certain officials elected to represent Floridians, the folks who regulate the state’s judges, and even medical examiners.
The first of several legislative committee hearings into several of these measures began in February in the Senate. If ultimately successful, the carve-outs would add to a growing number of address exemptions already in Florida Statutes. Those in roles considered sensitive and vulnerable to threats or harassment whose information is currently protected include sworn law enforcement, justices and judges, state attorneys and statewide prosecutors, public defenders, and certain agency investigative personnel.
Among the exemption bills considered in their first committee hearings, two stood in contrast as much for their applicability as their stated necessity.
Senate Bill 268, sponsored by State Sen. Shevrin Jones (D-Miami Gardens) and before the Senate Government Oversight Committee, would exempt “partial home addresses” for certain elected public officials, both state and local, including the governor, Cabinet officials, lawmakers, county commissioners, school superintendents and their families, among others. The legislation protects telephone numbers as well.
The bill, amended and adopted as a committee substitute, contains a definition of “partial home addresses” that is very similar to the definition of home addresses used in other public record exemptions, according to a Senate analysis of the legislation, “except that ‘partial home addresses,’ for purposes of this new exemption does not include the city and zip code information of the dwelling’s location.”
The exemptions would expire in 2030 unless renewed by lawmakers.
Citing past death threats some lawmakers have reported receiving in response to their actions, including one threat from out of state, Senate co-sponsor Jason Brodeur (R-Sanford) told committee members the bill was intended to “ensure that our public officials are safe.”
But at least one government watchdog questions that rationale. “Given the internet, you can find someone’s address very easily,” said Ben Wilcox, executive director of Integrity Florida, a non-profit, non-partisan research group based in Tallahassee. “And so I don’t understand the whole purpose of secrecy these bills are aimed at.”
In the past, home addresses have proved critical in establishing whether someone elected to office actually lived in the district he or she represented. In one case, discrepancy led to a criminal investigation, perjury charges, and resignation from the Florida House.
“Given the internet, you can find someone’s address very easily. And so I don’t understand the whole purpose of secrecy these bills are aimed at.”Ben Wilcox, executive director of Integrity Florida
Notably, SB 268 mirrors similar legislation filed in 2020 and 2021 by then Republican State Sen. Kelly Stargel, which would have exempted home addresses and other personal information of legislative members, and that of their spouses and children.
But despite similar declarations of safety concerns, the bills failed to garner enough support for passage in the Senate. Companion legislation was equally unsuccessful in the House.
Even Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2020 expressed general reservations about the notion of shielding such information. “You elect someone, you kind of need to know where they live if they’re going to represent your community,” the governor told reporters at the time.
Similar concerns were absent in February’s committee meeting, as SB 268 sailed through its first hearing, with no questions, no debate, and no opposition.
At the same time, a hearing by the Senate Health Policy Committee was underway on legislation which would protect the personal information of current and former employees of the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).
Sponsored by State Sen. Gayle Harrell (R-Stuart), SB 342 stemmed from the nature of AHCA’s work involving the inspection of health facilities and bad actors, she said. The probes have sometimes resulted in threats and stalking attempts, she told committee members, necessitating that “we protect them as they protect us.”
Both SB 268 and SB 342 received unanimous support, but not before committee member State Sen. Don Gaetz, a Republican from Niceville and a former Senate president, chided lawmakers during debate for the sheer number of exemptions already in law.
“I hate public record exemptions,” he said. “I think we’ve passed too many of them. I think it frustrates not just the work of the media, but it frustrates a lot of what government does and we should do more openly and publicly.”
Granting an exemption in the case of non-elected public employees “who didn’t ask to be in the limelight but all of a sudden they’re thrust into the position of representing the state of Florida” and “putting themselves at great risk,” made a compelling case, he said. But not a generalized one, he cautioned.
“We’ve gone too far,” he warned. “Not in this case. But in others.”
Two additional public records exemption bills made appearances in February. One was SB 300, exempting home addresses for Appellate Court Clerks and their children, and SB 302, exempting similar information for members of the Judicial Qualifications Commission were presented by Senate sponsor Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg) before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
State Sen. Gaetz, also a member of the Judiciary Committee, was the lone vote against both measures.
Award-winning journalist Michelle DeMarco has returned to journalism after two decades in public service. As a print reporter, she covered two state capitols and earned multiple state awards. Her investigative work included unearthing an upscale housing development built atop an abandoned dump and the hanging deaths of women inmates. The Florida Trident is a publication of The Florida Center for Government Accountability, a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization. The FLGCA focuses its government accountability and journalistic efforts primarily on local governments, providing support and assistance for citizens and investigative journalists working to hold government accountable. All donations made to FLCGA are tax deductible.