The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Rules
BILL: CS/SB 1048
INTRODUCER: Judiciary Committee and Senators Bean and Baxley
SUBJECT: Public Records/Conviction Integrity Unit Reinvestigation Information
DATE: April 2, 2021 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Cellon Jones CJ Favorable
2. Davis Cibula JU Fav/CS
3. Cellon Phelps RC Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1048 creates a public records exemption for conviction integrity unit reinvestigation
information. Conviction integrity unit reinvestigation information is defined in the bill as
information or materials generated during a new investigation by a conviction integrity unit
following the unit’s formal written acceptance of an applicant’s case. The bill contains specific
exceptions to the term “conviction integrity unit reinvestigation information.” The bill defines
the term “conviction integrity unit” as a unit within a state attorney’s office established for the
purpose of reviewing plausible claims of actual innocence.
The conviction integrity unit reinvestigation information is made exempt from public inspection
and copying for 2 years during an active, ongoing, and good faith investigation of a claim of
actual innocence in a case that previously resulted in the conviction of the accused person and
until the claim is no longer capable of further investigation. This exemption appears to be no
more broad than necessary to accomplish the public interest of safeguarding, preserving, and
protecting information relating to a claim of actual innocence by a person who may have been
convicted of a crime that he or she did not commit.
The bill provides the public necessity statement for the public records exemption. The bill makes
legislative findings in support of the public necessity for the exemption.
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The bill requires a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting for final passage. It will
stand repealed on October 2, 2026, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment
by the Legislature.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2021.
II. Present Situation:
Access to Public Records - Generally
The Florida Constitution provides that the public has the right to inspect or copy records made or
received in connection with official governmental business.1 The right to inspect or copy applies
to the official business of any public body, officer, or employee of the state, including all three
branches of state government, local governmental entities, and any person acting on behalf of the
government.2
Additional requirements and exemptions related to public records are found in various statutes
and rules, depending on the branch of government involved. For instance, s. 11.0431, F.S.,
provides public access requirements for legislative records. Relevant exemptions are codified in
s. 11.0431(2)-(3), F.S., and the statutory provisions are adopted in the rules of each house of the
legislature.3 Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420 governs public access to judicial
branch records.4 Lastly, ch. 119, F.S., provides requirements for public records held by executive
agencies.
Executive Agency Records – The Public Records Act
Chapter 119, F.S., known as the Public Records Act, provides that all state, county, and
municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person, and that
providing access to public records is a duty of each agency.5
A public record includes virtually any document or recording, regardless of its physical form or
how it may be transmitted.6 The Florida Supreme Court has interpreted the statutory definition of
“public record” to include “material prepared in connection with official agency business which
is intended to perpetuate, communicate, or formalize knowledge of some type.7
1
FLA. CONST. art. I, s. 24(a).
2
Id.
3
See Rule 1.48, Rules and Manual of the Florida Senate, (2020-2022) and Rule 14.1, Rules of the Florida House of
Representatives, Edition 2, (2020-2022).
4
State v. Wooten, 260 So. 3d 1060 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018).
5
Section 119.01(1), F.S. Section 119.011(2), F.S., defines “agency” as “any state, county, district, authority, or municipal
officer, department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created or established by law
including, for the purposes of this chapter, the Commission on Ethics, the Public Service Commission, and the Office of
Public Counsel, and any other public or private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf
of any public agency.”
6
Section 119.011(12), F.S., defines “public record” to mean “all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs,
films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of the physical form, characteristics, or means
of transmission, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by
any agency.”
7
Shevin v. Byron, Harless, Schaffer, Reid and Assoc., Inc., 379 So. 2d 633, 640 (Fla. 1980).
BILL: CS/SB 1048 Page 3
The Florida Statutes specify conditions under which public access to public records must be
provided. The Public Records Act guarantees every person’s right to inspect and copy any public
record at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions, and under supervision by the
custodian of the public record.8 A violation of the Public Records Act may result in civil or
criminal liability.9
The Legislature may exempt public records from public access requirements by passing a
general law by a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate.10 The exemption must state
with specificity the public necessity justifying the exemption and must be no broader than
necessary to accomplish the stated purpose of the exemption.11
General exemptions from the public records requirements are contained in the Public Records
Act.12 Specific exemptions often are placed in the substantive statutes relating to a particular
agency or program.13
When creating a public records exemption, the Legislature may provide that a record is “exempt”
or “confidential and exempt.” Custodians of records designated as “exempt” are not prohibited
from disclosing the record; rather, the exemption means that the custodian cannot be compelled
to disclose the record.14 Custodians of records designated as “confidential and exempt” may not
disclose the record except under circumstances specifically defined by the Legislature.15
Open Government Sunset Review Act
The Open Government Sunset Review Act16 (the Act) prescribes a legislative review process for
newly created or substantially amended17 public records or open meetings exemptions, with
specified exceptions.18 It requires the automatic repeal of such exemption on October 2nd of the
fifth year after creation or substantial amendment, unless the Legislature reenacts the
exemption.19
8
Section 119.07(1)(a), F.S.
9
Section 119.10, F.S. Public records laws are found throughout the Florida Statutes, as are the penalties for violating those
laws.
10
FLA. CONST. art. I, s. 24(c).
11
Id. See, e.g., Halifax Hosp. Medical Center v. News-Journal Corp., 724 So. 2d 567 (Fla. 1999) (holding that a public
meetings exemption was unconstitutional because the statement of public necessity did not define important terms and did
not justify the breadth of the exemption); Baker County Press, Inc. v. Baker County Medical Services, Inc., 870 So. 2d 189
(Fla. 1st DCA 2004) (holding that a statutory provision written to bring another party within an existing public records
exemption is unconstitutional without a public necessity statement).
12
See, e.g., s. 119.071(1)(a), F.S. (exempting from public disclosure examination questions and answer sheets of
examinations administered by a governmental agency for the purpose of licensure).
13
See, e.g., s. 213.053(2)(a), F.S. (exempting from public disclosure information contained in tax returns received by the
Department of Revenue).
14
See Williams v. City of Minneola, 575 So. 2d 683, 687 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991).
15
WFTV, Inc. v. The School Board of Seminole, 874 So. 2d 48 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004).
16
Section 119.15, F.S.
17
An exemption is considered to be substantially amended if it is expanded to include more records or information or to
include meetings as well as records. Section 119.15(4)(b), F.S.
18
Section 119.15(2)(a) and (b), F.S., provide that exemptions that are required by federal law or are applicable solely to the
Legislature or the State Court System are not subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act.
19
Section 119.15(3), F.S.
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The Act provides that a public records or open meetings exemption may be created or
maintained only if it serves an identifiable public purpose and is no broader than is necessary.20
An exemption serves an identifiable purpose if it meets one of the following purposes and the
Legislature finds that the purpose of the exemption outweighs open government policy and
cannot be accomplished without the exemption:
 It allows the state or its political subdivisions to effectively and efficiently administer a
governmental program, and administration would be significantly impaired without the
exemption;21
 It protects sensitive, personal information, the release of which would be defamatory, cause
unwarranted damage to the good name or reputation of the individual, or would jeopardize
the individual’s safety. If this public purpose is cited as the basis of an exemption, however,
only personal identifying information is exempt;22 or
 It protects information of a confidential nature concerning entities, such as trade or business
secrets.23
The Act also requires specified questions to be considered during the review process.24 In
examining an exemption, the Act directs the Legislature to carefully question the purpose and
necessity of reenacting the exemption.
If the exemption is continued and expanded, then a public necessity statement and a two-thirds
vote for passage are required.25 If the exemption is continued without substantive changes or if
the exemption is continued and narrowed, then a public necessity statement and a two-thirds vote
for passage are not required. If the Legislature allows an exemption to sunset, the previously
exempt records will remain exempt unless provided for by law.26
Agency Investigations
Section 119.071(2), F.S., contains general exemptions from the public records law for agency
investigations. For purposes of ch. 119, F.S., the term “agency” means:
any state, county, district, authority, or municipal officer, department, division,
board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created or
established by law including, for the purposes of this chapter, the Commission
20
Section 119.15(6)(b), F.S.
21
Section 119.15(6)(b)1., F.S.
22
Section 119.15(6)(b)2., F.S.
23
Section 119.15(6)(b)3., F.S.
24
Section 119.15(6)(a), F.S. The specified questions are:
 What specific records or meetings are affected by the exemption?
 Whom does the exemption uniquely affect, as opposed to the general public?
 What is the identifiable public purpose or goal of the exemption?
 Can the information contained in the records or discussed in the meeting be readily obtained by alternative means? If so,
how?
 Is the record or meeting protected by another exemption?
 Are there multiple exemptions for the same type of record or meeting that it would be appropriate to merge?
25
See generally s. 119.15, F.S.
26
Section 119.15(7), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1048 Page 5
on Ethics, the Public Service Commission, and the Office of Public Counsel,
and any other public or private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or
business entity acting on behalf of any public agency.27
Conviction Integrity Review Units
Conviction Integrity Review (CIR) units are divisions of prosecutorial offices that work to
prevent, identify, and correct false convictions. There were 59 CIR units in the United States in
2019, four times the number of just 5 years earlier. Fifty-five CIR exonerations took place in
2019.28
Currently, four state attorney’s offices in Florida have established CIR units within their offices.
These offices are located in the:
 Fourth Circuit, covering Duval, Clay, and Nassau Counties;
 Ninth Circuit, covering Orange and Osceola Counties;
 Thirteenth Circuit, covering Hillsborough County; and
 Seventeenth Circuit, covering Broward County.29
The first state attorney’s office to establish a CIR unit was the Fourth Circuit in early 2018. All
four of the CIR units have essentially the same procedures in place that begin with criteria a
person must meet to warrant more than an initial screening. For example, the CIR units require
that a person present a plausible claim of innocence, and some of the units report they rely upon
an independent review panel of legal experts to work with the units to review and evaluate the
cases under investigation.30 Prior to 2018, Florida had 64 exonerations, including eight
defendants who had been sentenced to death.31
The work of the Fourth Circuit’s CIR unit resulted in the 2019 exoneration of two men, Clifford
Williams and Nathan Myers, who were sentenced to life in prison for the 1976 Jacksonville
murder of Jeanette Williams.32 The CIR unit’s investigation confirmed multiple alibi witnesses
for the whereabouts of the two men at the time of the murder, and further confirmed that another
man, Nathaniel Lawson, admitted to committing the murder. The CIR unit’s investigation was
able to independently confirm Lawson’s presence at the scene at the time of the shooting.33 Prior
27
Section 119.011(2), F.S.
28
The National Registry of Exonerations, Exonerations in 2019, March 31, 2020, p. 2, available at
http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Exonerations_in_2019.pdf, (last visited March 7, 2021).
29
Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Conviction Integrity Review, available at
https://www.sao4th.com/about/programs-and-initiatives/conviction-integrity-review/; Office of the State Attorney for the
Ninth Judicial Circuit, Conviction Integrity Policy, available at https://www.sao9.net/conviction-integrity.html; Office of the
State Attorney for the Thirteenth Circuit, Conviction Review Unit, available at https://www.sao13th.com/conviction-review-
unit-cru/; Office of the State Attorney for the Seventeenth Circuit, Conviction Review Unit, available at
https://browardsaocom/conviction-review-unit/ (all sites last visited March 7, 2021).
30
Id.
31
The National Registry of Exonerations, Exonerations in 2019, March 31, 2020, p. 9, available at
http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Exonerations_in_2019.pdf, (last visited March 7, 2021).
32
State Attorney’s Office of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Conviction Integrity Investigation, State of Florida v.
Hubert Nathan Meyers, State of Florida v. Clifford Williams, Jr., March 28, 2019, p. 44, available at
https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.254/9c2.a8b.myftpupload.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/03/CIR_Investigative_Report_FINAL_3.28.19_R.pdf (last visited March 7, 2021).
33
Id. at 4.
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to Mr. Williams’ and Mr. Myers’ convictions and sentences being vacated by the Fourth Circuit
Court on March 28, 2019, they had served 42 years and 11 months in prison.34
Currently, the information gathered by CIR units is not considered exempt from the public
records law.
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill creates a public records exemption for conviction integrity unit reinvestigation
information in s. 119.071(2)(q), F.S.
Conviction integrity unit is defined in the bill as a unit within a state attorney’s office established
for the purpose of reviewing plausible claims