HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 7007 PCB EEG 23-05 OGSR/Security and Firesafety System Plans
SPONSOR(S): Ethics, Elections & Open Government Subcommittee, Jacques
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS:
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
Orig. Comm.: Ethics, Elections & Open 18 Y, 0 N Skinner Toliver
Government Subcommittee
1) State Affairs Committee 19 Y, 0 N Skinner Williamson
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Open Government Sunset Review Act requires the Legislature to review each public record exemption
and each public meeting exemption five years after enactment. If the Legislature does not reenact the
exemption, it automatically repeals on October 2nd of the fifth year after enactment.
Current law provides public record exemptions for security or firesafety system plans for any property owned
by or leased to the state or any of its political subdivisions, or for any privately owned or leased property, held
by an agency, as well as information related to such systems. A “security or firesafety system plan” means:
Records, information, photographs, audio and visual representations, schematic diagrams, surveys,
recommendations, or consultations or portions thereof relating directly to the physical security or
firesafety of the facility or revealing security or firesafety systems;
Threat assessments conducted by an agency or any private entity;
Threat response plans;
Emergency evacuation plans;
Sheltering arrangements; or
Manuals for security or firesafety personnel, emergency equipment, or security or firesafety training.
Additionally, current law provides public meeting exemptions for portions of a meeting relating directly to, or
that would reveal such systems, plans, or information.
The bill saves from repeal the public record and public meeting exemptions for security or firesafety system
plans, which will repeal on October 2, 2023, if this bill does not become law. The bill also repeals a duplicative
public record and public meeting exemption for security or firesafety system plans and related information.
The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact on state government or local governments.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Open Government Sunset Review Act
The Open Government Sunset Review Act (OGSR Act) 1 sets forth a legislative review process for
newly created or substantially amended public record or public meeting exemptions. It requires an
automatic repeal of the exemption on October 2nd of the fifth year after creation or substantial
amendment, unless the Legislature reenacts the exemption.2
The OGSR Act provides that a public record or public meeting exemption may be created or
maintained only if it serves an identifiable public purpose. In addition, it may be no broader than is
necessary to meet one of the following purposes:
Allow the state or its political subdivisions to effectively and efficiently administer a
governmental program, which administration would be significantly impaired without the
exemption.
Protect sensitive personal information that, if released, would be defamatory or would
jeopardize an individual’s safety; however, only the identity of an individual may be exempted
under this provision.
Protect trade or business secrets.3
If, and only if, in reenacting an exemption that will repeal, the exemption is expanded, then a public
necessity statement and a two-thirds vote for passage are required.4 If the exemption is reenacted with
grammatical or stylistic changes that do not expand the exemption, if the exemption is narrowed, or if
an exception to the exemption is created, then a public necessity statement and a two-thirds vote for
passage are not required.
Physical Building Security-related Public Record Exemptions
Several public record exemptions exist in current law that protect various aspects of the physical
security of buildings or facilities from public disclosure:
Section 119.071(3)(b), F.S., provides a public record exemption for building plans, blueprints,
schematic drawings, and diagrams, which depict the internal layout and structural elements of a
building, arena, stadium, water treatment facility, or other structure owned or operated by an
agency.
Section 119.071(3)(c), F.S., provides a public record exemption for building plans, blueprints,
schematic drawings, and diagrams, including draft, preliminary, and final formats, which depict
the internal layout or structural elements of attractions and recreation facilities, entertainment or
resort complexes, industrial complexes, retail and service developments, office developments,
health care facilities, or hotel or motel developments.
Section 311.13, F.S., provides a public record exemption for certain seaport security plans. A
public record exemption is also provided for photographs, maps, blueprints, drawings, and
similar materials that depict critical seaport operating facilities to the extent that a seaport
reasonably determines that such items contain information that is not generally known and
could jeopardize the seaport’s security.
Section 331.22, F.S., provides a public record exemption for airport security plans of certain
aviation authorities or certain aviation departments. Photographs, maps, blueprints, drawings,
and similar materials that depict critical airport operating facilities are also exempt to the extent
1 Section 119.15, F.S.
2 Section 119.15(3), F.S.
3 Section 119.15(6)(b), F.S.
4 Article I, s. 24(c), FLA. CONST .
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that such aviation authority or department reasonably determines that the security plan contains
information that is not generally known and could jeopardize airport security.
Section 1004.0962(2), F.S., provides a public record exemption for any portion of a campus
emergency response held by a public postsecondary educational institution.
Public Record and Public Meeting Exemptions Related to Security or Firesafety Systems or Plans
Current law provides public record and public meeting exemptions for certain information related to
security or firesafety systems or plans held by an agency. 5 The law specifies the circumstances under
which the information may be disclosed.6
Security or Firesafety System Plans
Section 119.071(3)(a), F.S., defines “security or firesafety system plan” to include all:
Records, information, photographs, audio and visual representations, schematic diagrams,
surveys, recommendations, or consultations or portions thereof relating directly to the physical
security or firesafety of the facility or revealing security or firesafety systems;
Threat assessments conducted by an agency or any private entity;
Threat response plans;
Emergency evacuation plans;
Sheltering arrangements; or
Manuals for security or firesafety personnel, emergency equipment, or security or firesafety
training.
A security or firesafety system plan, or portion thereof, held by an agency is confidential and exempt7
from public record requirements if the plan is for any property owned by or leased to the state or any of
its political subdivisions or any privately owned or leased property. 8 An agency is authorized, but not
required, to disclose such confidential and exempt plan:
To the property owner or leaseholder;
In furtherance of the official duties and responsibilities of the agency holding the information;
To another local, state, or federal agency in furtherance of that agency’s official duties and
responsibilities; or
Upon a showing of good cause before a court of competent jurisdiction.9
Section 119.071(3)(a), F.S., also provides for retroactive application of the public record exemption.
Pursuant to s. 286.0113(1), F.S., any portion of a meeting that would reveal a security or firesafety
system plan or portion thereof is exempt from public meeting requirements. 10
Other Information Related to Security or Firesafety Systems or Plans
Section 281.301(1), F.S., provides that information relating to security or firesafety systems, or
revealing such systems or information, that is in the possession of an agency is confidential and
exempt from public record requirements and any portion of a meeting relating directly to or that would
5 Sections 119.071(3)(a), 281.301(1), and 286.0113(1), F.S. “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 chapter 119, F.S., 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 a gency. See
s. 119.011(2), F.S.
6 Sections 119.071(3)(a) and 281.301(2), F.S.
7 There is a difference between records the Legislature designates exempt from public record requirements and those the Legislature
deems confidential and exempt. A record classified as exempt from public disclosure may be disclosed under certain circumstan ces.
See WFTV, Inc. v. Sch. Bd. of Seminole, 874 So.2d 48, 53 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004), review denied 892 So.2d 1015 (Fla. 2004); City of
Rivera Beach v. Barfield, 642 So.2d 1135 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Williams v. City of Minneola, 575 So.2d 683, 687 (Fla. 5th DCA
1991). If the Legislature designates a record as confidential and exempt from public disclosure, such record may not be released by the
custodian of public records to anyone other than the persons or entities specifically designated in statute. See Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 04-
09 (2004).
8 Section 119.071(3)(a)2., F.S.
9 Section 119.071(3)(a)3., F.S.
10 Section 286.0113(1), F.S.
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reveal such systems or information is exempt from public meeting requirements, if the security or
firesafety systems are for:
Any property owned by or leased to the state or any of its political subdivisions; or
Any privately owned or leased property.
The law specifies that the protected information includes all records, information, photographs, audio
and visual presentations, schematic diagrams, surveys, recommendations, or consultations or portions
thereof relating directly to or revealing such systems or information. 11
Any agency is authorized, but not required, to disclose the confidential and exempt information:
To the property owner or leaseholder;
In furtherance of the official duties and responsibilities of the agency holding the information;
To another local, state, or federal agency in furtherance of that agency’s official duties and
responsibilities; or
Upon a showing of good cause before a court of competent jurisdiction. 12
Public Record and Public Meeting Exemptions under Review
In 1987, the Legislature initially created13 the public record and public meeting exemption found in s.
281.301(1), F.S., for security systems and records for any property owned by or leased to the state or
any of its political subdivisions, and all meetings relating to or revealing such systems. In 1990, the
Legislature amended14 the exemptions, specifying that information relating to the security systems for
any property owned by or leased to the state or any of its political subdivisions is protected. 15 The
Legislature also exempted information related to the security systems for any privately owned or leased
property held by an agency and specified that the protected information, in addition to records, includes
information, photographs, audio and visual presentations, schematic diagrams, surveys,
recommendations, or consultations.16 The Legislature further provided that the protected information
was not only exempt from public record requirements, but confidential and exempt. 17
In 2001, the Legislature created18 the public record exemption found in s. 119.071(3)(a), F.S., and the
public meeting exemption found in s. 286.0113(1), F.S., for security system plans. The 2001 public
necessity statement19 for the public record and public meeting exemptions cite safety issues as the
required public necessity for the exemptions.20
In 2018, the Legislature amended21 all three exemptions, creating public record and public meeting
exemptions for firesafety system plans and information relating to firesafety systems that were identical
to the exemptions under those statutes for security system plans and information relating to such plans.
The Legislature also provided that portions of public meetings in which firesafety system plans and
information relating to firesafety systems are discussed are exempt from public meeting requirements.
11 Id.
12 Section 281.301(2), F.S.
13 Chapter 87-355, L.O.F.
14 Chapter 90-360, L.O.F.
15 Id.
16 Id.
17 Id.
18 Chapter 2001-361, L.O.F.
19 Article I, s. 24(c), FLA. CONST ., requires each public record exemption to “state with specificity the public necessity justifying the
exemption.”
20 The 2001 public necessity statement provides, in part, “…security -system plans contain components that address safety issues for
public and private property on which public business is conducted and address the security of private property on which a large
segment of the public relies. The public relies on radio and television towers, telephone and cable lines, power plants and g rids, oil and
gas pipelines, and many types of privately owned infrastructure to provide necessary services. To coordinate the response of t he public
sector and the private sector in an emergency, such as an act of terrorism, public agencies must be able to review security-system plans
for public and private property. If the information in security -system plans is available for inspection and copying, terrorists could use
this information to hamper or disable emergency-response preparedness, thereby increasing injuries and fatalities.”
21 Chapter 2018-146, L.O.F.
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The 2018 public necessity statement cites the connectivity and integrated nature of firesafety systems
and security systems as necessitating the creation of the exemptions.22
Pursuant to the OGSR Act, these exemptions will repeal on October 2, 2023, unless reenacted by the
Legislature.
During the 2022 interim, subcommittee staff sent questionnaires to city governments, county
governments, and state agencies. In total, staff received 66 responses from those entities.23 The vast
majority of respondents 24 indicated that the exemptions are functioning well. No respondent
recommended eliminating the public record exemption for security or firesafety system plans or the
related public meeting exemption. Regarding the substantive similarities between, and possible
duplicative nature of, the public record exemptions - ss. 119.071(3)(a) and 281.301(1), F.S. - and the
public meeting exemptions - ss. 281.301(1) and 286.0113(1), F.S - the responses varied in scope. For
the public record exemptions, some respondents indicated the two public record exemptions are
duplicative and one could be eliminated, some respondents thought the redundancy beneficial, and
other respondents indicated the two exemptions were not duplicative. Regarding the question of
whether the public meeting exemptions were redundant or duplicative, respondents provided some of
the same indications.
Effect of the Bill
The bill removes the scheduled repeal date of the public record and public meeting exemptions for
security or firesafety system plans under ss. 119.071(3)(a) and 286.0113(1), F.S., thereby maintaining
the public record and public meeting exemptions for such plans. The bill repeals s. 281.301, F.S., as
the information and meetings protected under this section of law appears to be duplicative of the two
exemptions being maintained.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1 amends s. 119.071, F.S., relating to general exemptions from inspection or copying of public
records.
Section 2 repeals s. 281.301, F.S., relating to security and firesafety systems; records and meetings
exempt from public access or disclosure.
Section 3 amends s. 286.0113, F.S., relating to general exemptions from public meetings.<