HB 21 Florida House · 2026 Regular Session

Pub. Rec./Agency Employees

Summary

Pub. Rec./Agency Employees; Provides exemption from public records requirements for certain identifying & location information of current or former agency employees & spouses & children of such employees; provides for retroactive application; specifies that exemption does not limit certain existing exemptions; provides for future legislative review & repeal of exemption; provides statement of public necessity.

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Sep 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Sep 15, 2025 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

H 21 Filed → H 21 c1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to broaden the privacy exemption from public records laws, extending protection to all current and former agency employees rather than just specific law enforcement and investigative roles. It also updated the sunset review date to October 2, 2031, and added new provisions to ensure home addresses remain in official records but are hidden from public online indexes.

Scope change

The scope of the privacy exemption expanded from specific law enforcement and investigative personnel to include all current or former agency employees and their families.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the group eligible for privacy exemptions from specific law enforcement and investigative personnel to all current or former agency employees.

DEFINITION

Narrowed the definition of 'home addresses' to exclude detailed property identifiers like parcel numbers and GPS coordinates.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that exempt home addresses must still be included in official records but cannot be displayed on public internet indexes.

TIMELINE

Updated the sunset review date for the exemption to October 2, 2031.

Floor votes · House Feb 11, 2026

How they voted

115–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 118

Feb 11, 2026

D Democratic34

32 Yea 2

94% Yea

R Republican84

83 Yea 1

98% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

CS passed; YEAS 114, NAYS 0

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of State Affairs Committee

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable by State Affairs Committee

lower

Jan 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Added to State Affairs Committee agenda

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Now in State Affairs Committee

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Committee

Referred to State Affairs Committee

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Criminal Justice Subcommittee

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable with CS by Criminal Justice Subcommittee

lower

Jan 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

PCS added to Criminal Justice Subcommittee agenda

lower

Oct 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Now in Criminal Justice Subcommittee

lower

Oct 1, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary Committee

lower

Oct 1, 2025

Committee

Referred to Government Operations Subcommittee

lower

Oct 1, 2025

Committee

Referred to Criminal Justice Subcommittee

lower

2 primary · 2 co-sponsors