Bill Text: FL S0558 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Court Recordings
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2022-03-14 - Died in Judiciary [S0558 Detail]
Download: Florida-2022-S0558-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2022 SB 558 By Senator Berman 31-00497B-22 2022558__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to court recordings; amending s. 3 61.13, F.S.; requiring that certain family law court 4 proceedings be electronically or stenographically 5 recorded in their entirety; requiring that the 6 recordings or transcripts of a proceeding be made 7 available to the parties for purchase; providing 8 exceptions; requiring the court to provide an indigent 9 party with a recording or transcript of the proceeding 10 at no cost, upon request; amending ss. 61.1827 and 11 409.2579, F.S.; conforming cross-references; providing 12 an effective date. 13 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15 16 Section 1. Present subsections (7), (8), and (9) of section 17 61.13, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (8), 18 (9), and (10), respectively, and a new subsection (7) is added 19 to that section, to read: 20 61.13 Support of children; parenting and time-sharing; 21 powers of court.— 22 (7)(a) Any court proceeding in which issues of parental 23 responsibility or time-sharing are noticed must be 24 electronically or stenographically recorded to establish a 25 complete record, and the recordings or transcripts of the 26 proceeding must be made available to the parties for purchase. 27 The electronic or stenographic recording may not omit any part 28 of the proceeding unless all of the parties agree, upon the 29 request of one party for good cause shown, or upon the request 30 of the guardian ad litem based upon the safety, well-being, or 31 best interests of a child. The court must approve the agreement 32 or request. 33 (b) Upon request, the court must provide an electronic 34 recording of the proceeding, at no cost, to a party determined 35 indigent by the court or by the clerk of the court pursuant to 36 s. 27.52. Upon entry of a court order or if an indigent party 37 files an appeal, the court must provide transcripts of the 38 proceeding which are prepared by an approved court reporter or 39 transcriptionist at no cost to the indigent party. 40 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 61.1827, Florida 41 Statutes, is amended to read: 42 61.1827 Identifying information concerning applicants for 43 and recipients of child support services.— 44 (1) Any information that reveals the identity of applicants 45 for or recipients of child support services, including the name, 46 address, and telephone number of such persons, held by a non 47 Title IV-D county child support enforcement agency is 48 confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a) of Art. I 49 of the State Constitution. The use or disclosure of such 50 information by the non-Title IV-D county child support 51 enforcement agency is limited to the purposes directly connected 52 with: 53 (a) Any investigation, prosecution, or criminal or civil 54 proceeding connected with the administration of any non-Title 55 IV-D county child support enforcement program; 56 (b) Mandatory disclosure of identifying and location 57 information as provided in s. 61.13(8)s. 61.13(7)by the non 58 Title IV-D county child support enforcement agency when 59 providing non-Title IV-D services; 60 (c) Mandatory disclosure of information as required by ss. 61 409.2577, 61.181, 61.1825, and 61.1826 and Title IV-D of the 62 Social Security Act; or 63 (d) Disclosure to an authorized person, as defined in 45 64 C.F.R. s. 303.15, for purposes of enforcing any state or federal 65 law with respect to the unlawful taking or restraint of a child 66 or making or enforcing a parenting plan. As used in this 67 paragraph, the term “authorized person” includes a parent with 68 whom the child does not currently reside, unless a court has 69 entered an order under s. 741.30, s. 741.31, or s. 784.046. 70 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 409.2579, Florida 71 Statutes, is amended to read: 72 409.2579 Safeguarding Title IV-D case file information.— 73 (1) Information concerning applicants for or recipients of 74 Title IV-D child support services is confidential and exempt 75 from the provisions of s. 119.07(1). The use or disclosure of 76 such information by the IV-D program is limited to purposes 77 directly connected with: 78 (a) The administration of the plan or program approved 79 under part A, part B, part D, part E, or part F of Title IV; 80 under Title II, Title X, Title XIV, Title XVI, Title XIX, or 81 Title XX; or under the supplemental security income program 82 established under Title XVI of the Social Security Act; 83 (b) Any investigation, prosecution, or criminal or civil 84 proceeding connected with the administration of any such plan or 85 program; 86 (c) The administration of any other federal or federally 87 assisted program which provides service or assistance, in cash 88 or in kind, directly to individuals on the basis of need; 89 (d) Reporting to an appropriate agency or official, 90 information on known or suspected instances of physical or 91 mental injury, child abuse, sexual abuse or exploitation, or 92 negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child who is the 93 subject of a support enforcement activity under circumstances 94 which indicate that the child’s health or welfare is threatened 95 thereby; and 96 (e) Mandatory disclosure of identifying and location 97 information as provided in s. 61.13(8)s. 61.13(7)by the IV-D 98 program when providing Title IV-D services. 99 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.