Florida Public Records Exemptions Are Narrowly Construed: How Courts Read Them
TL;DR: Florida courts have long construed public records exemptions narrowly. An exemption is a law that lets an agency hold a record back. The agency must prove the exemption fits your record, and when there is doubt, the court sides with you.
What does it mean that exemptions are read narrowly?
Florida's public records law starts from a simple rule: records are open. Courts read the law in a broad way, in favor of open records. They read each public records exemption in a tight way, and they hold it to its stated purpose.
Courts have said this many times. City of Miami Beach v. Miami New Times, LLC, 314 So. 3d 562, 565 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020). That court quoted Rameses, Inc. v. Demings, 29 So. 3d 418, 421 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010).
So a court will not stretch the words of an exemption to reach a record those words do not fit. It asks whether the words of the law actually cover the record in front of it.
The aim of the law is to let the people of Florida "discover the actions of their government." Christy v. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 698 So. 2d 1365, 1366 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).
Who has to prove a public records exemption applies?
The agency does. An office that claims an exemption bears the burden to prove its right to it. Barfield v. School Board of Manatee County, 135 So. 3d 560, 562 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014).
Many people think it works the other way, and that they must prove a record is public. They do not. Every person has a right to public records under the state constitution (Art. I, s. 24(a), Fla. Const.).
The custodian must let you inspect and copy the record (Section 119.07(1)(a), Fla. Stat.). So the record stays open to public inspection and copying unless the office shows a law that closes it.
What happens when it is not clear an exemption applies?
When the court has doubt about an exemption, it rules for disclosure, not secrecy. Tribune Co. v. Public Records, 493 So. 2d 480, 483 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986).
This is a second rule, apart from the narrow reading. The first rule tells the court how to read the words of an exemption. The second tells it what to do if the answer is still not clear: let the record go.
"Policy considerations" on their own do not let an agency hold back a public record (AGO 80-78). The office needs a law, not a reason it likes.
Why do Florida courts construe exemptions this way?
The first reason is the state constitution. A court has called access to public records "a fundamental constitutional right in Florida." Rhea v. District Board of Trustees of Santa Fe College, 109 So. 3d 851, 855 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).
Read more about that right at Article I, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution.
The second reason is that only the Florida Legislature can make an exemption. Under Section 119.011(8), an exemption is a general law that takes a record out of the access rules.
Courts cannot make one up, and neither can an office. Only the Legislature may do that. Wait v. Florida Power & Light Co., 372 So. 2d 420, 425 (Fla. 1979).
A court also will not read in an exemption that the House and Senate did not pass the right way. Memorial Hospital-West Volusia, Inc. v. News-Journal Corp., 729 So. 2d 373, 380 (Fla. 1999).
To see how lawmakers make and review a new exemption, read how the Legislature creates and sunsets exemptions.
What is the difference between exempt and confidential and exempt?
Some records are just exempt from public inspection. The office does not have to show them, but it may choose to. Williams v. City of Minneola, 575 So. 2d 683 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991).
Other records are confidential and exempt. The agency may give those only to the people the law names. WFTV, Inc. v. School Board of Seminole County, 874 So. 2d 48 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004).
When a law takes effect also matters. The law in force on the day you make the request is the one that usually applies. Baker County Press, Inc. v. Baker County Medical Services, 870 So. 2d 189 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004).
How does the narrow reading help with your records request?
The rule does not always win at the front desk, but it wins in court. Knowing it changes how you write your request and your follow up.
An office that claims an exemption must name the law it relies on (Section 119.07(1)(e), Fla. Stat.). If you ask, it must also give its reasons in writing, with detail (Section 119.07(1)(f)).
Once you have the statute, ask which words in it reach your record. A broad label in a statute may not cover the page you want. The narrow reading means a court will not stretch the label to fit.
Offices often state an exemption more broadly than the statute does. The body cam exemption reaches only footage taken in private places, such as a home or a clinic. Section 119.071(2)(l), Fla. Stat.
The shield for an active criminal case lasts only while the case is active (Section 119.011(3)(d), Fla. Stat.). Once it ends, so does that exemption, unless some other law applies.
For guides on certain exemptions, see records of an active criminal case and public worker personnel records.
What does the narrow reading not do?
It does not erase a valid exemption. When a law clearly covers a record, the record is exempt. The rule only stops an office from stretching a law past its words.
When part of a record is exempt and the rest is not, the agency must black out the exempt part. It must then give you the rest (Section 119.07(1)(d), Fla. Stat.).
So ask for the parts that are open, even when an exemption covers part of the file.
Related
- The right to records in the state constitution
- How the Legislature creates and sunsets exemptions
- What to do after a denial
- Who can see sealed or expunged records?
- Body cam footage and public records
Frequently asked questions
- How do Florida courts read public records exemptions?
- In a narrow way. The courts read the law broadly in favor of open records, and they hold each exemption to its stated purpose.
- Who has to prove that an exemption applies?
- The agency does. You do not have to prove the record is public. The agency has to prove the exemption fits.
- What if it is not clear whether an exemption applies?
- Then the court sides with disclosure, not secrecy. Doubt goes to the person who asked for the record.
- Can a judge or an agency create a new exemption?
- No. Only the Florida Legislature can create one, by a law that meets the rules in the state constitution.
- If part of a record is exempt, can the agency keep the whole thing?
- No. The agency must black out the exempt part and give you the rest. Section 119.07(1)(d) says so.
- What should I say when an agency claims an exemption?
- Ask it to name the statute. Then ask how the words of that statute reach your record. If it blacks out parts, ask the same for each part.
Not legal advice. Educational and informational content only. Reading this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice on a specific matter, consult a licensed Florida attorney.