Florida SB 1792: Public Records/Pawnbroker Transactions

Bill Text

1792 
Public Records/Pawnbroker Transactions 
2026-02-06T06:59:08Z 
Expanding the exemption from public records requirements for records relating to pawnbroker transactions to include those records delivered to the Department of Law Enforcement; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of public necessity, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1792 

 By Senator Yarborough 

 4-02252-26 20261792__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to public records; amending s. 
 3 539.003, F.S.; expanding the exemption from public 
 4 records requirements for records relating to 
 5 pawnbroker transactions to include those records 
 6 delivered to the Department of Law Enforcement; 
 7 providing for future legislative review and repeal of 
 8 the exemption; providing a statement of public 
 9 necessity; providing a contingent effective date. 
 10 
 11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 12 
 13 Section 1. Section 539.003, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 14 read: 
 15 539.003 Confidentiality.— 
 16 (1) All records relating to pawnbroker transactions 
 17 delivered to appropriate law enforcement officials and the 
 18 Department of Law Enforcement pursuant to s. 539.001 are 
 19 confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and 
 20 s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and may be used only 
 21 for official law enforcement purposes. This section does not 
 22 prohibit the disclosure by the appropriate law enforcement 
 23 officials or the Department of Law Enforcement of the name and 
 24 address of the pawnbroker, the name and address of the conveying 
 25 customer, or a description of pawned property to the alleged 
 26 owner of pawned property. 
 27 (2) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset 
 28 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed 
 29 on October 2, 2031, unless reviewed and saved from repeal 
 30 through reenactment by the Legislature. 
 31 Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 
 32 necessity that the records relating to pawnbroker transactions 
 33 which are delivered to the Department of Law Enforcement be made 
 34 confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and 
 35 s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution. Such records 
 36 contain sensitive personal identifying information from pawn 
 37 transactions, such as the pledgor’s or seller’s name, address, 
 38 telephone number, birth date, physical description, and right 
 39 thumbprint. Access to such sensitive information would expose 
 40 pledgors and sellers to increased risks of identity theft. The 
 41 Legislature finds that expanding the public records exemption to 
 42 include records of pawnbroker transactions delivered to the 
 43 Department of Law Enforcement helps ensure uniformity with the 
 44 current exemption when such records are delivered to other law 
 45 enforcement officials and protects the effective administration 
 46 of statewide data sharing of secondhand dealer transactions. The 
 47 Legislature further finds that the harm that may result from the 
 48 release of such personal identifying information outweighs any 
 49 public benefit that may be derived from the disclosure of the 
 50 information. 
 51 Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that 
 52 SB 1582 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation 
 53 is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension 
 54 thereof and becomes a law