SESSION WATCH
Died HOUSE · SESSION 2026

No. HB 179

Pub. Rec./Current Appellate Court Clerks
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SPONSOR
Gottlieb
FILED BY
Michael Gottlieb — District 102, Democrat [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
DIED IN
Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee

Filed under Legal.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Pub. Rec./Current Appellate Court Clerks ; Provides exemption from public records requirements for personal identifying & location information of current appellate court clerks & their spouses & children; provides for future legislative review & repeal; provides for retroactive application; provides statement of public necessity.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Exempts appellate court clerks' home and family details from public records.

Adds appellate court clerks — for the Supreme Court, district courts of appeal, and specific class codes 2610 and 2620 — to the list of court personnel already shielded from disclosure of home address, phone number, and birth date.

Their spouses and children also gain protection: names, home addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and employers become exempt, along with the names and locations of any school or day care center a child attends.

The exemption's automatic-repeal date moves from October 2, 2028 to October 2, 2031, so the Legislature does not have to reenact it for three more years to keep it alive.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Extends judicial-privacy exemption to appellate court clerks majors. 119.071(4)(d)

AIAdds appellate court clerks to the existing exemption for judges and judicial assistants, shielding their home address, phone number, and birth date, and their spouses' and children's names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, employers, and children's school or day care information from public disclosure.

“current judicial assistants and appellate court clerks are exempt from s. 119.07(1)” bill text, line 98 →
§ 2 Defines "appellate court clerk" to include class-code staff moderates. 119.071(4)(d)

AICreates a new statutory definition of "appellate court clerk" covering Supreme Court and district court of appeal clerk appointees, plus any court employee assigned to job class code 2610 or 2620 — reaching beyond titled clerk positions to a broader category of court staff.

“a court employee assigned to the 2610 or 2620 class code” bill text, line 25 →
§ 3 Pushes the exemption's automatic-repeal date to 2031 moderates. 119.071(4)(d)

AIThe exemption is subject to periodic legislative review and was set to expire automatically on October 2, 2028. The bill moves that repeal date to October 2, 2031, deferring the next mandatory review by three years unless lawmakers act sooner.

“shall stand repealed on October 2, 2031 unless reviewed and saved from repeal”
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee
1/13/2026
1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
10/21/2025
Now in Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee
10/21/2025
Referred to Judiciary Committee
10/21/2025
Referred to Government Operations Subcommittee
10/21/2025
Referred to Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee
10/15/2025
Filed
1 EARLIER →
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 119.071
+77 / −3
s. 744.21031
+2 / −2