Should Florida Citizens have an expectation of privacy? What, if any, are the limits for a code inspector to enter a property for inspection?
Have you ever found yourself on the phone with a sales person asking yourself “how did this person get my number?” Many people will think back over their recent activities and try to remember if they accidentally subscribed to some new service or they entered their phone number in some contest. Surprisingly, it might not be any of these things, it might be that you recently got a building permit, connected a water service, or complained to your local government.
In Florida, the public records law is vast and there are few exemptions provided by the legislature as reasons information cannot be disclosed. Sales and marketing businesses use this to their benefit and are constantly making public records requests for lists filled with your information to build their call and sale sheets. The only information kept by the government that is unable to be legally used for commercial purposes is voter registration rolls, but even then, that information is available to non-profits and political parties to fill your mailbox or interrupt your evening relaxation.
So What Do I Do?
You’re probably asking yourself “so what do I do now?” Unfortunately, if you have already given your information to a government in Florida, there are few recourses to get your information removed from the public record short of a court order. However, if you qualify for one of the employment exemptions found on the sample form below you can fill out a “Public Records Exemption” form from your local jurisdiction and have your information be prevented from public disclosure.
If you do qualify for any of these exemptions, remember, that you may need to fill out the form for different governmental agencies. Typically, these forms are shared between agencies at the same level of government, so if you fill out your County form, it will be distributed to the Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, etc, however, it will not be given to your municipality, you will need to reach out to them directly to acquire their form.
Prevention is Key
Eventually most data will fall out of the public record due to public record retention schedules. Many records will be removed from the government’s archives within 3-5 years. This means that you want to take steps to keep your information from re-entering the public record. Ways you can do this is through the services offered by Privacy Partners such as confidential code complaints, anonymous public record requests, and discrete communications.
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