F R O M T H E C L E R K O F C O U R T & C O M P T R O L L E R C i n d y S t u a r t – C l e r k o f C o u r t & C o m p t r o l l e r , T h i r t e e n t h J u d i c i a l C i r c u i t
newlegalProtectionsfor MilitaryPersonnelregarding Publicinformationrequests
SenateBill548createsanexemptionforsensitive , personal informationfrompublicrecordsuponwrittenrequest .
Iwant to thank all soldiers , sailors , and current and former military service members for your service and the sacrifices you and your families make to protect our many freedoms . I want to ensure my office honors and recognizes military members every day .
I also want to share a change in the law that helps protect certain current and former “ Military Personnel ” and their families .
Senate Bill 548 allows for the sensitive and personal information of “ Military Personnel ” to be exempt from public records upon written request . This protected information includes home addresses , telephone numbers , and dates of birth of current or former “ Military Personnel .” It also exempts the home address , telephone numbers , date of birth , and name and location of a school of a spouse or dependent of the current or former service member , as well as the name and location of a daycare facility attended by the dependents of the current or former service member .
The new law , signed by the Governor on April 26 , 2024 , and effective as of the same date , defines “ Military Personnel ” as :
• Persons employed by the United States Department of Defense ( DoD ) for whom the federal government grants access to “ secret ” or “ top secret ” information .
• “ Special Operations Forces ( SOF )” are those active and reserve component forces of the military services designated by the Secretary of Defense and specifically organized , trained , and equipped to conduct and support special operations .
SOF includes , but is not limited to : ➢ Service members of both the U . S . Army Special
Forces and the Army 75th Ranger Regiment ; ➢ U . S . Navy SEALs and Special Warfare Combatant-
Craft Crewmen ➢ U . S . Air Force Combat Control , Pararescue , and
Tactical Air Control Party specialists ➢ U . S . Marine Corps Critical Skills Operators ➢ Any other component of the U . S . Special Operations
Command approved by the Commission
To receive the exemption , a current or former “ Military Personnel ” member must submit a written request for exemption to the agency with custody of the exempt information and include a statement that the applicant has made reasonable efforts to protect the
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Learn more on the Clerk ’ s website at hillsclerk . com .
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