Florida legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Florida H447: Pub. Rec. and Meetings/Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Status: Failed, March 13, 2026
Specifies that hearings relating to mental health & substance abuse, respectively, are confidential & closed to public; provides exceptions; exempts certain information from public records requirements; expands public records exemption to include certain petitions & applications; authorizes disclosure of certain confidential & exempt documents to certain service providers; authorizes courts to use respondent's name for certain purposes; revises applicability; provides for future legislative review & repeal of exemption; making technical changes; provides statements of public necessity.
What the bill says
An act relating to public records and public meetings; amending ss. 394.464 and 397.6760, F.S.; specifying that all hearings relating to mental health and substance abuse, respectively, are confidential and closed to the public; providing exceptions; exempting certain information from public records requirements; expanding a public records exemption to include certain petitions and applications; authorizing disclosure of certain confidential and exempt documents to certain service providers; authorizing courts to use a respondent's name for certain purposes; revising applicability…
From the introduced text, February 6, 2026:
An act relating to public records and public meetings; amending ss. 394.464 and 397.6760, F.S.; specifying that all hearings relating to mental health and substance abuse, respectively, are confidential and closed to the public; providing exceptions; exempting certain information from public records requirements; expanding a public records exemption to include certain petitions and applications; authorizing disclosure of certain confidential and exempt documents to certain service providers; authorizing courts to use a respondent's name for certain purposes; revising applicability; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; making technical changes; providing statements of public necessity; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 394.464, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 394.464 Court proceedings and records; confidentiality.— (1) Absent the respondent's consent or a finding of good cause by a judge or an administrative law judge, all hearings conducted under this part are confidential and closed to the CS/HB 447 2026 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb447-01-c1 Page 2 of FLORIDAHOUSEOFREPRESENTATIVES public. (2)(a) The respondent's name, at a hearing or on appeal, and all petitions or applications for voluntary and involuntary admission for mental health examination or treatment, court orders, and related records that are filed with or by a court under this part are confidential …