By Staff Report
Two Republican lawmakers have filed matching bills that would make personal information about current and former emergency physicians confidential under Florida’s public-records laws.
Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Homestead, filed SB 268, and Rep. Tiffany Esposito, R-Fort Myers, filed the companion measure (HB 251) for the 2026 legislative session, which begins in January.
The proposed exemption would apply to information held by government agencies about emergency-room doctors, including home addresses, telephone numbers, and dates of birth, as well as similar details about their spouses and children.
According to the Senate bill, emergency physicians “are often placed in traumatic circumstances in which loss of life and severe bodily injuries have occurred.” The legislation argues that such professionals are “particularly vulnerable to physical violence, harassment and intimidation” by patients or family members reacting to traumatic events.
Lawmakers wrote that releasing personal or identifying information could “place them in danger of being physically or emotionally harmed or stalked.”
If approved, the measure would expand the list of public-records exemptions designed to protect people working in high-risk professions, such as law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges.
WMBB