Can a union get a list of Florida retirees' names and addresses from the state retirement system?

Plain-English summary

The Department of Management Services, which administers the Florida Retirement System through its Division of Retirement, asked the Attorney General's office about its duties under section 121.031 after the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) requested a list of all retired Career Service employees. AFSCME said it was both a bargaining agent and a retiree organization entitled to the records.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Gerry Hammond responded with informal comments. Section 121.031(5) makes retiree names and addresses confidential and exempt from the public records law to the extent that no state or local agency may hand them out in aggregate or list form, except to a public agency on official business. The statute does allow an agency to give the names and addresses of its own retirees to a bargaining agent (as defined in section 447.203(12)) or to a retiree organization for official business, and public agencies may exchange such lists among themselves, but the lists are not open to the general public. The letter suggested the department adopt administrative rules to spell out the scope of its obligation, because several of the department's questions involved mixed questions of law and fact that fall outside what the office can resolve in an Attorney General opinion. On the one question it did address, the meaning of records "from that agency," the letter reasoned that because the Division of Retirement maintains the records of all Florida Retirement System members (state agencies, the judicial and legislative branches, and local governments), an unrestricted request directed to the division would reach all FRS retiree records unless the requester narrowed it.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2009. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Are Florida retirees' names and addresses public records?
A: The letter explained that under section 121.031(5) they are confidential and exempt to the extent that agencies cannot release them in aggregate or list form, except to a public agency engaged in official business.

Q: Can a union or retiree organization get the list?
A: An agency may provide the names and addresses of its own retirees to a bargaining agent (as defined in section 447.203(12)) or to a retiree organization for official business use. The lists are not otherwise open to the public.

Q: If a union asks the Division of Retirement, whose records does it get?
A: The letter reasoned that because the Division of Retirement holds all Florida Retirement System records, an unrestricted request to the division for records "from that agency" would include all FRS retirees unless the requester limited the request.

Q: Why didn't the Attorney General answer all the department's questions?
A: The letter said several questions required resolving mixed questions of law and fact, which are beyond the scope of an Attorney General opinion under section 16.01(3), and it suggested the department address them through administrative rulemaking.

Background and statutory framework

Section 121.031 authorizes the Department of Management Services to adopt rules administering the Florida Retirement System under Chapter 121. The public records piece is section 121.031(5), which makes retiree names and addresses confidential and exempt from section 119.07(1): agencies cannot provide them in aggregate, compiled, or list form except to a public agency on official business; an agency may release its own retirees' information to a bargaining agent (section 447.203(12)) or a retiree organization for official use; and public agencies may exchange lists with each other but not open them to the public. Any person may still view or copy an individual's retirement record one at a time at the department, or request information for a named individual.

This was an informal advisory letter, not a formal opinion. Consistent with section 16.01(3) and the office's policy on the scope of Attorney General opinions, it declined to resolve the department's mixed law-and-fact questions and recommended rulemaking. The only substantive reading it offered concerned how the statute's "from that agency" language applies to the Division of Retirement, which centrally maintains records for all Florida Retirement System members.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Section 121.031, Florida Statutes (administration of the Florida Retirement System)
• Section 121.031(5), Florida Statutes (confidentiality of retiree names and addresses)
• Section 119.07(1), Florida Statutes (public records inspection)
• Section 447.203(12), Florida Statutes (definition of bargaining agent)
• Section 16.01(3), Florida Statutes (scope of Attorney General opinions)
• Chapter 121, Florida Statutes (Florida Retirement System)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/dept-of-management-services-retirees-namesaddresses
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/8218

Original opinion text

Ms. Linda South, Secretary

Department of Management Services

4050 Esplanade Way, Suite 160

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0950

Dear Ms. South:

Thank you for contacting the Florida Attorney General's Office regarding the provisions of section 121.031, Florida Statutes. You have asked several questions relating to the duties of the Department of Management Services, Division of Retirement, in light of the language of this statute.

Pursuant to section 121.031, Florida Statutes, the Department of Management Services is authorized to adopt rules for the administration of the Florida Retirement System and to implement the provisions of law conferring duties upon the department under Chapter 121, Florida Statutes.[1]

Section 121.031(5), Florida Statutes, relating to public records, provides:

"The names and addresses of retirees are confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) to the extent that no state or local governmental agency may provide the names or addresses of such persons in aggregate, compiled, or list form to any person except to a public agency engaged in official business. However, a state or local government agency may provide the names and addresses of retirees from that agency to a bargaining agent as defined in s. 447.203(12) or to a retiree organization for official business use. Lists of names or addresses of retirees may be exchanged by public agencies, but such lists shall not be provided to, or open for inspection by, the public. Any person may view or copy any individual's retirement records at the Department of Management Services, one record at a time, or may obtain information by a separate written request for a named individual for which information is desired."

The Department of Management Services has received a request from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) for a list of "all retired Career Service employees." AFSCME has advised you that it is a bargaining agent within the meaning of section 447.203, Florida Statutes, and that it is a retiree organization and would come within the scope of section 121.031(5), Florida Statutes. You have several questions relating to the department's obligations under the Public Records Law in fulfilling this request.

After reviewing the information you have submitted and the statutory authority of the department in this regard, it is our suggestion that the department engage in administrative rule making to delineate the scope of the statutory requirement to release the names and addresses of retirees to a bargaining agent or to a retiree organization pursuant to section 121.031(5), Florida Statutes. Several questions seem to require a resolution of mixed questions of law and fact and these are beyond the scope of this office's authority to address in an Attorney General's Opinion.[2]

In addition and in an effort to be of some assistance to you in this matter, I would note that your final question relates to those records which the agency is required to produce pursuant to section 121.031(5), Florida Statutes. While this issue may most appropriately be addressed in an administrative rule, section 121.031(5), Florida Statutes, specifically provides that a state agency may provide the names and addresses of retirees "from that agency." You have asked whether this means that the Department of Management Services may only produce the names and addresses of its own employees.

As you have advised this office, the Division of Retirement, located within the Department of Management Services, maintains the names and addresses of all members in the Florida Retirement System. Florida Retirement System members include retirees of all state agencies, the judicial and legislative branches, and local governments.[3]

While the language of section 121.031(5), Florida Statutes, would appear to authorize a retiree organization to request retiree records from specific state or local governmental agencies, the fact that the Division of Retirement maintains all records of the Florida Retirement System suggests that, unless the requestor has limited his or her request, the records "from that agency" when directed to the division would include all records for retirees from the Florida Retirement System. It is my understanding, for example, that the Office of the Attorney General does not maintain retiree information, but refers requests for these records to the Division of Retirement.

I trust that these informal comments will be helpful to you and that the department will feel free to contact us for any assistance we can provide relating to the terms of any rule proposed to effectuate section 121.031(5), Florida Statutes.

Sincerely,

Gerry Hammond

Senior Assistant Attorney General

GH/tsh

[1] Section 121.031(1), Fla. Stat.

[2] See s. 16.01(3), Fla. Stat., and Department of Legal Affairs Statement Concerning Attorney General Opinions.

[3] See, e.g., ss. 121.031, 121.0312, 121.045, 121.046, 121.047, Fla. Stat., providing for the administration of the Florida Retirement System and consolidating and merging other retirement systems into the Florida Retirement System.