HB 2168

Present law requires records identifying an individual or entity involved in the process of executing a death sentence to be treated as confidential and not open to public inspection. This bill clarifies that the identity of a supplier that compounds, distributes, or manufac tures the drugs obtained and used by the department of correction to carry out an execution by lethal injection is not confidential and must be open to public inspection and discovery in a civil proceeding. Further, the qualifications and relevant experi en ce of an officer or employee of the supplier, and a person used by the supplier to obtain equipment or substances to facilitate the compounding, distribution, or manufacturing of the drugs are not confidential and must also be made open to public inspecti on. However, this bill requires personally identifiable information, including office addresses, to be kept confidential. This bill provides that records relating to payment to a person or supplier in connection with the person's or supplier's participation in or preparation for the execution of a death sentence are not confidential and must be made open to public inspectio n. If a contractor is employed to participate in or prepare for the execution of a death sentence, then the amount of the special payment made to the contractor must be reported by the commissioner of correction to the comptroller of the treasury and the a mount is not confidential. However, this bill requires the names of persons directly involved in carrying out a death sentence to be kept confidential and exempt from public disclosure. Further, any information made confidential by this bill must be redacted whenever possible. T his bill does not limit or deny access to otherwise public information because a file or document contains confidential information.