Committee advances bill shortening timeframes for patients to get medical records amid privacy concerns
February 10, 2026 | 2026 Legislature FL, Florida
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The House Health and Human Services Committee reported House Bill 1309 favorably following an extended debate and public opposition from health-information professionals.
Representative Booth, the bill s sponsor, said HB 1309 "is a patient centered bill that strengthens and standardizes a person's ability to access their own medical records in a timely manner," explaining the measure generally requires practitioners and facilities to provide copies within 14 days and to allow inspection within 10 days; nursing homes would be required to allow inspection within 24 hours and provide copies within two working days.
Opponents, including the Florida Health Information Management Association, warned the committee that references to patient portals and online access create privacy and security concerns. Jerry Newman of FHIMA said the bill "specifically references patient portal, which creates concerns with regards to multifactor authentication," and described scenarios in which proxy logins or downloaded records could expose unrelated family members' data. Newman urged caution, saying data downloads can become unprotected and subject to data mining.
Several legislators pressed the sponsor on safeguards, prioritization of patient and physician requests over third-party requests, and whether the bill would conflict with HIPAA. Representative Booth told the committee the bill shortens state time frames for producing records but does not change state or federal rules about who may access records; she offered to meet with concerned members to discuss technical safeguards.
After debate and public testimony that included multiple FHIMA speakers and health-information professionals, the committee recorded 21 yeas and 5 nays and showed the bill reported favorably.
Next steps: HB 1309 will proceed from committee for consideration by the full House; legislators and stakeholders said follow-up discussions would focus on technical and security details.
Representative Booth, the bill s sponsor, said HB 1309 "is a patient centered bill that strengthens and standardizes a person's ability to access their own medical records in a timely manner," explaining the measure generally requires practitioners and facilities to provide copies within 14 days and to allow inspection within 10 days; nursing homes would be required to allow inspection within 24 hours and provide copies within two working days.
Opponents, including the Florida Health Information Management Association, warned the committee that references to patient portals and online access create privacy and security concerns. Jerry Newman of FHIMA said the bill "specifically references patient portal, which creates concerns with regards to multifactor authentication," and described scenarios in which proxy logins or downloaded records could expose unrelated family members' data. Newman urged caution, saying data downloads can become unprotected and subject to data mining.
Several legislators pressed the sponsor on safeguards, prioritization of patient and physician requests over third-party requests, and whether the bill would conflict with HIPAA. Representative Booth told the committee the bill shortens state time frames for producing records but does not change state or federal rules about who may access records; she offered to meet with concerned members to discuss technical safeguards.
After debate and public testimony that included multiple FHIMA speakers and health-information professionals, the committee recorded 21 yeas and 5 nays and showed the bill reported favorably.
Next steps: HB 1309 will proceed from committee for consideration by the full House; legislators and stakeholders said follow-up discussions would focus on technical and security details.
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