A sneaky measure making its way through the Florida House of Representatives would require the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to automatically seal millions of criminal records. Maddeningly, it’s a provision in a bill entitled “Public Safety.”

Under HB 7125, FDLE must seal criminal history records if a charging document isn’t filed; if charges weren’t filed or were dropped or dismissed; or if the defendant was acquitted or found not guilty. There would be no limit on the number of times a person can obtain an automatic seal of a criminal history record.

The rationale for this mass blanketing of information, according to a staff analysis of the bill, is to lighten the FDLE’s workload in reviewing these records.

But the effects don’t seem to have the public’s safety in mind at all. As Barbara Petersen, president of the Tallahassee-based First Amendment Foundation, points out:

“A person could be charged and tried one or more times for a lewd and lascivious act, for example, and if acquitted or found not guilty because of a lack of evidence, that person’s criminal history record would not show up on FDLE’s criminal background check web page, and if that person then applies for a position with a school or daycare center,there would be no public record of the previous charges on the FDLE website.”

That's not just scary, but abhorrent.

The idea for sealing all these records goes back to 2017, when the Legislature passed a bill to that effect. Then-Gov. Rick Scott signed it, but the provision didn’t become law because of a procedural glitch.

So lawmakers are trying again this year but doing their best to keep it quiet: In a 264-page bill, the provision appears on Page 216. Because the measure was contained in a “proposed committee bill,” the bill wasn’t given a number until approved by a committee, per House procedures -- making it hard for the public to track, but easy for legislators to speed along with minimal objection.

The law won’t apply to state courts or local law-enforcement agencies. Cold comfort, says Petersen, an open-records watchdog: “If I am hiring a new employee, I will look at the FDLE site. Florida is a huge state and there would be no way for me to check all 67 clerks of court or all local law-enforcement agencies to see if the employee has a criminal history.”

Each year, lawmakers chip away at Florida’s much-admired tradition of government in the sunshine. If the House passes this egregious exception to the public’s access to criminal histories, the Senate should block it. If both chambers pass it, Gov. Ron DeSantis should veto it.

Making life easier for the clerks at FDLE shouldn’t come at the cost of hiding information vital to the public.