The Tiger Woods Protection Act?

The Florida House Governmental Affairs Policy Committee will consider a bill that would block the release of 911 tapes and exempt them as public records. The proposal would allow only transcripts of 911 calls, but not the recordings, to be available 60 days after a request. Some are calling the bill the Tiger Woods Protection Act, noting how the November 2009 tapes gained through the state's open government laws lead to embarrassment for the professional golfer.

Under the current law, names, addresses and other identifying information is exempt from release.

Open government advocates say access to the recordings is necessary to gauge whether emergency service providers handle and respond to calls properly and in a timely manner. A 2009 three-part series by the Herald-Tribune shows how access to 911 calls is necessary to reveal systemic flaws by emergency call workers.

For more on the bill, click here.