Florida Senate - 2023 CS for CS for SB 620
By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
and Ethics and Elections; and Senators DiCeglie and Yarborough
585-03548-23 2023620c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to ethics requirements for officers
3 and employees of special tax districts; amending s.
4 112.313, F.S.; specifying that certain conduct by
5 certain public officers and employees is deemed a
6 conflict of interest; making technical changes;
7 amending s. 112.3142, F.S.; requiring certain ethics
8 training for elected local officers of independent
9 special districts, beginning on a specified date;
10 specifying requirements for such training; providing
11 an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 112.313, Florida
16 Statutes, is amended to read:
17 112.313 Standards of conduct for public officers, employees
18 of agencies, and local government attorneys.—
19 (7) CONFLICTING EMPLOYMENT OR CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP.—
20 (a) No public officer or employee of an agency shall have
21 or hold any employment or contractual relationship with any
22 business entity or any agency which is subject to the regulation
23 of, or is doing business with, an agency of which he or she is
24 an officer or employee, excluding those organizations and their
25 officers who, when acting in their official capacity, enter into
26 or negotiate a collective bargaining contract with the state or
27 any municipality, county, or other political subdivision of the
28 state; nor shall an officer or employee of an agency have or
29 hold any employment or contractual relationship that will create
30 a continuing or frequently recurring conflict between his or her
31 private interests and the performance of his or her public
32 duties or that would impede the full and faithful discharge of
33 his or her public duties.
34 1. When the agency referred to is that certain kind of
35 special tax district created by general or special law and is
36 limited specifically to constructing, maintaining, managing, and
37 financing improvements in the land area over which the agency
38 has jurisdiction, or when the agency has been organized pursuant
39 to chapter 298, then employment with, or entering into a
40 contractual relationship with, such business entity by a public
41 officer or employee of such agency is shall not be prohibited by
42 this subsection or be deemed a conflict per se. However, conduct
43 by such officer or employee that is prohibited by, or otherwise
44 frustrates the intent of, this section, including conduct that
45 violates subsections (6) and (8), is shall be deemed a conflict
46 of interest in violation of the standards of conduct set forth
47 by this section.
48 2. When the agency referred to is a legislative body and
49 the regulatory power over the business entity resides in another
50 agency, or when the regulatory power which the legislative body
51 exercises over the business entity or agency is strictly through
52 the enactment of laws or ordinances, then employment or a
53 contractual relationship with such business entity by a public
54 officer or employee of a legislative body shall not be
55 prohibited by this subsection or be deemed a conflict.
56 (b) This subsection shall not prohibit a public officer or
57 employee from practicing in a particular profession or
58 occupation when such practice by persons holding such public
59 office or employment is required or permitted by law or
60 ordinance.
61 Section 2. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (2) of
62 section 112.3142, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
63 paragraphs (e) and (f), respectively, present paragraph (e) of
64 that subsection is amended, and a new paragraph (d) is added to
65 that subsection, to read:
66 112.3142 Ethics training for specified constitutional
67 officers, elected municipal officers, and commissioners of
68 community redevelopment agencies, and elected local officers of
69 independent special districts.—
70 (2)
71 (d) Beginning January 1, 2024, each elected local officer
72 of an independent special district, as defined in s. 189.012,
73 and each person who is appointed to fill a vacancy for an
74 unexpired term of such elective office must complete 4 hours of
75 ethics training each calendar year which addresses, at a
76 minimum, s. 8, Art. II of the State Constitution, the Code of
77 Ethics for Public Officers and Employees, and the public records
78 and public meetings laws of this state. This requirement may be
79 satisfied by completion of a continuing legal education class or
80 other continuing professional education class, seminar, or
81 presentation, if the required subject matter is covered by such
82 class, seminar, or presentation.
83 (f)(e) The Legislature intends that a constitutional
84 officer, or elected municipal officer, or elected local officer
85 of an independent special district who is required to complete
86 ethics training pursuant to this section receive the required
87 training as close as possible to the date that he or she assumes
88 office. A constitutional officer, or elected municipal officer,
89 or elected local officer of an independent special district
90 assuming a new office or new term of office on or before March
91 31 must complete the annual training on or before December 31 of
92 the year in which the term of office began. A constitutional
93 officer, or elected municipal officer, or elected local officer
94 of an independent special district assuming a new office or new
95 term of office after March 31 is not required to complete ethics
96 training for the calendar year in which the term of office
97 began.
98 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.