The Florida Senate

237.121  Penalty.--

(1)  Any member of a school board or any superintendent who shall violate the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of malfeasance and misfeasance in office, and shall be subject to removal from office by the Governor; and any contract or attempted contract entered into by any school officer or subordinate school officer, not within the purview or in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be void, and no such contract or attempted contract shall be enforceable in any court.

(2)  Each member of any school board voting to incur an indebtedness against the district school funds in excess of the expenditure allowed by law, or in excess of any appropriation as adopted in the original official budget or amendments thereto, or to approve or pay any illegal charge against the said funds, and any chair of a school board or superintendent who shall sign a warrant for payment of any such claim or bill of indebtedness against any of the said funds shall be personally liable for the amount, and shall be guilty of malfeasance in office and subject to removal by the Governor. It shall be the duty of the Auditor General or other state official charged by law with the responsibility for auditing school accounts, upon discovering any such illegal expenditure or expenditures in excess of the appropriations in the budget as officially amended, to certify such fact to the Department of Banking and Finance, which thereupon shall verify such fact and it shall be the duty of the said Department of Banking and Finance to advise the Department of Legal Affairs thereof, and it shall be the duty of the said Department of Legal Affairs to cause to be instituted and prosecuted, either through its office or through any state attorney, proceedings at law or in equity against such member or members of a school board or superintendent; provided, that if either of the said officers do not institute proceedings within 90 days after the audit has been certified to them by the Department of Banking and Finance then any taxpayer may institute suit in his or her own name in behalf of the district.

History.--s. 1081, ch. 19355, 1939; CGL 1940 Supp. 892(400), 8115(20); s. 10, ch. 20970, 1941; s. 14, ch. 21989, 1943; s. 174, ch. 65-239; s. 8, ch. 69-82; ss. 11, 12, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 69-300; s. 167, ch. 72-221; s. 2, ch. 95-148.

Note.--Former s. 237.23.