The Florida Senate

112.3149  Solicitation and disclosure of honoraria.--

(1)  As used in this section:

(a)  "Honorarium" means a payment of money or anything of value, directly or indirectly, to a reporting individual or procurement employee, or to any other person on his or her behalf, as consideration for:

1.  A speech, address, oration, or other oral presentation by the reporting individual or procurement employee, regardless of whether presented in person, recorded, or broadcast over the media.

2.  A writing by the reporting individual or procurement employee, other than a book, which has been or is intended to be published.

The term "honorarium" does not include the payment for services related to employment held outside the reporting individual's or procurement employee's public position which resulted in the person becoming a reporting individual or procurement employee, any ordinary payment or salary received in consideration for services related to the reporting individual's or procurement employee's public duties, a campaign contribution reported pursuant to chapter 106, or the payment or provision of actual and reasonable transportation, lodging, and food and beverage expenses related to the honorarium event, including any event or meeting registration fee, for a reporting individual or procurement employee and spouse.

(b)  "Person" includes individuals, firms, associations, joint ventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations.

(c)  "Reporting individual" means any individual who is required by law, pursuant to s. 8, Art. II of the State Constitution or s. 112.3145, to file a full or limited public disclosure of his or her financial interests.

(d)1.  "Lobbyist" means any natural person who, for compensation, seeks, or sought during the preceding 12 months, to influence the governmental decisionmaking of a reporting individual or procurement employee or his or her agency or seeks, or sought during the preceding 12 months, to encourage the passage, defeat, or modification of any proposal or recommendation by the reporting individual or procurement employee or his or her agency.

2.  With respect to an agency that has established by rule, ordinance, or law a registration process for persons seeking to influence decisionmaking or to encourage the passage, defeat, or modification of any proposal or recommendation by such agency or an employee or official of the agency, the term "lobbyist" includes only a person who is required to be registered as a lobbyist in accordance with such rule, ordinance, or law or who was during the preceding 12 months required to be registered as a lobbyist in accordance with such rule, ordinance, or law. At a minimum, such a registration system must require the registration of, or must designate, persons as "lobbyists" who engage in the same activities as require registration to lobby the Legislature pursuant to s. 11.045

(e)  "Procurement employee" means any employee of an officer, department, board, commission, or council of the executive branch or judicial branch of state government who participates through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, preparation of any part of a purchase request, influencing the content of any specification or procurement standard, rendering of advice, investigation, or auditing or in any other advisory capacity in the procurement of contractual services or commodities as defined in s. 287.012, if the cost of such services or commodities exceeds $1,000 in any year.

(2)  A reporting individual or procurement employee is prohibited from soliciting an honorarium which is related to the reporting individual's or procurement employee's public office or duties.

(3)  A reporting individual or procurement employee is prohibited from knowingly accepting an honorarium from a political committee or committee of continuous existence, as defined in s. 106.011, from a lobbyist who lobbies the reporting individual's or procurement employee's agency, or from the employer, principal, partner, or firm of such a lobbyist.

(4)  A political committee or committee of continuous existence, as defined in s. 106.011, a lobbyist who lobbies a reporting individual's or procurement employee's agency, or the employer, principal, partner, or firm of such a lobbyist is prohibited from giving an honorarium to a reporting individual or procurement employee.

(5)  A person who is prohibited by subsection (4) from paying an honorarium to a reporting individual or procurement employee, but who provides a reporting individual or procurement employee, or a reporting individual or procurement employee and his or her spouse, with expenses related to an honorarium event, shall provide to the reporting individual or procurement employee, no later than 60 days after the honorarium event, a statement listing the name and address of the person providing the expenses, a description of the expenses provided each day, and the total value of the expenses provided for the honorarium event.

(6)  A reporting individual or procurement employee who receives payment or provision of expenses related to any honorarium event from a person who is prohibited by subsection (4) from paying an honorarium to a reporting individual or procurement employee shall publicly disclose on an annual statement the name, address, and affiliation of the person paying or providing the expenses; the amount of the honorarium expenses; the date of the honorarium event; a description of the expenses paid or provided on each day of the honorarium event; and the total value of the expenses provided to the reporting individual or procurement employee in connection with the honorarium event. The annual statement of honorarium expenses shall be filed by July 1 of each year for such expenses received during the previous calendar year. The reporting individual or procurement employee shall attach to the annual statement a copy of each statement received by him or her in accordance with subsection (5) regarding honorarium expenses paid or provided during the calendar year for which the annual statement is filed. Such attached statement shall become a public record upon the filing of the annual report. The annual statement of a reporting individual shall be filed with the financial disclosure statement required by either s. 8, Art. II of the State Constitution or s. 112.3145, as applicable to the reporting individual. The annual statement of a procurement employee shall be filed with the Commission on Ethics.

(7)  A person, other than a lobbyist regulated under s. 11.045, who violates the provisions of subsection (4) commits a noncriminal infraction, punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 and by a prohibition on lobbying, or employing a lobbyist to lobby, before the agency of the reporting individual or procurement employee to whom the honorarium was paid in violation of subsection (4), for a period of not more than 24 months. The state attorney, or an agency, if otherwise authorized, may initiate an action to impose or recover a fine authorized under this section or to impose or enforce a limitation on lobbying provided in this section.

(8)  A member of the Legislature may request an advisory opinion from the general counsel of the house of which he or she is a member as to the application of this section to a specific situation. The general counsel shall issue the opinion within 10 days after receiving the request. The member of the Legislature may reasonably rely on such opinion.

History.--s. 9, ch. 90-502; s. 7, ch. 94-277; s. 1412, ch. 95-147; s. 5, ch. 2000-243; s. 33, ch. 2000-258.