House Bill hb0459c1
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 459
By the Committee on State Administration and
Representatives Brutus, Richardson, Siplin, Diaz-Balart,
Lacasa, Mack and Byrd
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to restriction on employment of
3 relatives by public officials; amending s.
4 112.3135, F.S.; eliminating exemptions from the
5 prohibition against employment of relatives by
6 public officials to apply the prohibition to
7 public officials of universities, community
8 colleges districts, and district school boards,
9 for which there are penalties for violation;
10 deleting the definition of "collegial body";
11 removing provisions that prohibit the
12 appointment, employment, promotion, or
13 advancement of any individual if such
14 appointment, employment, promotion, or
15 advancement is made by a collegial body of
16 which a relative of the individual is a member;
17 amending s. 721.05, F.S.; correcting a cross
18 reference, to conform; providing an effective
19 date.
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21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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23 Section 1. Section 112.3135, Florida Statutes, is
24 amended to read:
25 112.3135 Restriction on employment of relatives.--
26 (1) In this section, unless the context otherwise
27 requires:
28 (a) "Agency" means:
29 1. A state agency, except an institution under the
30 jurisdiction of the Division of Universities of the Department
31 of Education;
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 459
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1 2. An office, agency, or other establishment in the
2 legislative branch;
3 3. An office, agency, or other establishment in the
4 judicial branch;
5 4. A county;
6 5. A city; and
7 6. Any other political subdivision of the state,
8 except a district school board or community college district.
9 (b) "Collegial body" means a governmental entity
10 marked by power or authority vested equally in each of a
11 number of colleagues.
12 (b)(c) "Public official" means an officer, including a
13 member of the Legislature, the Governor, and a member of the
14 Cabinet, or an employee of an agency in whom is vested the
15 authority by law, rule, or regulation, or to whom the
16 authority has been delegated, to appoint, employ, promote, or
17 advance individuals or to recommend individuals for
18 appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement in
19 connection with employment in an agency, including the
20 authority as a member of a collegial body to vote on the
21 appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement of
22 individuals.
23 (c)(d) "Relative," for purposes of this section only,
24 with respect to a public official, means an individual who is
25 related to the public official as father, mother, son,
26 daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew,
27 niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law,
28 son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law,
29 stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother,
30 stepsister, half brother, or half sister.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 459
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1 (2)(a) A public official may not appoint, employ,
2 promote, or advance, or advocate for appointment, employment,
3 promotion, or advancement, in or to a position in the agency
4 in which the official is serving or over which the official
5 exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a
6 relative of the public official. An individual may not be
7 appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced in or to a position
8 in an agency if such appointment, employment, promotion, or
9 advancement has been advocated by a public official, serving
10 in or exercising jurisdiction or control over the agency, who
11 is a relative of the individual or if such appointment,
12 employment, promotion, or advancement is made by a collegial
13 body of which a relative of the individual is a member.
14 (b) However, This subsection does shall not apply to:
15 1. Appointments to boards other than those with
16 land-planning or zoning responsibilities in those
17 municipalities with less than 35,000 population.
18 2. This subsection does not apply to Persons serving
19 in a volunteer capacity who provide emergency medical,
20 firefighting, or police services. Such persons may receive,
21 without losing their volunteer status, reimbursements for the
22 costs of any training they get relating to the provision of
23 volunteer emergency medical, firefighting, or police services
24 and payment for any incidental expenses relating to those
25 services that they provide.
26 (c)(b) Mere approval of budgets shall not be
27 sufficient to constitute "jurisdiction or control" for the
28 purposes of this section.
29 (3) An agency may prescribe regulations authorizing
30 the temporary employment, in the event of an emergency as
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Florida House of Representatives - 2001 CS/HB 459
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1 defined in s. 252.34(3), of individuals whose employment would
2 be otherwise prohibited by this section.
3 (4) Legislators' relatives may be employed as pages or
4 messengers during legislative sessions.
5 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (18) of section
6 721.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 721.05 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the
8 term:
9 (18) "Independent," for purposes of determining
10 eligibility of escrow agents and trustees pursuant to s.
11 721.03(7), means that:
12 (a) The escrow agent or trustee is not a relative, as
13 described in s. 112.3135(1)(c)(d), or an employee of the
14 developer, seller, or managing entity, or of any officer,
15 director, affiliate, or subsidiary thereof.
16 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.
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