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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  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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