| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to lobbying; amending s. 11.045, F.S.; |
| 3 | permitting expenditures for food and beverages for members |
| 4 | and employees of the Legislature at certain events; |
| 5 | providing that the items must be consumed at the event; |
| 6 | providing a maximum expenditure per recipient for the |
| 7 | permitted items; providing an effective date. |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section |
| 12 | 11.045, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 13 | 11.045 Lobbying before the Legislature; registration and |
| 14 | reporting; exemptions; penalties.-- |
| 15 | (4)(a) Notwithstanding s. 112.3148, s. 112.3149, or any |
| 16 | other provision of law to the contrary, no lobbyist or principal |
| 17 | shall make, directly or indirectly, and no member or employee of |
| 18 | the Legislature shall knowingly accept, directly or indirectly, |
| 19 | any expenditure, except for the following: |
| 20 | 1. Floral arrangements or other celebratory items given to |
| 21 | legislators and displayed in chambers the opening day of a |
| 22 | regular session; or |
| 23 | 2. Food or beverage associated with: |
| 24 | a. An event, meeting, or function the sole purpose of |
| 25 | which is to provide information on legislative, community, or |
| 26 | governmental issues or which has a specific educational purpose; |
| 27 | or |
| 28 | b. An organizational, governmental, professional, or |
| 29 | public interest function or reception. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | Any allowable food or beverage expenditure authorized under this |
| 32 | subparagraph must be consumed at the event, meeting, function, |
| 33 | or reception and may not exceed a total value of $20 per |
| 34 | recipient. |
| 35 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |