Florida Senate - 2012 (Corrected Copy) (Proposed Committee
Bill) SPB 7178
FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Rules
595-01950B-12 20127178__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Office of Legislative Services;
3 amending ss. 11.045 and 11.0455, and 112.3148, F.S.;
4 providing for duties related to the registration and
5 reporting of legislative lobbyists to be conducted by
6 the office rather than the Division of Legislative
7 Information Services within the office; amending s.
8 11.242, F.S.; providing that certain content relating
9 to the published edition of the Florida Statutes be
10 determined by the office rather than the Division of
11 Statutory Revision within the office; amending s.
12 112.3148, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made
13 by the act; amending s. 119.15, F.S.; requiring that
14 the office, rather than the Division of Statutory
15 Revision, certify to the Legislature public records
16 and public meetings exemptions that are scheduled for
17 repeal; providing an effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Paragraphs (c) through (h) of subsection (1),
22 paragraph (c) of subsection (2), and paragraphs (a), (b), and
23 (d) of subsection (3) of section 11.045, Florida Statutes, are
24 reordered and amended to read:
25 11.045 Lobbying before the Legislature; registration and
26 reporting; exemptions; penalties.—
27 (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
28 requires:
29 (h)(c) “Office Division” means the Division of Legislative
30 Information Services within the Office of Legislative Services.
31 (c)(d) “Expenditure” means a payment, distribution, loan,
32 advance, reimbursement, deposit, or anything of value made by a
33 lobbyist or principal for the purpose of lobbying. The term
34 “expenditure” does not include contributions or expenditures
35 reported pursuant to chapter 106 or federal election law,
36 campaign-related personal services provided without compensation
37 by individuals volunteering their time, any other contribution
38 or expenditure made by or to a political party or affiliated
39 party committee, or any other contribution or expenditure made
40 by an organization that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C.
41 s. 527 or s. 501(c)(4).
42 (d)(e) “Legislative action” means introduction,
43 sponsorship, testimony, debate, voting, or any other official
44 action on any measure, resolution, amendment, nomination,
45 appointment, or report of, or any matter that which may be the
46 subject of action by, either house of the Legislature or any
47 committee thereof.
48 (e)(f) “Lobbying” means influencing or attempting to
49 influence legislative action or nonaction through oral or
50 written communication or an attempt to obtain the goodwill of a
51 member or employee of the Legislature.
52 (f)(g) “Lobbying firm” means any business entity, including
53 an individual contract lobbyist, which that receives or becomes
54 entitled to receive any compensation for the purpose of
55 lobbying, where any partner, owner, officer, or employee of the
56 business entity is a lobbyist.
57 (g)(h) “Lobbyist” means a person who is employed and
58 receives payment, or who contracts for economic consideration,
59 for the purpose of lobbying, or a person who is principally
60 employed for governmental affairs by another person or
61 governmental entity to lobby on behalf of that other person or
62 governmental entity.
63 (2) Each house of the Legislature shall provide by rule, or
64 may provide by a joint rule adopted by both houses, for the
65 registration of lobbyists who lobby the Legislature. The rule
66 may provide for the payment of a registration fee. The rule may
67 provide for exemptions from registration or registration fees.
68 The rule shall provide that:
69 (c) A registrant shall promptly send a written statement to
70 the office division canceling the registration for a principal
71 upon termination of the lobbyist’s representation of that
72 principal. However Notwithstanding this requirement, the office
73 division may remove the name of a registrant from the list of
74 registered lobbyists if the principal notifies the office that a
75 person is no longer authorized to represent that principal.
76 (3) Each house of the Legislature shall provide by rule the
77 following reporting requirements by rule:
78 (a)1. Each lobbying firm shall file a compensation report
79 with the office division for each calendar quarter during any
80 portion of which one or more of the firm’s lobbyists were
81 registered to represent a principal. The report must shall
82 include the:
83 a. Full name, business address, and telephone number of the
84 lobbying firm;
85 b. Name of each of the firm’s lobbyists; and
86 c. Total compensation provided or owed to the lobbying firm
87 from all principals for the reporting period, reported in one of
88 the following categories: $0; $1 to $49,999; $50,000 to $99,999;
89 $100,000 to $249,999; $250,000 to $499,999; $500,000 to
90 $999,999; $1 million or more.
91 2. For each principal represented by one or more of the
92 firm’s lobbyists, the lobbying firm’s compensation report must
93 shall also include the:
94 a. Full name, business address, and telephone number of the
95 principal; and
96 b. Total compensation provided or owed to the lobbying firm
97 for the reporting period, reported in one of the following
98 categories: $0; $1 to $9,999; $10,000 to $19,999; $20,000 to
99 $29,999; $30,000 to $39,999; $40,000 to $49,999; or $50,000 or
100 more. If the category “$50,000 or more” is selected, the
101 specific dollar amount of compensation must be reported, rounded
102 up or down to the nearest $1,000.
103 3. If the lobbying firm subcontracts work from another
104 lobbying firm and not from the original principal:
105 a. The lobbying firm providing the work to be subcontracted
106 shall be treated as the reporting lobbying firm’s principal for
107 reporting purposes under this paragraph; and
108 b. The reporting lobbying firm shall, for each lobbying
109 firm identified under subparagraph 2., identify the name and
110 address of the principal originating the lobbying work.
111 4. The senior partner, officer, or owner of the lobbying
112 firm shall certify to the veracity and completeness of the
113 information submitted pursuant to this paragraph.
114 (b) For each principal represented by more than one
115 lobbying firm, the office division shall aggregate the
116 reporting-period and calendar-year compensation reported as
117 provided or owed by the principal.
118 (d) Each house of the Legislature shall provide by rule, or
119 both houses may provide by joint rule, a procedure by which a
120 lobbying firm that fails to timely file a report shall be
121 notified and assessed fines. The rule must shall provide for the
122 following:
123 1. Upon determining that the report is late, the person
124 designated to review the timeliness of reports shall immediately
125 notify the lobbying firm as to the failure to timely file the
126 report and that a fine is being assessed for each late day. The
127 fine shall be $50 per day per report for each late day, not to
128 exceed $5,000 per report.
129 2. Upon receipt of the report, the person designated to
130 review the timeliness of reports shall determine the amount of
131 the fine due based upon the earliest of the following:
132 a. When a report is actually received by the lobbyist
133 registration and reporting office.
134 b. When the electronic receipt issued pursuant to s.
135 11.0455 is dated.
136 3. Such fine must shall be paid within 30 days after the
137 notice of payment due is transmitted by the Lobbyist
138 Registration Office, unless appeal is made to the office
139 division. The moneys shall be deposited into the Legislative
140 Lobbyist Registration Trust Fund.
141 4. A fine may shall not be assessed against a lobbying firm
142 the first time any reports for which the lobbying firm is
143 responsible are not timely filed. However, to receive the one
144 time fine waiver, all reports for which the lobbying firm is
145 responsible must be filed within 30 days after notice that any
146 reports have not been timely filed is transmitted by the
147 Lobbyist Registration Office. A fine shall be assessed for any
148 subsequent late-filed reports.
149 5. Any lobbying firm may appeal or dispute a fine, based
150 upon unusual circumstances surrounding the failure to file on
151 the designated due date, and may request and is shall be
152 entitled to a hearing before the General Counsel of the Office
153 of Legislative Services, who shall recommend to the President of
154 the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or
155 their respective designees, that the fine be waived in whole or
156 in part for good cause shown. The President of the Senate and
157 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or their respective
158 designees, may concur in the recommendation and waive the fine
159 in whole or in part. Any such request must shall be made within
160 30 days after the notice of payment due is transmitted by the
161 Lobbyist Registration Office. In such case, the lobbying firm
162 shall, within the 30-day period, notify the person designated to
163 review the timeliness of reports in writing of his or her
164 intention to request a hearing.
165 6. A lobbying firm may request that the filing of a report
166 be waived upon good cause shown, based on unusual circumstances.
167 The request must be filed with the General Counsel of the Office
168 of Legislative Services, who shall make a recommendation
169 concerning the waiver request to the President of the Senate and
170 the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The President of
171 the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives may
172 grant or deny the request.
173 7. All lobbyist registrations for lobbyists who are
174 partners, owners, officers, or employees of a lobbying firm that
175 fails to timely pay a fine are automatically suspended until the
176 fine is paid or waived, and the office division shall promptly
177 notify all affected principals of any suspension or
178 reinstatement.
179 8. The person designated to review the timeliness of
180 reports shall notify the coordinator director of the office
181 division of the failure of a lobbying firm to file a report
182 after notice or of the failure of a lobbying firm to pay the
183 fine imposed.
184 Section 2. Subsections (2), (4), and (5), paragraph (a) of
185 subsection (6), and subsection (7) of section 11.0455, Florida
186 Statutes, are amended to read:
187 11.0455 Electronic filing of compensation reports and other
188 information.—
189 (2) Each lobbying firm that is required to file reports
190 with the Office Division of Legislative Information Services
191 pursuant to s. 11.045 must file such reports with the office
192 division by means of the office’s division’s electronic filing
193 system.
194 (4) Each report filed pursuant to this section is deemed
195 considered to meet the certification requirements of s.
196 11.045(3)(a)4., and as such subjects the person responsible for
197 filing and the lobbying firm to the provisions of s. 11.045(7)
198 and (8). Persons given a secure sign-on to the electronic filing
199 system are responsible for protecting it from disclosure and are
200 responsible for all filings using such credentials, unless they
201 have notified the office division that their credentials have
202 been compromised.
203 (5) The electronic filing system developed by the office
204 division must:
205 (a) Be based on access by means of the Internet.
206 (b) Be accessible by anyone with Internet access using
207 standard web-browsing software.
208 (c) Provide for direct entry of compensation report
209 information as well as upload of such information from software
210 authorized by the office division.
211 (d) Provide a method that prevents unauthorized access to
212 electronic filing system functions.
213 (6) Each house of the Legislature shall provide by rule, or
214 may provide by a joint rule adopted by both houses, procedures
215 to implement and administer this section, including, but not
216 limited to:
217 (a) Alternate filing procedures in case the office’s
218 division’s electronic filing system is not operable.
219 (7) Each house of the Legislature shall provide by rule
220 that the office division make all the data filed available on
221 the Internet in an easily understood and accessible format. The
222 Internet website must shall also include, but not be limited to,
223 the names and business addresses of lobbyists, lobbying firms,
224 and principals, the affiliations between lobbyists and
225 principals, and the classification system designated and
226 identified by each principal pursuant to s. 11.045(2).
227 Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section
228 11.242, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
229 11.242 Powers, duties, and functions as to statutory
230 revision.—The powers, duties, and functions of the Office of
231 Legislative Services in the operation and maintenance of a
232 statutory revision program shall be as follows:
233 (4) The published edition of the Florida Statutes shall
234 contain the following:
235 (d) Such other matters, notes, data, and other material as
236 may be deemed necessary or admissible by the Division of
237 Statutory Revision of the Office of Legislative Services for
238 reference, convenience, or interpretation.
239 Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
240 112.3148, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
241 112.3148 Reporting and prohibited receipt of gifts by
242 individuals filing full or limited public disclosure of
243 financial interests and by procurement employees.—
244 (5)
245 (b) However, a person who is regulated by this subsection,
246 who is not regulated by subsection (6), and who makes, or
247 directs another to make, an individual gift having a value in
248 excess of $25, but not in excess of $100, other than a gift that
249 which the donor knows will be accepted on behalf of a
250 governmental entity or charitable organization, must file a
251 report on the last day of each calendar quarter, for the
252 previous calendar quarter in which a reportable gift is made.
253 The report shall be filed with the Commission on Ethics, except
254 with respect to gifts to reporting individuals of the
255 legislative branch, in which case the report shall be filed with
256 the Division of Legislative Information Services in the Office
257 of Legislative Services. The report must contain a description
258 of each gift, the monetary value thereof, the name and address
259 of the person making such gift, the name and address of the
260 recipient of the gift, and the date such gift is given. In
261 addition, if when a gift is made which requires the filing of a
262 report under this subsection, the donor must notify the intended
263 recipient at the time the gift is made that the donor, or
264 another on his or her behalf, will report the gift under this
265 subsection. Under this paragraph, a gift need not be reported by
266 more than one person or entity.
267 Section 5. Subsection (5) of section 119.15, Florida
268 Statutes, is amended to read:
269 119.15 Legislative review of exemptions from public meeting
270 and public records requirements.—
271 (5)(a) By June 1 in the year before the repeal of an
272 exemption under this section, the Division of Statutory Revision
273 of the Office of Legislative Services shall certify to the
274 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
275 Representatives the language and statutory citation of each
276 exemption scheduled for repeal the following year.
277 (b) An Any exemption that is not identified and certified
278 to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
279 Representatives is not subject to legislative review and repeal
280 under this section. If the office division fails to certify an
281 exemption that it subsequently determines should have been
282 certified, it shall include the exemption in the following
283 year’s certification after that determination.
284 Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.