Florida Senate - 2014                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 846
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì284468QÎ284468                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/18/2014           .                                
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       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 383 - 591
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 8. Section 112.3261, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         112.3261 Lobbying before expressway authorities,
    8  independent special districts, port authorities; registration
    9  and reporting.—
   10         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   11         (a) “Compensation” has the same meaning as in s. 112.3215.
   12         (b) “Expenditure” has the same meaning as in s. 112.3215.
   13         (c) “Expressway authority” has the same meaning as the term
   14  “authority” in s. 348.0002.
   15         (d) “Independent special district” means a water management
   16  district, hospital district, children’s services district, or
   17  any independent special district, as defined in s. 189.403, that
   18  exercises ad valorem taxing authority.
   19         (e) “Lobbies” means seeking, on behalf of another person,
   20  to influence an expressway authority, independent special
   21  district, or port authority with respect to a decision of the
   22  authority or district in an area of policy or procurement or an
   23  attempt to obtain the goodwill of an authority or district
   24  official or employee.
   25         (f) “Lobbying firm” has the same meaning as in s. 112.3215.
   26         (g) “Lobbyist” has the same meaning as in s. 112.3215.
   27         (h) “Port authority” has the same meaning as in s. 315.02.
   28         (i) “Principal” has the same meaning as in s. 112.3215.
   29         (2) A person may not lobby an expressway authority,
   30  independent special district, or port authority until such
   31  person has registered as a lobbyist with that authority or
   32  district. Such registration shall be due upon initially being
   33  retained to lobby and is renewable on a calendar-year basis
   34  thereafter. Upon registration, the person shall provide a
   35  statement signed by the principal or principal’s representative
   36  stating that the registrant is authorized to represent the
   37  principal. The principal shall also identify and designate its
   38  main business on the statement authorizing that lobbyist
   39  pursuant to a classification system approved by the authority or
   40  district. The registration form shall require each lobbyist to
   41  disclose, under oath, the following:
   42         (a) The lobbyist’s name and business address.
   43         (b) The name and business address of each principal
   44  represented.
   45         (c) The lobbyist’s area of interest.
   46         (d) The existence of any direct or indirect business
   47  association, partnership, or financial relationship with any
   48  employee of an authority or district with which he or she
   49  lobbies or intends to lobby.
   50         (3) An expressway authority, independent special district,
   51  or port authority shall make lobbyist registrations available to
   52  the public. If an authority or district maintains a website, a
   53  database of current registered lobbyists and principals must be
   54  available on the authority’s or district’s website.
   55         (4) A lobbyist shall promptly send a written statement to
   56  the expressway authority, independent special district, or port
   57  authority cancelling the registration for a principal upon
   58  termination of the lobbyist’s representation of that principal.
   59  An authority or district may remove the name of a lobbyist from
   60  the list of registered lobbyists if the principal notifies the
   61  authority or district that a person is no longer authorized to
   62  represent that principal.
   63         (5) An expressway authority, independent special district,
   64  or port authority may establish an annual lobbyist registration
   65  fee, not to exceed $40, for each principal represented.
   66         (6)(a)1. Each lobbying firm shall file a compensation
   67  report with the expressway authority, independent special
   68  district, or port authority for each calendar quarter during any
   69  portion of which one or more of the firm’s lobbyists were
   70  registered to represent a principal. The compensation report
   71  shall include the following:
   72         a. Full name, business address, and telephone number of the
   73  lobbying firm;
   74         b. Name of each of the firm’s lobbyists; and
   75         c. Total compensation provided or owed to the lobbying firm
   76  from all principals for the reporting period, reported in one of
   77  the following categories: $0; $1 to $49,999; $50,000 to $99,999;
   78  $100,000 to $249,999; $250,000 to $499,999; $500,000 to
   79  $999,999; $1 million or more.
   80         2. For each principal represented by one or more of the
   81  firm’s lobbyists, the lobbying firm’s compensation report shall
   82  also include the following:
   83         a. Full name, business address, and telephone number of the
   84  principal; and
   85         b. Total compensation provided or owed to the lobbying firm
   86  for the reporting period, reported in one of the following
   87  categories: $0; $1 to $9,999; $10,000 to $19,999; $20,000 to
   88  $29,999; $30,000 to $39,999; $40,000 to $49,999; or $50,000 or
   89  more. If the category “$50,000 or more” is selected, the
   90  specific dollar amount of compensation must be reported, rounded
   91  up or down to the nearest $1,000.
   92         3. If a lobbying firm subcontracts work from another
   93  lobbying firm and not from the original principal:
   94         a. The lobbying firm providing the work to be subcontracted
   95  shall be treated as the reporting lobbying firm’s principal for
   96  reporting purposes under this paragraph; and
   97         b. The reporting lobbying firm shall, for each lobbying
   98  firm identified under subparagraph 2., identify the name and
   99  address of the principal originating the lobbying work.
  100         4. The senior partner, officer, or owner of the lobbying
  101  firm shall certify to the veracity and completeness of the
  102  information submitted pursuant to this paragraph.
  103         (b) For each principal represented by more than one
  104  lobbying firm, the authority or district shall aggregate the
  105  quarterly reporting period and calendar-year compensation
  106  reported as provided or owed by the principal.
  107         (c) The reporting statements shall be filed no later than
  108  45 days after the end of each reporting period. The four
  109  reporting periods are from January 1 through March 31, April 1
  110  through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1
  111  through December 31, respectively. Reporting statements may be
  112  filed by electronic means established by the authority or
  113  district.
  114         (d) The authority or district shall establish procedures
  115  with respect to notifying a lobbying firm that fails to timely
  116  file a report and is assessed a fine, the grounds for waiving a
  117  fine, and the appeal of an assessed fine. The procedures shall
  118  address the following:
  119         1. Upon determining that the report is late, the person
  120  designated to review the timeliness of reports shall immediately
  121  notify the lobbying firm of its failure to timely file the
  122  report and that a fine is being assessed for each late day. The
  123  fine shall be $50 per day per report for each late day, up to a
  124  maximum fine of $5,000 per late report.
  125         2. Upon receipt of the report, the person designated to
  126  review the timeliness of reports shall determine the amount of
  127  the fine due based upon the earliest of the following:
  128         a. The date that a report is actually received by the
  129  authority or district.
  130         b. The date that an electronic receipt for the report is
  131  issued.
  132         3. Unless the fine is appealed, it shall be paid within 30
  133  days after the notice of payment due is transmitted by the
  134  authority or district. The authority or district may only use
  135  the moneys collected to administer the provisions of this
  136  section.
  137         4. A fine may not be assessed against a lobbying firm the
  138  first time any reports for which the lobbying firm is
  139  responsible are not timely filed. However, to receive the one
  140  time fine waiver, all reports for which the lobbying firm is
  141  responsible must be filed within 30 days after the notice that
  142  any reports have not been timely filed is transmitted by the
  143  authority or district. A fine shall be assessed for any
  144  subsequent late-filed reports.
  145         5. A lobbying firm may appeal or dispute a fine, based upon
  146  unusual circumstances surrounding the failure to file on the
  147  designated due date, and may request, and is entitled to, a
  148  hearing before the authority or district, which may waive the
  149  fine in whole or in part for good cause shown. Any such request
  150  shall be made within 30 days after the notice of payment due is
  151  transmitted by the authority or district. In such case, the
  152  lobbying firm shall, within the 30-day period, notify the person
  153  designated to review the timeliness of reports in writing of his
  154  or her intention to bring the matter before the authority or
  155  district.
  156         6. The person designated to review the timeliness of
  157  reports shall notify the authority or district of the failure of
  158  a lobbying firm to file a report after notice or the failure of
  159  a lobbying firm to pay the fine imposed. All lobbyist
  160  registrations for lobbyists who are partners, owners, officers,
  161  or employees of a lobbying firm that fails to timely pay a fine
  162  are automatically suspended until the fine is paid or waived,
  163  and the authority or district shall promptly notify all affected
  164  principals of each suspension and each reinstatement.
  165         7. A fine imposed under this subsection which is not waived
  166  by final order of the authority or district and which remains
  167  unpaid more than 60 days after the notice of payment due or more
  168  than 60 days after the authority or district renders a final
  169  order on the lobbying firm’s appeal may be recorded as a
  170  judgment in the appropriate circuit court. The authority or
  171  district may take any actions necessary to enforce the judgment.
  172         (7)(a) Notwithstanding s. 112.3148, s. 112.3149, or any
  173  other provision of law to the contrary, no lobbyist or principal
  174  shall make, directly or indirectly, and no expressway authority,
  175  independent special district, or port authority official,
  176  member, or employee shall knowingly accept, directly or
  177  indirectly, any expenditure.
  178         (b) No person shall provide compensation for lobbying to an
  179  individual or business entity that is not a lobbying firm.
  180         (8) The commission has exclusive jurisdiction of complaints
  181  alleging that a person covered by this section has failed to
  182  register, has failed to submit a compensation report, has made
  183  or received a prohibited expenditure, or has knowingly submitted
  184  false information in any report or registration required under
  185  this section. The complaint proceedings must be conducted
  186  pursuant to s. 112.324. The commission shall investigate any
  187  lobbying firm, lobbyist, principal, agency, officer, or employee
  188  upon receipt of information from a sworn complaint or from a
  189  random audit of lobbying reports indicating a possible violation
  190  other than a late-filed report.
  191         (9)Any person who is required to be registered or to
  192  provide information under this section or under procedures
  193  established pursuant to this section and who knowingly fails to
  194  disclose any material fact that is required by this section or
  195  procedures established pursuant to this section, or who
  196  knowingly provides false information on any report required by
  197  this section or by procedures established pursuant to this
  198  section, commits a noncriminal infraction, punishable by a fine
  199  not to exceed $5,000. Such penalty is in addition to any other
  200  penalty assessed pursuant to subsection (8).
  201         (10) If a person is uncertain about the applicability and
  202  interpretation of this section, he or she may submit in writing
  203  the facts of the situation to the commission with a request for
  204  an advisory opinion to establish his or her standard of duty. An
  205  advisory opinion shall be rendered by the commission and, until
  206  amended or revoked, shall be binding on the conduct of the
  207  person who sought the opinion, unless material facts were
  208  omitted or misstated in the request.
  209         (11) An expressway authority, independent special district,
  210  or port authority shall be diligent to ascertain whether persons
  211  required to register pursuant to this section have complied. An
  212  authority or district may not knowingly authorize a person who
  213  is not registered pursuant to this section to lobby the
  214  authority or district.
  215         (12) Upon discovery of a violation of this section, an
  216  expressway authority, an independent special district, a port
  217  authority, or any person may file a sworn complaint with the
  218  commission.
  219         (13) An expressway authority, independent special district,
  220  and port authority shall establish policies and procedures to
  221  administer this section, including the forms for registration
  222  and compensation reports and procedures for registration. All
  223  policies and procedures adopted by an authority or district
  224  shall be posted on the authority’s or district’s website or be
  225  made available by regular mail or e-mail upon request.
  226  
  227  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  228  And the title is amended as follows:
  229         Delete lines 58 - 74
  230  and insert:
  231         from lobbying an expressway authority, independent
  232         special district, or port authority until registering;
  233         establishing registration requirements; requiring
  234         public availability of lobbyist registrations;
  235         establishing procedures for termination of a
  236         lobbyist’s registration; authorizing an authority or
  237         district to establish a registration fee; establishing
  238         requirements for quarterly compensation reports;
  239         requiring an authority or district to establish
  240         procedures with respect to the receipt of reports;
  241         prohibiting lobbying expenditures; prohibiting
  242         compensation to a firm not registered to lobby;
  243         providing for jurisdiction of complaints; providing a
  244         penalty; authorizing a person to request an advisory
  245         opinion from the commission; authorizing an authority,
  246         district, or person to file a complaint; requiring an
  247         authority or district to establish