Florida Senate - 2016 CS for SB 1426
By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senators Stargel and
Gaetz
578-02604-16 20161426c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to membership associations; creating
3 s. 617.221, F.S.; defining the term “membership
4 association”; requiring membership associations to
5 file an annual report with the Legislature; specifying
6 the requirements for the annual report; prohibiting a
7 membership association from using public funds for
8 certain litigation; requiring the assessment of dues
9 paid to a membership association by certain elected
10 and appointed officials with public funds; requiring
11 the Auditor General to conduct certain audits
12 annually; specifying that all membership association
13 records constitute public records under certain law;
14 providing an effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Section 617.221, Florida Statutes, is created to
19 read:
20 617.221 Membership associations; reporting requirements;
21 restrictions on use of funds.—
22 (1) As used in this section, the term “membership
23 association” means a not-for-profit corporation, including a
24 department or division of such corporation, the majority of
25 whose board members are constitutional officers who, pursuant to
26 s. 1001.32(2), operate, control, and supervise public entities
27 that receive annual state appropriations through a statutorily
28 defined formulaic allocation that is funded and prescribed
29 annually in the General Appropriations Act or the substantive
30 bill implementing the annual appropriations act. The term does
31 not include a labor organization as defined in s. 447.02 or an
32 entity funded through the Justice Administrative Commission.
33 (2) A membership association shall file a report with the
34 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
35 Representatives by January 1 of each year. The report must
36 provide:
37 (a) The name and address of the membership association and
38 any parent membership association or state, national, or
39 international membership association with which it is
40 affiliated.
41 (b) The names, titles, telephone numbers, and addresses of
42 the principal officers and all representatives of the membership
43 association.
44 (c) The amount of the fee required to become a member of
45 the membership association, if any, and the annual dues each
46 member must pay.
47 (d) The current annual financial statements of the
48 membership association as described in s. 617.1605.
49 (e) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the
50 membership association.
51 (f) A description of the assets and liabilities of the
52 membership association at the beginning and end of the preceding
53 fiscal year.
54 (g) A description of the salary, allowances, and other
55 direct or indirect disbursements, including reimbursed expenses,
56 to each officer and to each employee who, during the preceding
57 fiscal year, received more than $10,000 in the aggregate from
58 the membership association and any other state, national, or
59 international membership association affiliated with the
60 membership association.
61 (h) The annual amount of the following benefit packages
62 paid to each of the principal officers of the membership
63 association:
64 1. Health, major medical, vision, dental, and life
65 insurance.
66 2. Retirement plans.
67 3. Automobile allowances.
68 (i) The per-member amount of annual dues sent from the
69 membership association to each state, national, or international
70 affiliate.
71 (j) The total amount of direct or indirect disbursements
72 for lobbying activity at the federal, state, or local level
73 incurred by the membership association, listed by full name and
74 address of each person who received a disbursement.
75 (k) The total amount of direct or indirect disbursements
76 for litigation expenses incurred by the membership association,
77 listed by case citation.
78 (3) A membership association may not expend moneys received
79 from public funds, as defined in s. 215.85(3), on litigation
80 against the state.
81 (4) Dues paid to a membership association which are paid
82 with public funds shall be assessed for each elected or
83 appointed public officer. If a public officer elects not to join
84 the membership association, the dues assessed to that public
85 officer may not be paid to the membership association.
86 (5) The Auditor General shall conduct an annual financial
87 and operational audit of accounts and records of each membership
88 association.
89 (6) All records of a membership association constitute
90 public records for purposes of chapter 119.
91 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
92