Florida Senate - 2016                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS/CS/CS/HB 651, 1st Eng.
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì892118.Î892118                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                  Floor: WD            .                                
             03/07/2016 10:59 AM       .                                
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       Senator Brandes moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Substitute for Amendment (690366) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Before line 111
    5  insert:
    6         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
    7  112.313, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    8         112.313 Standards of conduct for public officers, employees
    9  of agencies, and local government attorneys.—
   10         (7) CONFLICTING EMPLOYMENT OR CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP.—
   11         (a) No public officer or employee of an agency shall have
   12  or hold any employment or contractual relationship with any
   13  business entity or any agency which is subject to the regulation
   14  of, or is doing business with, an agency of which he or she is
   15  an officer or employee, excluding those organizations and their
   16  officers who, when acting in their official capacity, enter into
   17  or negotiate a collective bargaining contract with the state or
   18  any municipality, county, or other political subdivision of the
   19  state; nor shall an officer or employee of an agency have or
   20  hold any employment or contractual relationship that will create
   21  a continuing or frequently recurring conflict between his or her
   22  private interests and the performance of his or her public
   23  duties or that would impede the full and faithful discharge of
   24  his or her public duties. If a public officer of an agency is an
   25  attorney or is employed or holds a contractual relationship with
   26  a professional association, he or she may not vote or otherwise
   27  participate in any matter in which an officer, a director, a
   28  manager, or an employee of the public officer’s law firm or
   29  professional association appears before the agency in a
   30  representative capacity or as an interested party. The public
   31  officer shall, before the vote is taken, publicly state to the
   32  assembly the reason for his or her abstention. The public
   33  officer may not discuss the matter with any other public officer
   34  or employee of the agency or any person who has or holds
   35  employment or a contractual relationship with the law firm or
   36  professional association. As used in this paragraph, the term
   37  “participate” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph s.
   38  112.3143(4)(c).
   39         1. When the agency referred to is that certain kind of
   40  special tax district created by general or special law and is
   41  limited specifically to constructing, maintaining, managing, and
   42  financing improvements in the land area over which the agency
   43  has jurisdiction, or when the agency has been organized pursuant
   44  to chapter 298, then employment with, or entering into a
   45  contractual relationship with, such business entity by a public
   46  officer or employee of such agency shall not be prohibited by
   47  this subsection or be deemed a conflict per se. However, conduct
   48  by such officer or employee that is prohibited by, or otherwise
   49  frustrates the intent of, this section shall be deemed a
   50  conflict of interest in violation of the standards of conduct
   51  set forth by this section.
   52         2. When the agency referred to is a legislative body and
   53  the regulatory power over the business entity resides in another
   54  agency, or when the regulatory power which the legislative body
   55  exercises over the business entity or agency is strictly through
   56  the enactment of laws or ordinances, then employment or a
   57  contractual relationship with such business entity by a public
   58  officer or employee of a legislative body shall not be
   59  prohibited by this subsection or be deemed a conflict, and the
   60  recusal provisions of this subsection shall not apply.
   61  
   62  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   63  And the title is amended as follows:
   64         Delete lines 2 - 3
   65  and insert:
   66         An act relating to public agencies; amending s.
   67         112.313, F.S.; prohibiting certain public officers
   68         from voting on or otherwise participating in a matter
   69         related to a law firm or professional association in
   70         which the public officer has an interest; requiring
   71         the public officer to make a public statement
   72         regarding a vote abstention; defining the term
   73         “participate”; revising applicability of certain
   74         recusal provisions; amending s. 48.151, F.S.;
   75         authorizing the