Florida Senate - 2018 SB 1180
By Senator Steube
23-01159-18 20181180__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to county and municipal public
3 officers and employees; amending s. 99.061, F.S.;
4 requiring a candidate for an elective municipal office
5 to file a full and public disclosure of financial
6 interests upon qualifying for office; amending s.
7 106.07, F.S.; requiring elected county or municipal
8 public officers who are candidates for elective office
9 to make certain campaign finance reports available for
10 posting on their county or municipal websites;
11 amending s. 112.061, F.S.; requiring that requests to
12 travel out of state by county or municipal public
13 officers be approved by the governing board of the
14 county or municipality at a publicly noticed meeting;
15 specifying requirements for such meetings; limiting
16 travel expenses of such public officers or employees
17 to those expenses incurred within a specified
18 timeframe; prohibiting advancement or reimbursement
19 for travel expenses of such public officers or
20 employees for foreign travel; limiting lodging
21 expenses of such public officers or employees to a
22 specified amount; authorizing such public officers or
23 employees to expend their own funds for lodging
24 expenses that exceed that amount; requiring county or
25 municipal public officers to report certain travel
26 expenses to a local Commission on Ethics and Public
27 Trust or the Commission on Ethics; amending s.
28 112.3144, F.S.; requiring elected municipal officers
29 to file a full and public disclosure of financial
30 interests, rather than a statement of financial
31 interests; amending s. 112.3145, F.S.; redefining the
32 term “local officer” to conform to changes made by the
33 act; providing effective dates.
34
35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37 Section 1. Effective January 1, 2019, subsection (5) of
38 section 99.061, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
39 99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to
40 federal, state, county, municipal, or district office.—
41 (5) At the time of qualifying for office, each candidate
42 for an elective municipal office or a constitutional office
43 shall file a full and public disclosure of financial interests
44 pursuant to s. 8, Art. II of the State Constitution, which must
45 be verified under oath or affirmation pursuant to s.
46 92.525(1)(a), and a candidate for any other office, including
47 local elective office, shall file a statement of financial
48 interests pursuant to s. 112.3145.
49 Section 2. Subsection (10) is added to section 106.07,
50 Florida Statutes, to read:
51 106.07 Reports; certification and filing.—
52 (10) An elected county or municipal public officer who is a
53 candidate for elective office must provide any report he or she
54 is required to file pursuant to this section, whether for his or
55 her campaign or a political committee that he or she controls,
56 to the county or municipality that he or she serves for posting
57 on its website.
58 Section 3. Present paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) of
59 subsection (3) of section 112.061, Florida Statutes, are
60 redesignated as paragraphs (h), (i), and (j), respectively,
61 paragraph (a) of that subsection and paragraph (a) of subsection
62 (6) are amended, new paragraphs (f) and (g) are added to
63 subsection (3) of that section, and subsection (16) is added to
64 that section, to read:
65 112.061 Per diem and travel expenses of public officers,
66 employees, and authorized persons.—
67 (3) AUTHORITY TO INCUR TRAVEL EXPENSES.—
68 (a) All travel must be authorized and approved by the head
69 of the agency, or his or her designated representative, from
70 whose funds the traveler is paid. The head of the agency may
71 shall not authorize or approve such a request unless:
72 1. It is accompanied by a signed statement by the
73 traveler’s supervisor stating that such travel is on the
74 official business of the state and also stating the purpose of
75 such travel.
76 2. For county or municipal public officers requesting
77 authorization to travel outside of the state, it is approved by
78 the governing body of the county or municipality at a publicly
79 noticed meeting. The request must be included on the meeting
80 agenda and must include an itemized list detailing all
81 anticipated travel expenses, including, but not limited to, the
82 anticipated costs of all means of travel, lodging, and
83 subsistence. The public must have an opportunity to speak at the
84 meeting before the vote occurs. The governing body of the county
85 or municipality may approve the request by a majority vote of
86 the members present and voting at the meeting.
87 (f) Travel expenses of county or municipal public officers
88 or employees may include only those expenses necessarily
89 incurred by them beginning 24 hours before the start of the
90 event and ending 24 hours after the end of the event
91 necessitating such travel.
92 (g) Travel expenses of county or municipal public officers
93 or employees for foreign travel do not qualify for advancement
94 or reimbursement under any circumstances.
95 (6) RATES OF PER DIEM AND SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE.—For
96 purposes of reimbursement rates and methods of calculation, per
97 diem and subsistence allowances are provided as follows:
98 (a) All travelers shall be allowed for subsistence when
99 traveling to a convention or conference or when traveling within
100 or outside the state in order to conduct bona fide state
101 business, which convention, conference, or business serves a
102 direct and lawful public purpose with relation to the public
103 agency served by the person attending such meeting or conducting
104 such business, either of the following for each day of such
105 travel at the option of the traveler:
106 1. Eighty dollars per diem; or
107 2. If actual expenses exceed $80, the amounts authorized
108 permitted in paragraph (b) for subsistence, plus actual expenses
109 for lodging at a single-occupancy rate to be substantiated by
110 paid bills therefor, except that the advanced or reimbursable
111 lodging expenses of county or municipal public officers or
112 employees may not exceed $120 per day. A county or municipal
113 public officer or employee may expend his or her own funds for
114 any lodging expenses in excess of $120 per day.
115
116 When lodging or meals are provided at a state institution, the
117 traveler shall be reimbursed only for the actual expenses of
118 such lodging or meals, not to exceed the maximum provided for in
119 this subsection.
120 (16) REPORTING.—A county or municipal public officer must
121 report travel expenses that are paid with or reimbursed from
122 taxpayer funds to a Commission on Ethics and Public Trust of the
123 county or municipality or, if the county or municipality has not
124 established such a commission, to the Commission on Ethics
125 created in s. 112.320. The travel expense report must state the
126 purpose and justify the necessity of the travel and provide
127 proof of incurred travel expenses.
128 Section 4. Effective January 1, 2019, subsections (1), (2),
129 and (3) of section 112.3144, Florida Statutes, are amended to
130 read:
131 112.3144 Full and public disclosure of financial
132 interests.—
133 (1) In addition to officers specified in s. 8, Art. II of
134 the State Constitution or any other state law, all elected
135 municipal officers, including any individual who is appointed to
136 fill a vacancy for an unexpired term in an elective municipal
137 office, are required to file a full and public disclosure of
138 their financial interests. An officer who is required by s. 8,
139 Art. II of the State Constitution to file a full and public
140 disclosure of his or her financial interests for any calendar or
141 fiscal year shall file that disclosure with the Florida
142 Commission on Ethics. Additionally, beginning January 1, 2015,
143 An officer who is required to complete annual ethics training
144 pursuant to s. 112.3142 must certify on his or her full and
145 public disclosure of financial interests that he or she has
146 completed the required training.
147 (2) A person who is required, pursuant to s. 8, Art. II of
148 the State Constitution, to file a full and public disclosure of
149 financial interests and who has filed a full and public
150 disclosure of financial interests for any calendar or fiscal
151 year is shall not be required to file a statement of financial
152 interests pursuant to s. 112.3145(2) and (3) for the same year
153 or for any part thereof notwithstanding any requirement of this
154 part. If an incumbent in an elective office has filed the full
155 and public disclosure of financial interests to qualify for
156 election to the same office or if a candidate for office holds
157 another office subject to the annual filing requirement, the
158 qualifying officer shall forward an electronic copy of the full
159 and public disclosure of financial interests to the commission
160 no later than July 1. The electronic copy of the full and public
161 disclosure of financial interests satisfies the annual
162 disclosure requirement of this section. A candidate who does not
163 qualify until after the annual full and public disclosure of
164 financial interests has been filed pursuant to this section
165 shall file a copy of his or her disclosure with the officer
166 before whom he or she qualifies.
167 (3) For purposes of full and public disclosure under s.
168 8(a), Art. II of the State Constitution and this section, the
169 following items, if not held for investment purposes and if
170 valued at over $1,000 in the aggregate, may be reported in a
171 lump sum and identified as “household goods and personal
172 effects”:
173 (a) Jewelry;
174 (b) Collections of stamps, guns, and numismatic properties;
175 (c) Art objects;
176 (d) Household equipment and furnishings;
177 (e) Clothing;
178 (f) Other household items; and
179 (g) Vehicles for personal use.
180 Section 5. Effective January 1, 2019, paragraph (a) of
181 subsection (1) of section 112.3145, Florida Statutes, is amended
182 to read:
183 112.3145 Disclosure of financial interests and clients
184 represented before agencies.—
185 (1) For purposes of this section, unless the context
186 otherwise requires, the term:
187 (a) “Local officer” means:
188 1. Every person who is elected to office in any political
189 subdivision of the state other than an elective municipal
190 office, and every person who is appointed to fill a vacancy for
191 an unexpired term in such an elective office.
192 2. Any appointed member of any of the following boards,
193 councils, commissions, authorities, or other bodies of any
194 county, municipality, school district, independent special
195 district, or other political subdivision of the state:
196 a. The governing body of the political subdivision, if
197 appointed;
198 b. A community college or junior college district board of
199 trustees;
200 c. A board having the power to enforce local code
201 provisions;
202 d. A planning or zoning board, board of adjustment, board
203 of appeals, community redevelopment agency board, or other board
204 having the power to recommend, create, or modify land planning
205 or zoning within the political subdivision, except for citizen
206 advisory committees, technical coordinating committees, and such
207 other groups who only have the power to make recommendations to
208 planning or zoning boards;
209 e. A pension board or retirement board having the power to
210 invest pension or retirement funds or the power to make a
211 binding determination of one’s entitlement to or amount of a
212 pension or other retirement benefit; or
213 f. Any other appointed member of a local government board
214 who is required to file a statement of financial interests by
215 the appointing authority or the enabling legislation, ordinance,
216 or resolution creating the board.
217 3. Any person holding one or more of the following
218 positions: mayor; county or city manager; chief administrative
219 employee of a county, municipality, or other political
220 subdivision; county or municipal attorney; finance director of a
221 county, municipality, or other political subdivision; chief
222 county or municipal building code inspector; county or municipal
223 water resources coordinator; county or municipal pollution
224 control director; county or municipal environmental control
225 director; county or municipal administrator, with power to grant
226 or deny a land development permit; chief of police; fire chief;
227 municipal clerk; district school superintendent; community
228 college president; district medical examiner; or purchasing
229 agent having the authority to make any purchase exceeding the
230 threshold amount provided for in s. 287.017 for CATEGORY ONE, on
231 behalf of any political subdivision of the state or any entity
232 thereof.
233 Section 6. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
234 act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2018.