Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1760
Ì484070ÃÎ484070
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/15/2025 .
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The Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and
General Government (Grall) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 20.71, Florida Statutes, is created to
6 read:
7 20.71 Residency requirements.—Notwithstanding any other
8 law:
9 (1)(a) Effective October 1, 2025, each of the following
10 persons must be a United States citizen and a resident of this
11 state:
12 1. A member of a commission.
13 2. A member of a licensing board.
14 3. The chair of the governing board, or the chief
15 executive, of a statewide entity that is explicitly created or
16 established by statute, regardless of its legal form, for a
17 public purpose or to carry out a government program and that is
18 not under the direct control of a governmental entity.
19 4. Any other person appointed to hold state office.
20 (b) If a person listed in subparagraph (a)1., subparagraph
21 (a)2., or subparagraph (a)3. does not meet the requirements of
22 paragraph (a), the office of such person is automatically deemed
23 vacant.
24 (2)(a) Effective October 1, 2025, each of the following
25 persons must be a United States citizen, must be a resident of
26 this state, and must reside in the same county as his or her
27 respective department headquarters or within 75 miles of the
28 department headquarters:
29 1. The secretary of a department.
30 2. The executive director of a department.
31 3. The chief administrative officer of any unit of state
32 government which is housed under a department for administrative
33 purposes, but is not subject to the control, supervision, or
34 direction of such department.
35 (b) If a person listed in subparagraph (a)1., subparagraph
36 (a)2., or subparagraph (a)3. does not meet the requirements of
37 paragraph (a), the office of such person is automatically deemed
38 vacant.
39 (3) Effective January 6, 2027, each member of a state
40 university board of trustees must be a United States citizen and
41 either a resident of this state or a graduate of the state
42 university, the administration of which is overseen by such
43 board of trustees.
44 (4) Effective January 6, 2027, each member of the Board of
45 Governors must be a United States citizen and either a resident
46 of this state or a graduate of a state university as defined in
47 s. 1000.21. If any member of the Board of Governors does not
48 meet the requirements of this subsection, such member’s office
49 is automatically deemed vacant.
50 Section 2. Section 112.31251, Florida Statutes, is created
51 to read:
52 112.31251 Definition of the term “office.”—
53 (1)(a) For purposes of s. 5(a), Art. II of the State
54 Constitution, the term “office,” when referring to an office in
55 this state, means any position in state, county, or municipal
56 government which all of the following apply:
57 1. Delegates to the individual holding such position a
58 portion of the sovereign power of the government.
59 2. Requires the exercise of independent governmental
60 authority, which is performed in an official capacity and is not
61 based solely on a contractual or employment relationship.
62 3. Has a prescribed tenure.
63 4. Exists independently of the individual holding such
64 position.
65 (b) The term “office” includes, but is not limited to, each
66 of the following positions:
67 1. The Governor.
68 2. The Lieutenant Governor.
69 3. A member of the Cabinet.
70 4. A state senator.
71 5. A state representative.
72 6. A county commissioner.
73 7. A sheriff.
74 8. A tax collector.
75 9. A property appraiser.
76 10. A supervisor of elections.
77 11. A clerk of the circuit court.
78 12. A member of the Board of Governors of the State
79 University System.
80 13. A member of a board of trustees for a state university.
81 14. A member of a district school board.
82 15. A member of a state, county, or municipal board or
83 commission that exercises governmental authority and is not
84 purely advisory in nature.
85 16. A member of the Board of Governors for the Citizens
86 Property Insurance Corporation established under s. 627.351(6).
87 17. A member of the board of directors for the Florida
88 Housing Finance Corporation established under s. 420.504.
89 18. A member of the board of directors for the Florida
90 Healthy Kids Corporation established under s. 624.91, other than
91 the member appointed pursuant to s. 624.91(6)(a)9.
92 19. An administrator or a manager of a county, a
93 municipality, or a corporation established under s. 420.504, s.
94 s. 624.91, or s. 627.351(6) who exercises in his or her own
95 right any sovereign power or any prescribed independent
96 authority of a governmental nature.
97 20. The director of a county or municipal emergency
98 management agency who exercises in his or her own right any
99 sovereign power or any prescribed independent authority of a
100 governmental nature.
101 21. A state, county, or municipal law enforcement officer
102 with the authority to arrest without a warrant.
103 22. Any position that meets all the criteria enumerated in
104 paragraph (a).
105 (2) The term “office” does not include either of the
106 following:
107 (a) A legislative designation of an officer to perform ex
108 officio the functions of another office; or
109 (b) The position of an individual whose relationship with a
110 state, county, or municipal government is considered employment.
111 For purposes of this paragraph, the term “employment” means a
112 relationship with a state, county, or municipal government where
113 an individual does not exercise in his or her own right any
114 sovereign power or any prescribed independent authority of a
115 governmental nature.
116 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 1001.71, Florida
117 Statutes, is amended to read:
118 1001.71 University boards of trustees; membership.—
119 (1) Pursuant to s. 7(c), Art. IX of the State Constitution,
120 each local constituent university shall be administered by a
121 university board of trustees comprised of 13 members as follows:
122 6 citizen members appointed by the Governor subject to
123 confirmation by the Senate; 5 citizen members appointed by the
124 Board of Governors subject to confirmation by the Senate; the
125 chair of the faculty senate or the equivalent; and the president
126 of the student body of the university. The appointed members
127 shall serve staggered 5-year terms. In order to achieve
128 staggered terms, beginning July 1, 2003, of the initial
129 appointments by the Governor, 2 members shall serve 2-year
130 terms, 3 members shall serve 3-year terms, and 1 member shall
131 serve a 5-year term and of the initial appointments by the Board
132 of Governors, 2 members shall serve 2-year terms, 2 members
133 shall serve 3-year terms, and 1 member shall serve a 5-year
134 term. There shall be no state residency requirement For
135 university board members, but the Governor and the Board of
136 Governors shall consider diversity and regional representation.
137 Beginning July 2, 2020, for purposes of this subsection,
138 regional representation shall include the chair of a campus
139 board established pursuant to s. 1004.341.
140 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
141
142 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
143 And the title is amended as follows:
144 Delete everything before the enacting clause
145 and insert:
146 A bill to be entitled
147 An act relating to public officers and employees;
148 creating s. 20.71, F.S.; requiring that, beginning on
149 a specified date, members of commissions and licensing
150 boards, chairs of governing boards or certain chief
151 executives, or any persons appointed to hold state
152 office be United States citizens and residents of this
153 state; requiring that, beginning on a specified date,
154 secretaries and executive directors of departments and
155 certain chief administrative officers be United States
156 citizens and be residents of, and reside in, specified
157 areas; requiring that, beginning on a specified date,
158 members of the board of trustees for state
159 universities be United States citizens and residents
160 of this state or graduates of the state university
161 that the board oversees; requiring that, beginning on
162 a specified date, members of the Board of Governors of
163 the State University System be United States citizens
164 and residents of this state or have graduated from a
165 state university; providing that if any such
166 requirements are not met, the office is deemed vacant;
167 creating s. 112.31251, F.S.; defining the term
168 “office” for purposes of s. 5(a), Art. II of the State
169 Constitution; defining the term “employment”; amending
170 s. 1001.71, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes
171 made by the act; providing an effective date.