Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 92
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
12/09/2025 .
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The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
(Gaetz) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Subsection (18) is added to section 112.313,
6 Florida Statutes, to read:
7 112.313 Standards of conduct for public officers, employees
8 of agencies, and local government attorneys.—
9 (18) RETALIATION FOR PROTECTED ACTIVITY PROHIBITED.—
10 (a) As used in this subsection, the term:
11 1. “Adverse personnel action” means the discharge,
12 suspension, transfer, or demotion of an employee; the
13 withholding of bonuses or reduction in salary or benefits of an
14 employee; or any other adverse action taken against an employee
15 within the terms and conditions of employment by an agency or
16 independent contractor of an agency.
17 2. “Exercise of ultimate decisionmaking authority” or
18 “grant of approval” means having and using the authority to
19 commence an adverse personnel action.
20 3. “Protected activity” means submitting a written
21 complaint to the commission executed on the form specified in s.
22 112.324(1) and signed under oath or affirmation or providing
23 information to an investigator during an investigation of a
24 complaint or referral.
25 (b) A public officer, public employee, or local government
26 attorney commits a breach of the public trust when he or she
27 initiates an adverse personnel action against an agency employee
28 or independent contractor who has engaged in a protected
29 activity by an exercise of the public officer’s, public
30 employee’s, or local government attorney’s ultimate
31 decisionmaking authority or a grant of his or her approval, or
32 uses his or her position to cause another to initiate such an
33 adverse personnel action, if the protected activity is the
34 primary reason motivating the adverse personnel action. The
35 communication or execution of an adverse personnel action
36 initiated by another’s ultimate decisionmaking authority or
37 grant of approval does not constitute an exercise of one’s
38 ultimate decisionmaking authority or a grant of one’s approval.
39 Section 2. Section 112.3242, Florida Statutes, is created
40 to read:
41 112.3242 Adverse action against employee for disclosing
42 information of specified nature to the Commission on Ethics
43 prohibited; employee remedy and relief.—
44 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature
45 to prevent agencies or independent contractors from taking
46 retaliatory action against an employee who reports to an
47 appropriate agency any violation of this part or s. 8, Art. II
48 of the State Constitution on the part of a public employer or an
49 independent contractor. It is further the intent of the
50 Legislature to prevent agencies or independent contractors from
51 taking retaliatory action against any person who discloses
52 information to an appropriate agency regarding alleged breaches
53 of the public trust or violations of s. 8, Art. II of the State
54 Constitution on the part of an agency, a public officer, or an
55 employee.
56 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section and s. 112.3243,
57 unless otherwise specified, the term:
58 (a) “Adverse personnel action” means the discharge,
59 suspension, transfer, or demotion of any employee or the
60 withholding of bonuses, the reduction in salary or benefits, or
61 any other adverse action taken against an employee within the
62 terms and conditions of employment by an agency or independent
63 contractor.
64 (b) “Agency” means any state, regional, county, local, or
65 municipal governmental entity, whether executive, judicial, or
66 legislative; any official, officer, department, division,
67 bureau, commission, authority, or political subdivision therein;
68 or any public school, community college, or state university.
69 (c) “Employee” means a person who performs services for,
70 and is under the control and direction of, or contracts with, an
71 agency or independent contractor for wages or other
72 remuneration.
73 (d) “Independent contractor” means a person, other than an
74 agency, who is engaged in any business and enters into a
75 contract, including a provider agreement, with an agency.
76 (3) ACTIONS PROHIBITED.—
77 (a) An agency or independent contractor may not dismiss,
78 discipline, or take any other adverse personnel action against
79 an employee for disclosing information protected under this
80 section.
81 (b) An agency or independent contractor may not take any
82 adverse personnel action that affects the rights or interests of
83 a person in retaliation for the person’s disclosure of
84 information protected under this section.
85 (c) This subsection does not apply when an employee or a
86 person discloses information known by the employee or person to
87 be false or when the employee or person discloses information
88 that forms the basis of an award of costs or attorney fees or
89 both pursuant to s. 112.317(7).
90 (4) NATURE OF INFORMATION DISCLOSED.—The protected
91 information disclosed under this section must include any
92 violation or suspected violation of:
93 (a) Any standard of conduct imposed by this part;
94 (b) Section 8, Art. II of the State Constitution; or
95 (c) Section 11.062, s. 16.715, part II of chapter 287, s.
96 350.031, s. 350.04, s. 350.041, s. 350.042, or s. 350.0605.
97 (5) TO WHOM INFORMATION IS DISCLOSED.—The information
98 disclosed under this section must be disclosed to the
99 commission.
100 (6) EMPLOYEES AND PERSONS PROTECTED.—This section protects
101 employees and persons who submit a written complaint to the
102 commission executed on the form specified in s. 112.324(1) and
103 signed under oath or affirmation or who provide information to
104 an investigator during an investigation of a complaint. A remedy
105 or other protection under this section does not apply to any
106 employee or person who has committed or intentionally
107 participated in committing the violation or suspected violation
108 for which protection under this section is being sought.
109 (7) REMEDIES.—Any employee of or applicant for employment
110 with an agency who is subjected to adverse personnel action
111 because he or she engaged in an activity protected by this
112 section may file a complaint, which must be made in accordance
113 with s. 112.3243. Upon receipt of notice from the commission of
114 termination of the investigation, the complainant may elect to
115 pursue the administrative remedy available under s. 112.3243 or
116 bring a civil action within 180 days after receipt of the
117 notice.
118 (8) RELIEF.—In any action brought under this section, the
119 relief must include the following:
120 (a) Reinstatement of the employee to the same position held
121 before the adverse personnel action was commenced, or to an
122 equivalent position, or reasonable front pay as an alternative
123 relief.
124 (b) Reinstatement of the employee’s full fringe benefits
125 and seniority rights, as appropriate.
126 (c) Compensation to the employee, if appropriate, for lost
127 wages, benefits, or other lost remuneration caused by the
128 adverse personnel action.
129 (d) Payment of reasonable costs, including attorney fees,
130 to a substantially prevailing employee, or to the prevailing
131 employer if the employee filed a frivolous action in bad faith.
132 (e) Issuance of an injunction, if appropriate, by a court
133 of competent jurisdiction.
134 (f) Temporary reinstatement of the employee to his or her
135 former position or to an equivalent position, pending the final
136 outcome on the complaint, if an employee complains of being
137 discharged in retaliation for a protected disclosure and if a
138 court of competent jurisdiction or the commission, as applicable
139 under s. 112.3243, determines that the disclosure was not made
140 in bad faith or for a wrongful purpose or that the disclosure
141 occurred after an agency’s or independent contractor’s
142 initiation of a personnel action against the employee which
143 includes documentation of the employee’s violation of a
144 disciplinary standard or performance deficiency. This paragraph
145 does not apply to an employee of a municipality.
146 (9) DEFENSE.—It is an affirmative defense to any action
147 brought pursuant to this section that the adverse personnel
148 action was predicated upon grounds other than, and would have
149 been taken absent, the employee’s or person’s exercise of rights
150 protected by this section.
151 (10) EXISTING RIGHTS.—This section does not diminish the
152 rights, privileges, or remedies of an employee under any other
153 law or rule or under any collective bargaining agreement or
154 employment contract; however, the election of remedies in s.
155 447.401 also applies to actions under this section.
156 Section 3. Paragraphs (g) and (h) are added to subsection
157 (2) of section 112.324, Florida Statutes, to read:
158 112.324 Procedures on complaints of violations and
159 referrals; public records and meeting exemptions.—
160 (2)
161 (g) Notwithstanding the exemptions in paragraphs (a)-(d),
162 the Commission on Ethics shall deliver a copy of an ethics
163 complaint, and its timely amendments, to the Public Employees
164 Relations Commission upon receiving a written request from the
165 agency. The Commission on Ethics’ delivery of the complaint, and
166 any amendment thereto, does not affect the exemptions in
167 paragraphs (a)-(d) in any other context. The Commission on
168 Ethics shall deliver the complaint, and any amendment thereto,
169 within a reasonable timeframe. If the exemptions in paragraphs
170 (a)-(d) are applicable at the time of the request, the
171 commission must redact any designation to the complaint form it
172 supplied after the form was filed, including, but not limited
173 to, date stamps, receipt stamps, and complaint serial numbers.
174 (h) Notwithstanding the exemptions in paragraphs (a)-(d),
175 the commission shall deliver a copy of an ethics complaint, and
176 its timely amendments, to the person who filed the ethics
177 complaint and identified himself or herself in the text of the
178 complaint or its timely amendments as a current or former
179 employee of the agency associated with the respondent named in
180 the complaint or of an independent contractor of that agency,
181 upon receiving a notarized, written request from such person.
182 The commission’s delivery of the complaint, and any amendment
183 thereto, does not affect the exemptions in paragraphs (a)-(d) in
184 any other context. The commission shall deliver the complaint
185 within a reasonable timeframe. If the exemptions in paragraphs
186 (a)-(d) are applicable at the time of the request, the
187 commission must redact any designation to the complaint form it
188 supplied after the form was filed, including, but not limited
189 to, date stamps, receipt stamps, and complaint serial numbers.
190 Section 4. Section 112.3243, Florida Statutes, is created
191 to read:
192 112.3243 Investigative procedures in response to prohibited
193 personnel actions against ethics complaints.—
194 (1) COMPLAINT.—
195 (a) If a disclosure under s. 112.3242 results in alleged
196 retaliation by an employer, the employee or former employee of
197 an agency or independent contractor that is so affected may file
198 a complaint alleging a prohibited personnel action, which must
199 be made by filing a written complaint with the commission no
200 later than 60 days after the prohibited personnel action.
201 (b) Within 5 working days after receiving a complaint under
202 this section, the commission shall acknowledge receipt of the
203 complaint and provide copies of the complaint and any other
204 preliminary information available concerning the disclosure of
205 information under s. 112.3242 to the employer, who shall
206 acknowledge receipt of such copies to the complainant.
207 (2) FACT-FINDING.—The commission shall:
208 (a) Receive any allegation of a personnel action prohibited
209 by s. 112.3242, including a proposed or potential action, and
210 conduct informal fact-finding regarding any allegation of a
211 legally sufficient complaint under this section to the extent
212 necessary to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to
213 believe that a prohibited personnel action under s. 112.3242 has
214 occurred, is occurring, or is to be taken.
215 (b) Within 180 days after receiving the complaint, provide
216 the agency head or independent contractor and the complainant
217 with a fact-finding report that may include recommendations to
218 the parties or a proposed resolution of the complaint. The fact
219 finding report is admissible in any subsequent or related
220 administrative or judicial review.
221 (3) INVESTIGATIVE POWERS AND TERMINATION OF INVESTIGATION.—
222 (a) The commission, in accordance with this section, is
223 empowered to:
224 1. Receive and investigate complaints from employees
225 alleging retaliation by agencies or independent contractors.
226 2. Administer oaths, examine witnesses, take statements,
227 issue subpoenas, order the taking of depositions, order
228 responses to written interrogatories, and make appropriate
229 motions to limit discovery, pursuant to investigations under
230 subparagraph 1.
231 3. Create fact-finding reports and make determinations
232 regarding investigations under subparagraph 1.
233 (b) The commission shall notify a complainant of the status
234 of the investigation and any action taken at such times as the
235 commission deems appropriate.
236 (c)1. If the commission determines that, in connection with
237 any investigation, reasonable grounds exist to believe that a
238 prohibited action has occurred, is occurring, or is to be taken
239 which requires corrective action, the commission must report the
240 determination together with a fact-finding report to the agency
241 head or independent contractor and the complainant. The
242 commission may include in the report recommendations for
243 corrective action.
244 2. If the commission, in consultation with the individual
245 subject to the prohibited action, finds that the agency or
246 independent contractor has implemented a corrective action in
247 response to the commission’s determination and fact-finding
248 report, the commission must file such finding with the agency
249 head or independent contractor, together with any written
250 comments that the individual provides, and terminate the
251 investigation. The commission shall provide notice of the
252 termination of its investigation, along with the reason for
253 termination, to the complainant and the agency head or
254 independent contractor.
255 3. If the agency or independent contractor, after 35 days,
256 does not implement a corrective action, the commission must
257 terminate the investigation. If an investigation is terminated
258 pursuant to this subparagraph, the commission must provide
259 notice of the termination of its investigation, along with the
260 reason for termination, to the complainant and the agency head
261 or independent contractor, and notify the complainant of the
262 right to appeal under subsection (4).
263 (d) If the commission determines that there are no
264 reasonable grounds to believe that a prohibited personnel action
265 has occurred, is occurring, or is to be taken, the commission
266 must terminate its investigation and report its determination,
267 together with a fact-finding report and a notice of termination
268 of investigation, to the agency head or independent contractor
269 and the complainant.
270 (e) During any investigation under this section,
271 disciplinary action may not be taken against an employee of an
272 agency or independent contractor for reporting an alleged
273 prohibited personnel action that is under investigation, or for
274 reporting any related activity, or against any employee for
275 participating in an investigation without notifying the
276 commission.
277 (4) RIGHT TO APPEAL.—
278 (a) The complainant may, within 21 days after receipt of a
279 notice of termination of an investigation from the commission,
280 file a complaint against the employer agency regarding the
281 alleged prohibited personnel action with the Public Employees
282 Relations Commission. The Public Employees Relations Commission
283 has jurisdiction over such complaints under ss. 112.3242 and
284 447.503(4) and (5).
285 (b) Judicial review of any final order of the commission
286 must be as provided in s. 120.68.
287 (5) RULEMAKING.—The commission may adopt rules to implement
288 this section.
289 Section 5. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
290 made by this act to section 112.313, Florida Statutes, in a
291 reference thereto, subsection (1) of section 112.3136, Florida
292 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
293 112.3136 Standards of conduct for officers and employees of
294 entities serving as chief administrative officer of political
295 subdivisions.—The officers, directors, and chief executive
296 officer of a corporation, partnership, or other business entity
297 that is serving as the chief administrative or executive officer
298 or employee of a political subdivision, and any business entity
299 employee who is acting as the chief administrative or executive
300 officer or employee of the political subdivision, for the
301 purposes of the following sections, are public officers and
302 employees who are subject to the following standards of conduct
303 of this part:
304 (1) Section 112.313, and their “agency” is the political
305 subdivision that they serve; however, the contract under which
306 the business entity serves as chief executive or administrative
307 officer of the political subdivision is not deemed to violate s.
308 112.313(3) or (7).
309 Section 6. This act shall take effect January 1, 2027.
310
311 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
312 And the title is amended as follows:
313 Delete everything before the enacting clause
314 and insert:
315 A bill to be entitled
316 An act relating to employee protections; amending s.
317 112.313, F.S.; defining terms; providing that public
318 officers, public employees, and local government
319 attorneys commit a breach of the public trust when
320 they initiate adverse personnel actions against
321 specified agency employees or independent contractors
322 under certain circumstances; providing construction;
323 creating s. 112.3242, F.S.; providing legislative
324 intent; defining terms; prohibiting agencies and
325 independent contractors from taking specified actions
326 against employees or certain persons for disclosing
327 certain information to the Commission on Ethics;
328 providing applicability; requiring that information
329 disclosed include specified violations or alleged
330 violations; requiring disclosure of specified
331 information to the commission under specified
332 circumstances; providing that specified provisions
333 protect employees and persons who submit written
334 complaints to the commission or provide information to
335 an investigator during an investigation of a complaint
336 or referral; providing applicability; authorizing
337 certain employees or applicants for employment to file
338 complaints in accordance with specified provisions;
339 authorizing certain complainants to pursue a specified
340 administrative remedy or a civil action within a
341 specified timeframe; requiring specified relief;
342 providing applicability; providing that it is an
343 affirmative defense to certain actions that the
344 adverse personnel action was predicated on grounds
345 other than the exercising of certain protected rights;
346 providing construction; amending s. 112.324, F.S.;
347 requiring the Commission on Ethics to deliver copies
348 of complaints and any amendment thereto to the Public
349 Employees Relations Commission upon receiving a
350 written request from the agency; providing that such
351 delivery does not affect specified exemptions in
352 regard to the complaint and amendments; requiring that
353 such delivery be within a reasonable timeframe;
354 requiring that the Commission on Ethics redact certain
355 information under specified conditions; requiring the
356 commission to deliver complaints and any amendment
357 thereto to certain persons upon a notarized written
358 request; providing that such delivery does not affect
359 the specified exemptions of the complaint; requiring
360 that such delivery be within a reasonable timeframe;
361 requiring that the commission redact certain
362 information under specified conditions; creating s.
363 112.3243, F.S.; authorizing certain employees to file
364 a complaint with the commission within a specified
365 timeframe; requiring that the commission acknowledge
366 receipt of such complaint and provide copies of the
367 complaint and any other information to the agency head
368 or independent contractor within a specified
369 timeframe; requiring the commission to conduct
370 informal fact-finding regarding legally sufficient
371 complaints and provide, within a specified timeframe,
372 a certain report to the agency head or independent
373 contractor; providing that the commission is empowered
374 to take specified actions; requiring the commission to
375 notify a complainant of the status of the
376 investigation and actions taken when appropriate;
377 requiring the commission to make a certain
378 determination and provide a fact-finding report to
379 specified entities under specified conditions;
380 requiring the commission to file such determination
381 and report with the agency head or independent
382 contractor under specified conditions; requiring the
383 commission to provide a certain notice to specified
384 entities under specified conditions; requiring the
385 commission to terminate investigations under specified
386 circumstances; prohibiting disciplinary action against
387 an employee under specified conditions; authorizing
388 complainants to file a complaint against the employer
389 agency with the Public Employees Relations Commission;
390 providing that such commission has jurisdiction over
391 such complaints; authorizing the Commission on Ethics
392 to adopt rules; reenacting s. 112.3136(1), F.S.,
393 relating to standards of conduct for officers and
394 employees of entities serving as chief administrative
395 officer of political subdivisions, to incorporate the
396 amendment made to s. 112.313, F.S., in a reference
397 thereto; providing an effective date.