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.