Senate Bill sb0708
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2002 SB 708
By Senator Miller
21-829-02 See HB 65
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to restriction on employment of
3 relatives by public officials; amending s.
4 112.3135, F.S.; deleting exemptions from the
5 prohibition against appointment, employment,
6 promotion, or advancement of relatives by
7 public officials to apply such prohibition to
8 public officials of universities, community
9 college districts, and district school boards,
10 for which there are penalties for violation;
11 deleting the definition of "collegial body";
12 deleting provisions that prohibit the
13 appointment, employment, promotion, or
14 advancement of an individual by a collegial
15 body of which a relative of the individual is a
16 member; amending s. 721.05, F.S.; correcting a
17 cross reference, to conform; providing an
18 effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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22 Section 1. Section 112.3135, Florida Statutes, is
23 amended to read:
24 112.3135 Restriction on employment of relatives.--
25 (1) In this section, unless the context otherwise
26 requires:
27 (a) "Agency" means:
28 1. A state agency, except an institution under the
29 jurisdiction of the Division of Universities of the Department
30 of Education;
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2002 SB 708
21-829-02 See HB 65
1 2. An office, agency, or other establishment in the
2 legislative branch;
3 3. An office, agency, or other establishment in the
4 judicial branch;
5 4. A county;
6 5. A city; and
7 6. Any other political subdivision of the state,
8 except a district school board or community college district.
9 (b) "Collegial body" means a governmental entity
10 marked by power or authority vested equally in each of a
11 number of colleagues.
12 (b)(c) "Public official" means an officer, including a
13 member of the Legislature, the Governor, and a member of the
14 Cabinet, or an employee of an agency in whom is vested the
15 authority by law, rule, or regulation, or to whom the
16 authority has been delegated, to appoint, employ, promote, or
17 advance individuals or to recommend individuals for
18 appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement in
19 connection with employment in an agency, including the
20 authority as a member of a collegial body to vote on the
21 appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement of
22 individuals.
23 (c)(d) "Relative," for purposes of this section only,
24 with respect to a public official, means an individual who is
25 related to the public official as father, mother, son,
26 daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew,
27 niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law,
28 son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law,
29 stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother,
30 stepsister, half brother, or half sister.
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 708
21-829-02 See HB 65
1 (2)(a) A public official may not appoint, employ,
2 promote, or advance, or advocate for appointment, employment,
3 promotion, or advancement, in or to a position in the agency
4 in which the official is serving or over which the official
5 exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a
6 relative of the public official. An individual may not be
7 appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced in or to a position
8 in an agency if such appointment, employment, promotion, or
9 advancement has been advocated by a public official, serving
10 in or exercising jurisdiction or control over the agency, who
11 is a relative of the individual or if such appointment,
12 employment, promotion, or advancement is made by a collegial
13 body of which a relative of the individual is a member.
14 (b) However, This subsection does shall not apply to:
15 1. Appointments to boards other than those with
16 land-planning or zoning responsibilities in those
17 municipalities with less than 35,000 population.
18 2. This subsection does not apply to Persons serving
19 in a volunteer capacity who provide emergency medical,
20 firefighting, or police services. Such persons may receive,
21 without losing their volunteer status, reimbursements for the
22 costs of any training they get relating to the provision of
23 volunteer emergency medical, firefighting, or police services
24 and payment for any incidental expenses relating to those
25 services that they provide.
26 (c)(b) Mere approval of budgets shall not be
27 sufficient to constitute "jurisdiction or control" for the
28 purposes of this section.
29 (3) An agency may prescribe regulations authorizing
30 the temporary employment, in the event of an emergency as
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 708
21-829-02 See HB 65
1 defined in s. 252.34(3), of individuals whose employment would
2 be otherwise prohibited by this section.
3 (4) Legislators' relatives may be employed as pages or
4 messengers during legislative sessions.
5 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (18) of section
6 721.05, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 721.05 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the
8 term:
9 (18) "Independent," for purposes of determining
10 eligibility of escrow agents and trustees pursuant to s.
11 721.03(7), means that:
12 (a) The escrow agent or trustee is not a relative, as
13 described in s. 112.3135(1)(c)(d), or an employee of the
14 developer, seller, or managing entity, or of any officer,
15 director, affiliate, or subsidiary thereof.
16 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
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19 HOUSE SUMMARY
20 Deletes exemptions from the prohibition against
appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement of
21 relatives by public officials to apply such prohibition
to public officials of universities, community college
22 districts, and district school boards. Deletes
provisions that prohibit the appointment, employment,
23 promotion, or advancement of an individual by a collegial
body of which a relative of the individual is a member.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.