1

A bill to be entitled

2

An act relating to state public officials; creating s.

3

112.3142, F.S.; providing legislative intent; defining the

4

term "covered public official"; requiring a covered public

5

official before taking office to place all of his or her

6

personal investments traded on a national or regional

7

exchange into a publicly traded mutual fund or a qualified

8

blind trust; providing for after-acquired financial

9

interests; prohibiting a conflict of interest with respect

10

to a blind trust; prohibiting a covered public official

11

from attempting to influence or exercise any control over

12

decisions regarding the management of the blind trust;

13

authorizing certain communications with the trustee of the

14

blind trust; requiring the covered public official to

15

report the blind trust on his or her financial disclosure

16

statement; setting forth the requirements for a qualifying

17

blind trust; requiring that a copy of the qualified blind

18

trust agreement be filed with the Commission on Ethics

19

within a specified period; providing for the revocation of

20

a qualified blind trust; creating an exemption for certain

21

public officials; providing an effective date.

22

23

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

24

25

     Section 1.  Section 112.3142, Florida Statutes, is created

26

to read:

27

     112.3142 Qualified blind trusts.--

28

     (1) The Legislature finds that when a public official's

29

financial interests are placed in a qualified blind trust so that

30

the official does not know the identity of the financial

31

interests held by the trust and does not control the interests

32

held by the trust, his or her official actions will not be

33

influenced or appear to be influenced by private considerations.

34

Therefore, the Legislature intends that such trusts be

35

established and operate in a manner that ensures that there is an

36

actual lack of knowledge and control by the official with respect

37

to the interests held in trust.

38

     (2) As used in this section, the term "covered public

39

official" means the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and each

40

member of the Cabinet as specified in s. 4, Art. IV of the State

41

Constitution.

42

     (3)(a) A covered public official shall, before taking

43

office, place all of his or her personal investments in any form

44

of property publicly traded on a national or regional exchange,

45

other than interests in publicly traded mutual funds, into a

46

publicly traded mutual fund or qualified blind trust.

47

     (b) During the covered public official's term of office, he

48

or she may not voluntarily acquire any personal investment in any

49

form of property which is publicly traded on a national or

50

regional exchange, except in the form of publicly traded mutual

51

funds.

52

     (c) If the covered public official acquires a financial

53

interest in any form of property that is publicly traded on a

54

national or regional exchange, other than an interest in publicly

55

traded mutual funds, during the covered public official's term of

56

office due to events or actions beyond his or her control, he or

57

she shall immediately sell the financial interest or place the

58

financial interest in a qualified blind trust.

59

     (d) A covered public official may place other forms of

60

personal investments, as provided in this section, into a

61

qualified blind trust.

62

     (4) If a covered public official holds a financial interest

63

in a qualified blind trust that meets the requirements of this

64

section, he or she will not have, with respect to that financial

65

interest, a conflict of interest prohibited under s. 112.313(3)

66

or s. 112.313(7) or a voting conflict of interest prohibited

67

under s. 112.3143.

68

     (5) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the

69

covered public official and any other person having a beneficial

70

interest in a qualified blind trust may not attempt to influence

71

or exercise any control over decisions regarding the management

72

of assets in the qualified blind trust or make any effort to

73

obtain information with respect to the holdings of the trust,

74

including obtaining a copy of any trust tax return filed or any

75

related information.

76

     (6) Except for communications that consist solely of

77

requests for distributions of cash or other unspecified assets of

78

a qualified blind trust, the covered public official or any other

79

person having a beneficial interest in the blind trust may not

80

have any direct or indirect communication with the trustee with

81

respect to the trust unless such communication is in writing and

82

unless it relates to:

83

     (a) A request for a distribution from the trust which does

84

not specify whether the distribution must be made in cash or in

85

kind;

86

     (b) The general financial interests and needs of the

87

covered public official or other person having a beneficial

88

interest in the trust, including, but not limited to, an interest

89

in maximizing income or long-term capital gain;

90

     (c) Notifying the trustee of a new law or rule applicable

91

to the covered public official which prohibits the covered public

92

official from holding a certain asset and which notification

93

directs that the asset not be held by the trust; or

94

     (d) Directing the trustee to sell all of an asset placed in

95

the trust by the covered public official at the time the blind

96

trust was established which, in the determination of the covered

97

public official, creates a conflict of interest or the appearance

98

of a conflict due to a subsequent assumption of duties by the

99

public official.

100

     (7) The covered public official shall report as an asset on

101

his or her financial disclosure statement his or her financial

102

interest in the qualified blind trust and its value if value is

103

required to be reported. The covered public official shall also

104

report the qualified blind trust as a primary source of income on

105

his or her financial disclosure statement and the amount if the

106

amount of income is required to be reported. The covered public

107

official is not required to report as a secondary source of

108

income on his or her financial disclosure statement any source of

109

income to the qualified blind trust.

110

     (8) A qualified blind trust established by a covered public

111

official must meet the following requirements:

112

     (a) The person or entity appointed as the trustee must not

113

be:

114

     1. A relative, as defined in s. 112.312, of the covered

115

public official;

116

     2. A person who is an elected or appointed public officer

117

or a public employee; or

118

     3. A person who has been appointed to serve in an agency by

119

the covered public official or by a public officer or public

120

employee supervised by the covered public official.

121

     (b) The trust agreement establishing the qualified blind

122

trust must:

123

     1. Contain a clear statement of its purpose, which is to

124

remove from the covered public official any control or knowledge

125

of investment of trust assets so that any conflicts between the

126

covered public official's responsibilities as a public official

127

and his or her private interests will be eliminated;

128

     2. Give the trustee complete discretion to manage the

129

trust, including, but not limited to, the power to dispose of and

130

acquire trust assets without consulting or notifying the covered

131

public official or any other person having a beneficial interest

132

in the trust;

133

     3. Prohibit communication between the trustee and the

134

covered public official and any other person having a beneficial

135

interest in the trust concerning the holdings or sources of

136

income of the trust, except for amounts of cash value or net

137

income or loss if such report does not identify any asset or

138

holding except as provided in this section;

139

     4. Provide that the trust tax return must be prepared by

140

the trustee or his or her designee, and that any related

141

information may not be disclosed to the covered public official

142

or to any other beneficiary except as provided in this section;

143

     5. Permit the trustee to notify the covered public official

144

of the date of disposition and value at disposition of any

145

original investment or interests in real property to the extent

146

required by federal tax law so that information can be reported

147

on the covered public official's applicable tax return;

148

     6. Prohibit the trustee from disclosing to the covered

149

public official or any other person having a beneficial interest

150

in the trust any information concerning replacement assets to the

151

trust, except for the minimum tax information necessary in order

152

for the covered public official and others having a beneficial

153

interest to file income taxes so long as the information does not

154

describe or identify the individual sources of income;

155

     7. Provide that the trustee may not invest trust assets in

156

business entities that he or she knows are regulated by or do a

157

significant amount of business with the covered public official's

158

public agency; and

159

     8. Provide that the trust is not effective until it is

160

approved by the commission.

161

     (c) The trust must contain only readily marketable assets

162

that are free of any restriction with respect to their transfer

163

or sale.

164

     (d) The trust must be approved by the commission as meeting

165

the requirements of this section.

166

     (9) A copy of the qualified blind trust agreement must be

167

filed with the commission no later than 5 business days after the

168

agreement is executed and must include:

169

     (a) A listing of the assets placed in the trust;

170

     (b) The date the agreement was executed;

171

     (c) The name and address of the trustee; and

172

     (d) A separate statement signed by the trustee, under

173

penalty of perjury, certifying that he or she will not reveal any

174

information related to the trust to the covered public official,

175

or any other person having a beneficial interest in the qualified

176

blind trust, other than information authorized under this

177

section, and that, to the best of the trustee's knowledge, the

178

submitted blind trust agreement complies with this section.

179

     (10) If the qualified blind trust is revoked while the

180

covered public official is serving in a position requiring

181

financial disclosure pursuant to this part, or if the covered

182

public official learns of any replacement assets that have been

183

added to the trust, the covered public official must file an

184

amendment to his or her most recent financial disclosure

185

statement no later than 60 days after the date of revocation or

186

the addition of the replacement assets. The covered public

187

official must disclose the previously unreported pro rata share

188

of the trust's interests in investments or income derived from

189

such investments. For purposes of this section, any replaced

190

asset of which the covered public official learns must be treated

191

as though the asset were an original asset of the trust.

192

     Section 2. A covered public official serving in office on

193

July 1, 2008, is not subject to the provisions of this act for

194

the remainder of his or her current term of office unless the

195

covered public official files an irrevocable statement with the

196

commission expressing his or her intent to be subject to the

197

provisions of this act.

198

     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.