Florida Senate - 2014                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for CS for SB 846
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì309078FÎ309078                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                Floor: 1/AD/2R         .                                
             03/20/2014 03:30 PM       .                                
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    1         Senate Amendment 
    2  
    3         Delete lines 177 - 283
    4  and insert:
    5         (2) A local officer may not register as a lobbyist for the
    6  purpose of lobbying the Legislature on behalf of a person or
    7  entity other than his or her political subdivision. This
    8  subsection does not prohibit a local officer from being employed
    9  by, or contracting with, a lobbying firm if he or she does not
   10  personally represent clients before the Legislature.
   11         (9)(8) Any person required to be registered or to provide
   12  information pursuant to this section or pursuant to rules
   13  established in conformity with this section who knowingly fails
   14  to disclose any material fact required by this section or by
   15  rules established in conformity with this section, or who
   16  knowingly provides false information on any report required by
   17  this section or by rules established in conformity with this
   18  section, commits a noncriminal infraction, punishable by a fine
   19  not to exceed $5,000. Such penalty shall be in addition to any
   20  other penalty assessed by a house of the Legislature pursuant to
   21  subsection (8) (7).
   22         (10)(9) There is hereby created the Legislative Lobbyist
   23  Registration Trust Fund, to be used for the purpose of funding
   24  any office established for the administration of the
   25  registration of lobbyists lobbying the Legislature, including
   26  the payment of salaries and other expenses, and for the purpose
   27  of paying the expenses incurred by the Legislature in providing
   28  services to lobbyists. The trust fund is not subject to the
   29  service charge to general revenue provisions of chapter 215.
   30  Fees collected pursuant to rules established in accordance with
   31  subsection (3) (2) shall be deposited into the Legislative
   32  Lobbyist Registration Trust Fund.
   33         Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 112.3215, Florida
   34  Statutes, is amended, present subsections (3) through (15) of
   35  that section are renumbered as subsections (4) through (16),
   36  respectively, a new subsection (3) is added to that section, and
   37  present subsection (11) of that section is amended, to read:
   38         112.3215 Lobbying before the executive branch or the
   39  Constitution Revision Commission; registration and reporting;
   40  investigation by commission.—
   41         (1) For the purposes of this section:
   42         (a) “Agency” means the Governor, the Governor and Cabinet,
   43  or any department, division, bureau, board, commission, or
   44  authority of the executive branch. In addition, “agency” shall
   45  mean the Constitution Revision Commission as provided by s. 2,
   46  Art. XI of the State Constitution.
   47         (b) “Agency official” or “employee” means any individual
   48  who is required by law to file full or limited public disclosure
   49  of his or her financial interests.
   50         (c) “Compensation” means a payment, distribution, loan,
   51  advance, reimbursement, deposit, salary, fee, retainer, or
   52  anything of value provided or owed to a lobbying firm, directly
   53  or indirectly, by a principal for any lobbying activity.
   54         (d) “Expenditure” means a payment, distribution, loan,
   55  advance, reimbursement, deposit, or anything of value made by a
   56  lobbyist or principal for the purpose of lobbying. The term
   57  “expenditure” does not include contributions or expenditures
   58  reported pursuant to chapter 106 or contributions or
   59  expenditures reported pursuant to federal election law,
   60  campaign-related personal services provided without compensation
   61  by individuals volunteering their time, any other contribution
   62  or expenditure made by or to a political party or an affiliated
   63  party committee, or any other contribution or expenditure made
   64  by an organization that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C.
   65  s. 527 or s. 501(c)(4).
   66         (e) “Fund” means the Executive Branch Lobby Registration
   67  Trust Fund.
   68         (f) “Lobbies” means seeking, on behalf of another person,
   69  to influence an agency with respect to a decision of the agency
   70  in the area of policy or procurement or an attempt to obtain the
   71  goodwill of an agency official or employee. “Lobbies” also means
   72  influencing or attempting to influence, on behalf of another,
   73  the Constitution Revision Commission’s action or nonaction
   74  through oral or written communication or an attempt to obtain
   75  the goodwill of a member or employee of the Constitution
   76  Revision Commission.
   77         (g) “Lobbying firm” means a business entity, including an
   78  individual contract lobbyist, that receives or becomes entitled
   79  to receive any compensation for the purpose of lobbying, where
   80  any partner, owner, officer, or employee of the business entity
   81  is a lobbyist.
   82         (h) “Lobbyist” means a person who is employed and receives
   83  payment, or who contracts for economic consideration, for the
   84  purpose of lobbying, or a person who is principally employed for
   85  governmental affairs by another person or governmental entity to
   86  lobby on behalf of that other person or governmental entity.
   87  “Lobbyist” does not include a person who is:
   88         1. An attorney, or any person, who represents a client in a
   89  judicial proceeding or in a formal administrative proceeding
   90  conducted pursuant to chapter 120 or any other formal hearing
   91  before an agency, board, commission, or authority of this state.
   92         2. An employee of an agency or of a legislative or judicial
   93  branch entity acting in the normal course of his or her duties.
   94         3. A confidential informant who is providing, or wishes to
   95  provide, confidential information to be used for law enforcement
   96  purposes.
   97         4. A person who lobbies to procure a contract pursuant to
   98  chapter 287 which contract is less than the threshold for
   99  CATEGORY ONE as provided in s. 287.017.
  100         (i) “Local officer” means a state attorney, public
  101  defender, sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor
  102  of elections, clerk of the circuit court, county commissioner,
  103  district school board member, or superintendent of schools.
  104         (j)(i) “Principal” means the person, firm, corporation, or
  105  other entity which has employed or retained a lobbyist.
  106         (3) A local officer may not register as a lobbyist for the
  107  purpose of lobbying an agency on behalf of a person or entity
  108  other than his or her political subdivision. This subsection
  109  does not prohibit a local officer from being employed by, or
  110  contracting with, a lobbying firm if he or she does not
  111  personally represent clients before an agency.