Florida Senate - 2016                                    SB 1426
       
       
        
       By Senator Stargel
       
       15-00842B-16                                          20161426__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to membership associations; creating
    3         s. 617.221, F.S.; defining the term “membership
    4         association”; requiring membership associations to
    5         file an annual report with the Legislature; specifying
    6         the requirements for the annual report; prohibiting a
    7         membership association from using public funds for
    8         certain litigation; requiring the assessment of dues
    9         paid to a membership association by certain elected
   10         and appointed officials with public funds; requiring
   11         the Auditor General to conduct certain audits
   12         annually; specifying that all membership association
   13         records constitute public records under certain law;
   14         providing an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 617.221, Florida Statutes, is created to
   19  read:
   20         617.221 Membership associations; reporting requirements;
   21  restrictions on use of funds.—
   22         (1) As used in this section, the term “membership
   23  association” means a not-for-profit corporation, including a
   24  department or division of such corporation, the majority of
   25  whose board members are constitutional officers who, pursuant to
   26  s. 1001.32(2) and (3), operate, control, and supervise public
   27  entities that receive annual state appropriations through a
   28  statutorily defined formulaic allocation that is funded and
   29  prescribed annually in the General Appropriations Act or the
   30  substantive bill implementing the annual appropriations act. The
   31  term does not include a labor organization as defined in s.
   32  447.02 or an entity funded through the Justice Administrative
   33  Commission.
   34         (2) A membership association shall file a report with the
   35  President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
   36  Representatives by January 1 of each year. The report must
   37  provide:
   38         (a) The name and address of the membership association and
   39  any parent membership association or state, national, or
   40  international membership association with which it is
   41  affiliated.
   42         (b) The names, titles, telephone numbers, and addresses of
   43  the principal officers and all representatives of the membership
   44  association.
   45         (c) The amount of the fee required to become a member of
   46  the membership association, if any, and the annual dues each
   47  member must pay.
   48         (d) The current annual financial statements of the
   49  membership association as described in s. 617.1605.
   50         (e) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the
   51  membership association.
   52         (f) A description of the assets and liabilities of the
   53  membership association at the beginning and end of the preceding
   54  fiscal year.
   55         (g) A description of the salary, allowances, and other
   56  direct or indirect disbursements, including reimbursed expenses,
   57  to each officer and to each employee who, during the preceding
   58  fiscal year, received more than $10,000 in the aggregate from
   59  the membership association and any other state, national, or
   60  international membership association affiliated with the
   61  membership association.
   62         (h) The annual amount of the following benefit packages
   63  paid to each of the principal officers of the membership
   64  association:
   65         1. Health, major medical, vision, dental, and life
   66  insurance.
   67         2. Retirement plans.
   68         3. Automobile allowances.
   69         (i) The per-member amount of annual dues sent from the
   70  membership association to each state, national, or international
   71  affiliate.
   72         (j) The total amount of direct or indirect disbursements
   73  for lobbying activity at the federal, state, or local level
   74  incurred by the membership association, listed by full name and
   75  address of each person who received a disbursement.
   76         (k) The total amount of direct or indirect disbursements
   77  for litigation expenses incurred by the membership association,
   78  listed by case citation.
   79         (3) A membership association may not expend moneys received
   80  from public funds, as defined in s. 215.85(3), on litigation
   81  against the state.
   82         (4) Dues paid to a membership association which are paid
   83  with public funds shall be assessed for each elected or
   84  appointed public officer. If a public officer elects not to join
   85  the membership association, the dues assessed to that public
   86  officer may not be paid to the membership association.
   87         (5) The Auditor General shall conduct an annual financial
   88  and operational audit of accounts and records of each membership
   89  association.
   90         (6) All records of a membership association constitute
   91  public records for purposes of chapter 119.
   92         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.