Florida Senate - 2020 SB 1258
By Senator Diaz
36-00603A-20 20201258__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to commercial service airports;
3 amending s. 11.45, F.S.; requiring the Auditor General
4 to conduct specified audits of certain airports;
5 defining the term “large-hub commercial service
6 airport”; amending s. 112.3144, F.S.; requiring
7 members of the governing body of a large-hub
8 commercial service airport to comply with certain
9 financial disclosure requirements; defining the term
10 “large-hub commercial service airport”; creating s.
11 332.0075, F.S.; defining terms; requiring the
12 governing body of a municipality, county, or special
13 district that operates a commercial service airport to
14 establish and maintain a website; requiring the
15 governing body to post certain information on the
16 website; requiring commercial service airports to
17 comply with certain contracting requirements;
18 providing approval requirements for certain contracts;
19 requiring governing body members and employees of a
20 commercial service airport to comply with certain
21 ethics requirements; requiring governing body members
22 to complete annual ethics training; requiring
23 commercial service airports to submit certain
24 information annually to the Department of
25 Transportation; requiring the department to review
26 such information and submit an annual report to the
27 Governor and the Legislature; prohibiting the
28 expenditure of certain funds unless specified
29 conditions are met; providing an effective date.
30
31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33 Section 1. Paragraph (m) is added to subsection (2) of
34 section 11.45, Florida Statutes, to read:
35 11.45 Definitions; duties; authorities; reports; rules.—
36 (2) DUTIES.—The Auditor General shall:
37 (m) At least once every 5 years, conduct an operational and
38 financial audit of each large-hub commercial service airport.
39 For purposes of this paragraph, the term “large-hub commercial
40 service airport” means a publicly owned airport that has at
41 least 1 percent of the annual passenger boardings in the United
42 States as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration.
43
44 The Auditor General shall perform his or her duties
45 independently but under the general policies established by the
46 Legislative Auditing Committee. This subsection does not limit
47 the Auditor General’s discretionary authority to conduct other
48 audits or engagements of governmental entities as authorized in
49 subsection (3).
50 Section 2. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (1) of
51 section 112.3144, Florida Statutes, to read:
52 112.3144 Full and public disclosure of financial
53 interests.—
54 (1)
55 (c) Each member of the governing body of a large-hub
56 commercial service airport shall comply with the applicable
57 financial disclosure requirements of s. 8, Art. II of the State
58 Constitution. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “large
59 hub commercial service airport” means a publicly owned airport
60 that has at least 1 percent of the annual passenger boardings in
61 the United States as reported by the Federal Aviation
62 Administration.
63 Section 3. Section 332.0075, Florida Statutes, is created
64 to read:
65 332.0075 Commercial service airports; transparency and
66 accountability; penalty.—
67 (1) As used in this section, the term:
68 (a) “Commercial service airport” means a publicly owned
69 airport that has at least 2,500 passenger boardings each
70 calendar year and receives scheduled passenger service as
71 reported by the Federal Aviation Administration.
72 (b) “Department” means the Department of Transportation.
73 (c) “Governing body” means the governing body of the
74 municipality, county, or special district that operates a
75 commercial service airport.
76 (2) Each governing body shall establish and maintain a
77 website to post information relating to the operation of a
78 commercial service airport, including:
79 (a) All published notices of meetings and published meeting
80 agendas of the governing body.
81 (b) The official minutes of each meeting of the governing
82 body, which shall be posted within 3 business days after the
83 date of the meeting in which the minutes were approved.
84 (c) The approved budget for the commercial service airport
85 for the current fiscal year, which shall be posted within 7 days
86 after the date of adoption. Budgets must remain on the website
87 for 2 years after the conclusion of the fiscal year in which
88 they were adopted.
89 (d) All commercial service airport planning documents
90 submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration, which shall be
91 posted upon submission to the Federal Aviation Administration.
92 (e) All financial and statistical reports required to be
93 submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration, which shall be
94 posted upon submission to the Federal Aviation Administration.
95 (f) Any contract or contract amendment executed by or on
96 behalf of the commercial service airport in excess of the
97 threshold amount provided for in s. 287.017 for CATEGORY TWO,
98 which shall be posted no later than 7 days before the governing
99 body votes to approve the contract or contract amendment.
100 (g) Position and rate information for each employee of the
101 commercial service airport, including, at a minimum, the
102 employee’s position title, position description, and annual or
103 hourly salary.
104 (3)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
105 contrary, commercial service airports are subject to the
106 requirements of chapter 287.
107 (b) A governing body must approve each contract executed by
108 or on behalf of a commercial service airport in excess of the
109 threshold amount provided for in s. 287.017 for CATEGORY THREE
110 as a separate line item on the agenda after providing a
111 reasonable opportunity for public comment. Such contracts may
112 not be approved as part of a consent agenda.
113 (4)(a) Members of a governing body and employees of a
114 commercial service airport are subject to part III of chapter
115 112.
116 (b) Beginning January 1, 2021, each member of a governing
117 body must complete 4 hours of ethics training each calendar year
118 which addresses, at a minimum, s. 8, Art. II of the State
119 Constitution, the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and
120 Employees, and the public records and public meetings laws of
121 this state. This requirement may be satisfied by completion of a
122 continuing legal education class or other continuing
123 professional education class, seminar, or presentation if the
124 required subject material is covered therein.
125 (5)(a) Beginning November 1, 2021, and each November 1
126 thereafter, each commercial service airport shall submit the
127 following information to the department:
128 1. Its approved budget for the current fiscal year.
129 2. Any financial reports submitted to the Federal Aviation
130 Administration during the previous calendar year.
131 3. A link to its website.
132 4. A statement, verified as provided in s. 92.525, that it
133 has complied with part III of chapter 112, chapter 287, and this
134 section.
135 (b) The department shall review the information submitted
136 by the commercial service airport and posted on the airport’s
137 website to determine the accuracy of such information. Beginning
138 January 15, 2022, and each January 15 thereafter, the department
139 shall submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
140 the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report summarizing
141 commercial service airport compliance with this section.
142 (6) The department may not expend any funds allocated to a
143 commercial service airport as contained in the adopted work
144 program, unless pledged for debt service, until the commercial
145 service airport demonstrates its compliance with this section.
146 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.