Florida Senate - 2024 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 734
Ì673892KÎ673892
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
02/05/2024 .
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The Committee on Ethics and Elections (Ingoglia) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 131 - 216
4 and insert:
5 with the commission to lobby a county, municipality, or special
6 district. The commission shall note in a public database that
7 such person is registered to lobby a county, municipality, or
8 special district. Such registration is due upon the person’s
9 initial retention as a lobbyist and is renewable on a calendar
10 year basis thereafter. Such person shall, at the time of
11 registration, provide a statement signed by the principal or
12 principal’s representative stating that the registrant is
13 authorized to represent the principal. The statement must also
14 identify and designate the principal’s main business and
15 authorize the registrant pursuant to a classification system
16 approved by the commission. Any changes in the information
17 provided pursuant to this subsection must be disclosed within 15
18 days after the change occurs by the lobbyist filing a new
19 registration form. The lobbyist shall disclose under oath on a
20 lobbyist registration form used by the commission all of the
21 following information:
22 (a) The lobbyist’s name and business address.
23 (b) The name and business address of each principal
24 represented.
25 (c) The existence of any direct or indirect business
26 association, partnership, or financial relationship the lobbyist
27 has with any officer or employee of the county, municipality, or
28 special district that he or she lobbies or intends to lobby.
29 (3) The commission shall make the registrations of
30 lobbyists who register to lobby a county, municipality, or
31 special district available to the public on its website.
32 (4) A lobbyist shall promptly send a written statement to
33 the commission canceling the registration for a principal upon
34 termination of the lobbyist’s representation of that principal.
35 The commission may remove the name of a lobbyist from the list
36 of registered lobbyists for counties, municipalities, and
37 special districts if the principal notifies the state that a
38 person is no longer authorized to represent that principal
39 before such entity.
40 (5) A county, municipality, or special district shall be
41 diligent in determining whether persons required to register
42 with the commission pursuant to this section have complied. A
43 county, municipality, or special district may not knowingly
44 authorize a person who is not registered pursuant to this
45 section to lobby the county, municipality, or special district.
46 (6) Upon receipt of a sworn complaint alleging that a
47 lobbyist or principal has failed to register with the commission
48 to lobby a county, municipality, or special district or has
49 knowingly submitted false information in a report or
50 registration required under this section, the commission shall
51 investigate the lobbyist or principal pursuant to the procedures
52 established under s. 112.324. The commission shall provide the
53 chief executive officer of the county or municipality or the
54 governing body of the special district with a report of its
55 findings and recommendations arising out of any investigation
56 conducted under this subsection. The chief executive officer of
57 the county or municipality or the governing body of the special
58 district may enforce the commission’s findings and
59 recommendations.
60 (7) This section preempts and supersedes any ordinance or
61 charter provision establishing a lobbyist registration program
62 adopted before July 1, 2024.
63
64 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
65 And the title is amended as follows:
66 Delete lines 10 - 35
67 and insert:
68 registered as a lobbyist with the Commission on
69 Ethics; establishing registration requirements;
70 requiring that lobbyist registrations be made
71 available to the public on its website; establishing
72 procedures for canceling a lobbyist’s registration;
73 requiring counties, municipalities, or special
74 districts to be diligent in determining whether
75 certain persons have registered with the commission;
76 prohibiting counties, municipalities, or special
77 districts from authorizing nonregistered persons to
78 lobby specified entities; requiring the commission to
79 investigate a lobbyist or principal upon receipt of a
80 sworn complaint containing certain allegations;
81 requiring the commission to provide the chief
82 executive officer of the county or municipality or the
83 governing body of the special district with a report
84 on the findings and recommendations arising out of the
85 investigation; authorizing the chief executive officer
86 of the county or municipality or the governing body of
87 the special district to enforce the findings and
88 recommendations; providing that specified provisions
89 preempt and supersede specified ordinances or charter
90 provisions adopted before a specified date; amending
91 s. 125.73, F.S.; prohibiting