There were several bills of interest considered in committee meetings and on the chamber floors today. Among the issues addressed today were elections, public records and public meetings, workers’ compensation, local government ethics and accountability, post-secondary education, and fiscal literacy. Please click on the links below for our report on outcome of action on these bills, to access the bills that will be considered on the House floor tomorrow, and for the proposals that will be considered by the Constitution Revision Commission Committees tomorrow.
[toggle title=”Today’s Happenings – January 11, 2018“]
In the House Judiciary Committee meeting:
HB 165 – Threats to Kill or Do Bodily Injury by McClain – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE (CS)
The bill prohibits a person from:
- Making a threat in a writing or other record, including an electronic record, to kill or do great bodily injury to another person; and
- Posting or transmitting the threat in any manner that would allow another person to view the threat.
The bill also removes the requirement that the written threat be sent to the person threatened or a member of his or her family and reclassifies the offense as a third degree felony. [NOTE: Today’s amendment revised the offense severity ranking chart contained in the Criminal Punishment Code. This was the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill — SB 310 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]
In the Senate Rules Committee meeting:
SB 186 – Resign-to-run Law by Hutson – PASSED; PLACED ON SENATE CALENDAR ON 2ND READING
The bill requires a state or local officer who seeks a federal public office to submit his or her resignation before qualifying for the federal office if the terms of the two offices overlap. Thus, as to these candidates, the bill imposes the same “resign-to-run” requirement that already applies to state or local officers who seek another state, district, county, or municipal public office.
Specifically, a state or local officer seeking to run for federal office must submit an irrevocable resignation at least 10 days before the beginning of the qualifying period for the office sought. However, the resignation need not be effective until the earlier of the date the resigning officer would take office or the date the resigning officer’s successor is required to take office. The bill further provides that the failure of a state officer to timely submit the resignation “constitutes an automatic, irrevocable resignation, effective immediately,” from his or her current office. [NOTE: This was the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill — HB 105 – is identical and has passed one of two committees of reference.]
SB 192 – Public Meetings by Baxley — PASSED; PLACED ON SENATE CALENDAR ON 2ND READING
The bill codifies judicial interpretation and application of the following terms:
- De facto meeting — the use of board or commission staff or third parties, acting as intermediaries, to facilitate discussion of public business between board or commission members.
- Discussion — a conversation between or among board or commission members regardless of whether through oral, written, electronic, or any other form of communication.
- Meeting — a gathering, whether formal or informal, of two or more members of the same board or commission, even if they have not yet taken office.
- Official act — the adoption of a resolution or rule or other formal action being taken by the board or commission.
- Public business — any matter before, or foreseeably expected to come before, the board or commission.
The bill also specifies that members of a board may participate in “fact-finding” exercises or excursion to research public business, and may participate in meetings with a member of the Legislature if:
- The board provides reasonable notice;
- A vote, official act, or an agreement regarding a future action does not occur;
- There is no discussion of “public business” that occurs; and
- There are appropriate records, minutes, audio recordings, or video recordings made and retained as a public record.
In addition, the bill provides that, if there is a gathering of two or more board members where no official acts are taken and no public business is discussed, then no public notice or access is required. [NOTE: This was the third of three committees of reference for this bill. The House companion bill — HB 79 – is similar, but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]
In the House Government Accountability Committee meeting:
HB 273 – Public Records by Rodrigues — PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2ND READING
The bill prohibits an agency that receives a public record request to inspect or copy a record from responding to such request by filing a civil action against the individual or entity making the request. [NOTE: This was the second of two committees of reference for this bill. The Senate companion bill — SB 750 – is identical and has passed one of three committees of reference.]
HB 7011 – OGSR/Food & Nutrition Service Program by Oversight, Transparency, and Administration — PASSED; PLACED ON HOUSE CALENDAR ON 2ND READING
The bill removes the repeal date, thereby reenacts, the public record exemption for personal identifying information of an applicant for or participant in a school food and nutrition service program held by DACS and DOE. The bill also narrows the exemption by removing reference to information held by DCF as that department does not hold information relating to applicants for, or participants in, a school food and nutrition service program. [NOTE: This was the only committee of reference for this bill. There is no Senate companion bill.]
In the House Session:
HB 9 – Federal Immigration Enforcement by Metz – READ 2ND TIME; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 1/12/18
The bill creates the “Rule of Law Adherence Act” (Act) to require state and local governments and law enforcement agencies (covered bodies), including their officials, agents, and employees, to support and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Specifically, the bill:
- Prohibits a covered body from having a law, policy, practice, procedure, or custom which impedes a law enforcement agency from communicating or cooperating with a federal immigration agency on immigration enforcement;
- Prohibits any restriction on a covered body’s ability to use, maintain, or exchange immigration information for certain purposes;
- Requires a covered body to comply with and support the enforcement of federal immigration law;
- Provides procedures for a law enforcement agency and court to follow when an arrested person cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the United States or is subject to an immigration detainer;
- Requires any sanctuary policies currently in effect be repealed within 90 days of the effective date of the Act;
- Authorizes a board of county commissioners to enact an ordinance to recover costs for complying with an immigration detainer;
- Requires an official or employee of a covered body to report a violation of the Act to the Attorney General or state attorney; failure to report a violation may result in suspension or removal from office;
- Authorizes the Attorney General or a state attorney to seek an injunction against a covered body that violates the Act;
- Imposes a civil penalty of at least $1,000 but no more than $5,000 for each day a policy that violates the Act was in effect;
- Creates a civil cause of action for a person injured by the conduct of an alien unlawfully present in the United States against a covered body whose violation of the Act contributed to the person’s injury;
- Prohibits the expenditure of public funds to reimburse or defend a public official or employee who violates the Act;
- Suspends state grant funding eligibility for 5 years for a covered body that violates the Act; and
- Provides that the provisions of the bill do not apply to the release of information contained in education records of an educational agency or institution, except in conformity with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
[NOTE: The Senate companion bill — SB 308 – is similar but has not been heard in either of two committees of reference.]
HB 7009 – Workers’ Compensation by Commerce Committee — READ 2ND TIME; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 1/12/18
The bill makes the following changes to the workers’ compensation law:
- Permits direct payment of attorneys by or for claimants.
- Increases total combined temporary wage replacement benefits (TTD/TPD) from104 weeks to 260 weeks.
- Fills a benefit gap that happens when TTD/TPD ends, but the injured worker is not at overall maximum medical improvement and/or no overall permanent impairment rating.
- Allows a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) to award an hourly fee that departs from the statutory percentage based attorney fee schedule.
- This is only permitted if the statutory fee is less than 40 percent or greater than 125 percent of the hourly rate customarily charged in the local community by defense attorneys, with the JCC determining the relevant facts.
- If the departure fee is allowed, the JCC determines the hourly rate, not to exceed $150 per hour, using statutory factors and the number of necessary attorney hours.
- Provides that the injured worker is responsible for any remaining attorney fees if required by their retainer agreement; the retainer agreements must be filed with the JCCs, but are not subject to JCC approval.
- Allows insurers to uniformly reduce premiums by no more than 5 percent, if they file an informational-only notice within 30 days, subject to regulatory oversight.
- Grants the Three-Member Panel authority to fill gaps in statutory reimbursement when adopting schedules of maximum reimbursement allowances for medical care.
- Requires a good faith effort by the claimant and their attorney to resolve disputes prior to filing a petition for benefits; mandates a specified notice regarding attorney fees be signed by the claimant; increases the requirements applicable to petitions for benefits; eliminates carrier paid attorney fees for services occurring before the filing a petition; attaches attorney fees 45 days, rather than 30 days, following the filing of a petition; requires a JCC to dismiss a petition for lack of specificity, without prejudice, within 10 days or 20 days, depending upon whether a hearing is required.
- Eliminates the charge-based reimbursement of health care facility outpatient medical care in favor of reimbursing them at 200 percent (unscheduled care) and 160 percent (scheduled surgery) of Medicare. If no Medicare fee exists, then current reimbursement standards apply, which are incorporated into statute.
- Requires the authorization or denial of medical care authorization requests, unless there is a material deficiency.
- Provides for collecting additional information on attorney fees.
[NOTE: Currently, there is no current Senate companion bill.]
HB 11 – Government Accountability by Metz — READ 2ND TIME; AMENDED; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 1/12/18
The bill amends statutes pertaining to government accountability and auditing. Specifically, the bill:
- Specifies that the Governor or Commissioner of Education, or designee, may notify the Legislative Auditing Committee of an entity’s failure to comply with certain auditing and financial reporting requirements;
- Provides definitions for the terms “abuse,” “fraud,” and “waste;”
- Requires each agency, the judicial branch, the Justice Administrative Commission, state attorneys, public defenders, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, the Guardian Ad Litem program, local governmental entities, charter schools, school districts, Florida College System institutions, and state universities to establish and maintain internal controls;
- Requires counties, municipalities, and water management districts to maintain certain budget documents on their websites for specified timeframes;
- Requires the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation to notify the Legislature of any clerk not meeting workload performance standards;
- Revises the monthly financial statement requirements for water management districts;
- Revises the composition of auditor selection committees;
- Requires completion of an annual financial audit of the Florida Virtual School;
- Requires a local governmental entity, district school board, charter school, charter technical career center, Florida College System board of trustees, or university board of trustees to respond to audit recommendations under certain circumstances;
- Requires an independent certified public accountant conducting an audit of a local governmental entity to determine, as part of the audit, whether the entity’s annual financial report is in agreement with the entity’s audited financial statements;
- Limits to $150 the amount that may be reimbursed per day for travel lodging expenses for certain employees under certain circumstances;
- Codifies the statewide travel management system in law and requires certain public entities to report public officer and employee travel information in the system; and
- Prohibits a board or commission from requiring a member of the public to provide an advance written copy of his or her testimony or comments as a precondition of being given the opportunity to be heard.
[NOTE: Today’s amendment was a technical correction. The Senate companion bill — SB 354 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference.]
HB 7003 – Local Government Ethics Reform by Public Integrity & Ethics — READ 2ND TIME; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 1/12/18
The bill makes numerous changes to Florida’s Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees (Code) as it relates to local government officers, employees, and lobbyists. Specifically, the bill:
- Requires elected mayors and city commissioners serving municipalities with $10 million or more in total revenue for three consecutive years to file a full and public disclosure of their financial interests in lieu of the less detailed form of disclosure required under current law;
- Corrects an oversight with respect to the Code’s prohibition on conflicting employment or contractual relationships;
- Requires special district governing board members to annually complete four hours of ethics training, a requirement that mirrors the current law applicable to constitutional officers and elected municipal officers;
- Requires local officers that must abstain from voting on a measure due to a conflict of interest to disclose the conflict prior to participating in the measure;
- Adds school districts to the list of governmental entities that must withhold salary-related payments from employees for failure to timely file a disclosure of financial interests;
- Requires a person who wishes to lobby certain local governmental entities to register as a lobbyist with the Commission on Ethics (Commission); and
- Provides that local government ordinances that require registration are preempted by the Local Government Lobbyist Registration System established by the Commission.
[NOTE: There is no clear Senate companion bill, but SB 1534 is comparable but has not yet been referred to any committees of reference.]
HB 7005 – Trust Fund/Local Lobbyist Registration by Public Integrity & Ethics — READ 2ND TIME; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 1/12/18
The bill, which is linked to HB 7003 above, creates the Local Government Lobbyist Registration System Trust Fund within the Commission. The trust fund’s purpose is to administer the local government lobbyist registration system created by HB 7003, including the payment of salaries and expenses. The bill requires annual lobbyist registration fees collected pursuant to the local government lobbyist registration program to be deposited into the trust fund. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1536 – is similar but has not yet been referred to any committees of reference.]
HB 7 – Local Government Fiscal Transparency by Burton — READ 2ND TIME; PLACED ON 3RD READING FOR 1/12/18
The bill requires easy public access to local government governing boards’ voting records related to tax increases and issuance of tax-supported debt (phased in over 4 years). The bill also requires easy online access to property tax TRIM notices and a 4-year history of property tax rates and amounts at the parcel level. This requirement is phased in over 3 years. Further, a 4-year history of property tax rates and total revenue generated at the jurisdiction level must be provided on government websites.
The bill requires additional public meetings and expands public notice requirements for local option tax increases, other than property taxes, and new long-term, tax-supported debt issuances. Public notices for proposed tax increases must contain information regarding the rate and total annual amount of revenue expected, the annual additional revenue expressed as a percent of annual general fund revenue, detailed explanation of intended uses of the levy, and an indication of whether or not the tax proceeds will be used to secure debt. Public notices for proposed new, long-term debt issuance must disclose the total lifetime costs of the debt, annual debt service, and effects of the new debt on a government’s debt affordability measures.
Local governments must conduct a debt affordability analysis prior to approving the issuance of new, long-term tax-supported debt. The analysis would, at a minimum, calculate a debt affordability ratio for the most recent five years and at least two projected years to gauge the effects of the new debt issuance on the government’s debt service to revenue profile. The debt affordability ratio is the annual debt service for outstanding tax-supported debt divided by total annual revenues available to pay debt service on outstanding debt.
Currently, local governments are required to have a CPA conduct an annual financial audit, if the Auditor General has not already scheduled an audit. The bill requires the auditor to include an affidavit signed by the chair of the local government governing board stating that it is in compliance with the provisions of the new “Local Government Fiscal Transparency Act” contained in Part VIII of chapter 218, F.S., created by the bill. The Auditor General must request evidence of corrective action from local governments found not to be in compliance with the Act. Local governments must provide evidence that corrective action has been initiated within 45 days and evidence of completion within 180 days of such request. The Auditor General must report to the Legislative Auditing Committee local governments that do not take corrective action.
The bill revises the local government reporting requirements for economic development incentives. It requires each county and municipality to report to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research whether the incentive was provided directly to an individual business or by another entity on behalf of the local government and the source of local dollars, and any state or federal dollars obligated for the incentive. The bill also revises the statutory classes of economic development incentives. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1426 – is similar but has not yet been referred to any committees of reference.]
In the Senate Session:
SB 4 – Higher Education by Galvano – READ 2ND TIME; AMENDED; READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE SENATE; IN MESSAGES TO THE HOUSE
The bill establishes the “Florida Excellence in Higher Education Act of 2018” to expand financial aid provisions and incentivize postsecondary institutions to emphasize on-time graduation. The bill also expands policy and funding options for state universities to recruit and retain exemplary faculty and enhance the quality of professional and graduate schools. Specifically, the bill:
- Increases student financial aid and tuition assistance programs in the following ways:
- Expands the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program Academic Scholars (FAS) award to cover 100 percent of tuition and specified fees plus $300 per semester for textbooks, and authorizes use of the award for summer term enrollment as funded by the Legislature.
- Expands the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program Medallion Scholars (FMS) award to an amount equal to 75 percent of tuition and specified fees to pay for educational expenses, and authorizes use of the award for summer term enrollment, beginning in 2019, as funded by the Legislature.
- Extends the Benacquisto Scholarship Program to eligible students from out of state.
- Revises the state-to-private match requirements for contributions to the First Generation Matching Grant Program from 1:1 to 2:1.
- Establishes the Florida Farmworker Student Scholarship Program for farmworkers and the children of farmworkers.
- Requires each state university board of trustees to adopt, for implementation in the fall 2018 semester, a block tuition policy for full-time, first-time-in-college students.
- Modifies state university performance accountability metrics to promote on-time student graduation in 4 years.
- Establishes the World Class Faculty and Scholar Program to fund and support the efforts of state universities to recruit and retain exemplary faculty and research scholars.
- Establishes the State University Professional and Graduate Degree Excellence Program to enhance the quality of professional and graduate schools and degree programs in medicine, law, and business.
- Requires state universities to use data-driven gap analyses to identify internship opportunities in high-demand fields for students.
- Strengthens accountability of state university direct-support organizations.
[NOTE: Today’s amendments revised performance accountability metrics and the allocations to implement the provisions of the bill. Having passed the Senate, the bill is now available for consideration in the House. The House companion bill — HB 423 – is similar but has not been heard in any of three committees of reference.]
SB 88 – High School Graduation Requirements by Hukill – READ 2ND TIME; READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE SENATE; IN MESSAGES TO THE HOUSE
The bill:
- Revises the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) to establish requirements for financial literacy distinct from the existing financial literacy requirements specified under the economics curricular content within the standards for social studies, beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2018-2019 school year.
- Clarifies that the current requirements for financial literacy, embedded within the social studies standards, do not apply to students entering grade 9 in the 2018-2019 school year and thereafter.
- Provides that the new financial literacy standards must establish specific curricular content that must include, but is not limited to, personal financial literacy and money management.
- Requires that, beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2018-2019 school year, students must earn one-half credit in personal financial literacy, in addition to the required three social studies credits, in order to receive a standard high school diploma.
- Requires that personal financial literacy instruction include:
- Types of bank accounts offered, opening and managing a bank account, and assessing the quality of a depository institution’s services.
- Balancing a checkbook.
- Basic principles of money management, such as spending, credit, credit scores, and managing debt, including retail and credit card debt.
- Completing a loan application.
- Receiving an inheritance and related implications.
- Basic principles of personal insurance policies.
- Computing federal income taxes.
- Local tax assessments.
- Computing interest rates by various mechanisms.
- Simple contracts.
- Contesting an incorrect billing statement.
- Types of savings and investment.
- State and federal laws concerning finance.
- Reduces the current number of elective credits required to earn a standard high school diploma from eight to seven and one-half.
[NOTE: Having passed the Senate, the bill is now available for consideration in the House. The House companion bill — HB 323 – is identical but has not been heard in either of the two committees of reference.]
[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Coming up tomorrow – January 12, 2018“]
Please note that all of the meetings listed below may be viewed via live webcast on the Florida Channel. For real-time updates on these meetings and other legislative activities, please click HERE to access our Twitter feed.
The House will be in Session, 10:30 am – completion of business, to consider the following items and others on 3rd Reading
HB 9 – Federal Immigration Enforcement by Metz
The bill creates the “Rule of Law Adherence Act” (Act) to require state and local governments and law enforcement agencies (covered bodies), including their officials, agents, and employees, to support and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Specifically, the bill:
- Prohibits a covered body from having a law, policy, practice, procedure, or custom which impedes a law enforcement agency from communicating or cooperating with a federal immigration agency on immigration enforcement;
- Prohibits any restriction on a covered body’s ability to use, maintain, or exchange immigration information for certain purposes;
- Requires a covered body to comply with and support the enforcement of federal immigration law;
- Provides procedures for a law enforcement agency and court to follow when an arrested person cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the United States or is subject to an immigration detainer;
- Requires any sanctuary policies currently in effect be repealed within 90 days of the effective date of the Act;
- Authorizes a board of county commissioners to enact an ordinance to recover costs for complying with an immigration detainer;
- Requires an official or employee of a covered body to report a violation of the Act to the Attorney General or state attorney; failure to report a violation may result in suspension or removal from office;
- Authorizes the Attorney General or a state attorney to seek an injunction against a covered body that violates the Act;
- Imposes a civil penalty of at least $1,000 but no more than $5,000 for each day a policy that violates the Act was in effect;
- Creates a civil cause of action for a person injured by the conduct of an alien unlawfully present in the United States against a covered body whose violation of the Act contributed to the person’s injury;
- Prohibits the expenditure of public funds to reimburse or defend a public official or employee who violates the Act; and
- Suspends state grant funding eligibility for 5 years for a covered body that violates the Act.
- Provides that the provisions of the bill do not apply to the release of information contained in education records of an educational agency or institution, except in conformity with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
[NOTE: The Senate companion bill — SB 308 – is similar but has not been heard in either of two committees of reference.]
HB 7009 – Workers’ Compensation by Commerce Committee
The bill makes the following changes to the workers’ compensation law:
- Permits direct payment of attorneys by or for claimants.
- Increases total combined temporary wage replacement benefits (TTD/TPD) from104 weeks to 260 weeks.
- Fills a benefit gap that happens when TTD/TPD ends, but the injured worker is not at overall maximum medical improvement and/or no overall permanent impairment rating.
- Allows a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) to award an hourly fee that departs from the statutory percentage based attorney fee schedule.
- This is only permitted if the statutory fee is less than 40 percent or greater than 125 percent of the hourly rate customarily charged in the local community by defense attorneys, with the JCC determining the relevant facts.
- If the departure fee is allowed, the JCC determines the hourly rate, not to exceed $150 per hour, using statutory factors and the number of necessary attorney hours.
- Provides that the injured worker is responsible for any remaining attorney fees if required by their retainer agreement; the retainer agreements must be filed with the JCCs, but are not subject to JCC approval.
- Allows insurers to uniformly reduce premiums by no more than 5 percent, if they file an informational-only notice within 30 days, subject to regulatory oversight.
- Grants the Three-Member Panel authority to fill gaps in statutory reimbursement when adopting schedules of maximum reimbursement allowances for medical care.
- Requires a good faith effort by the claimant and their attorney to resolve disputes prior to filing a petition for benefits; mandates a specified notice regarding attorney fees be signed by the claimant; increases the requirements applicable to petitions for benefits; eliminates carrier paid attorney fees for services occurring before the filing a petition; attaches attorney fees 45 days, rather than 30 days, following the filing of a petition; requires a JCC to dismiss a petition for lack of specificity, without prejudice, within 10 days or 20 days, depending upon whether a hearing is required.
- Eliminates the charge-based reimbursement of health care facility outpatient medical care in favor of reimbursing them at 200 percent (unscheduled care) and 160 percent (scheduled surgery) of Medicare. If no Medicare fee exists, then current reimbursement standards apply, which are incorporated into statute.
- Requires the authorization or denial of medical care authorization requests, unless there is a material deficiency.
- Provides for collecting additional information on attorney fees.
[NOTE: Currently, there is no current Senate companion bill.]
HB 11 – Government Accountability by Metz
The bill amends statutes pertaining to government accountability and auditing. Specifically, the bill:
- Specifies that the Governor or Commissioner of Education, or designee, may notify the Legislative Auditing Committee of an entity’s failure to comply with certain auditing and financial reporting requirements;
- Provides definitions for the terms “abuse,” “fraud,” and “waste;”
- Requires each agency, the judicial branch, the Justice Administrative Commission, state attorneys, public defenders, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, the Guardian Ad Litem program, local governmental entities, charter schools, school districts, Florida College System institutions, and state universities to establish and maintain internal controls;
- Requires counties, municipalities, and water management districts to maintain certain budget documents on their websites for specified timeframes;
- Requires the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation to notify the Legislature of any clerk not meeting workload performance standards;
- Revises the monthly financial statement requirements for water management districts;
- Revises the composition of auditor selection committees;
- Requires completion of an annual financial audit of the Florida Virtual School;
- Requires a local governmental entity, district school board, charter school, charter technical career center, Florida College System board of trustees, or university board of trustees to respond to audit recommendations under certain circumstances;
- Requires an independent certified public accountant conducting an audit of a local governmental entity to determine, as part of the audit, whether the entity’s annual financial report is in agreement with the entity’s audited financial statements;
- Limits to $150 the amount that may be reimbursed per day for travel lodging expenses for certain employees under certain circumstances;
- Codifies the statewide travel management system in law and requires certain public entities to report public officer and employee travel information in the system; and
- Prohibits a board or commission from requiring a member of the public to provide an advance written copy of his or her testimony or comments as a precondition of being given the opportunity to be heard.
[NOTE: Today’s amendment was a technical correction. The Senate companion bill — SB 354 – is similar and has passed one of three committees of reference.]
HB 7003 – Local Government Ethics Reform by Public Integrity & Ethics
The bill makes numerous changes to Florida’s Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees (Code) as it relates to local government officers, employees, and lobbyists. Specifically, the bill:
- Requires elected mayors and city commissioners serving municipalities with $10 million or more in total revenue for three consecutive years to file a full and public disclosure of their financial interests in lieu of the less detailed form of disclosure required under current law;
- Corrects an oversight with respect to the Code’s prohibition on conflicting employment or contractual relationships;
- Requires special district governing board members to annually complete four hours of ethics training, a requirement that mirrors the current law applicable to constitutional officers and elected municipal officers;
- Requires local officers that must abstain from voting on a measure due to a conflict of interest to disclose the conflict prior to participating in the measure;
- Adds school districts to the list of governmental entities that must withhold salary-related payments from employees for failure to timely file a disclosure of financial interests;
- Requires a person who wishes to lobby certain local governmental entities to register as a lobbyist with the Commission on Ethics (Commission); and
- Provides that local government ordinances that require registration are preempted by the Local Government Lobbyist Registration System established by the Commission.
[NOTE: There is no clear Senate companion bill, but SB 1534 is comparable but has not yet been referred to any committees of reference.]
HB 7005 – Trust Fund/Local Lobbyist Registration by Public Integrity & Ethics
The bill, which is linked to HB 7003 above, creates the Local Government Lobbyist Registration System Trust Fund within the Commission. The trust fund’s purpose is to administer the local government lobbyist registration system created by HB 7003, including the payment of salaries and expenses. The bill requires annual lobbyist registration fees collected pursuant to the local government lobbyist registration program to be deposited into the trust fund. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1536 – is similar but has not yet been referred to any committees of reference.]
HB 7 – Local Government Fiscal Transparency by Burton
The bill requires easy public access to local government governing boards’ voting records related to tax increases and issuance of tax-supported debt (phased in over 4 years). The bill also requires easy online access to property tax TRIM notices and a 4-year history of property tax rates and amounts at the parcel level. This requirement is phased in over 3 years. Further, a 4-year history of property tax rates and total revenue generated at the jurisdiction level must be provided on government websites.
The bill requires additional public meetings and expands public notice requirements for local option tax increases, other than property taxes, and new long-term, tax-supported debt issuances. Public notices for proposed tax increases must contain information regarding the rate and total annual amount of revenue expected, the annual additional revenue expressed as a percent of annual general fund revenue, detailed explanation of intended uses of the levy, and an indication of whether or not the tax proceeds will be used to secure debt. Public notices for proposed new, long-term debt issuance must disclose the total lifetime costs of the debt, annual debt service, and effects of the new debt on a government’s debt affordability measures.
Local governments must conduct a debt affordability analysis prior to approving the issuance of new, long-term tax-supported debt. The analysis would, at a minimum, calculate a debt affordability ratio for the most recent five years and at least two projected years to gauge the effects of the new debt issuance on the government’s debt service to revenue profile. The debt affordability ratio is the annual debt service for outstanding tax-supported debt divided by total annual revenues available to pay debt service on outstanding debt.
Currently, local governments are required to have a CPA conduct an annual financial audit, if the Auditor General has not already scheduled an audit. The bill requires the auditor to include an affidavit signed by the chair of the local government governing board stating that it is in compliance with the provisions of the new “Local Government Fiscal Transparency Act” contained in Part VIII of chapter 218, F.S., created by the bill. The Auditor General must request evidence of corrective action from local governments found not to be in compliance with the Act. Local governments must provide evidence that corrective action has been initiated within 45 days and evidence of completion within 180 days of such request. The Auditor General must report to the Legislative Auditing Committee local governments that do not take corrective action.
The bill revises the local government reporting requirements for economic development incentives. It requires each county and municipality to report to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research whether the incentive was provided directly to an individual business or by another entity on behalf of the local government and the source of local dollars, and any state or federal dollars obligated for the incentive. The bill also revises the statutory classes of economic development incentives. [NOTE: The Senate companion bill – SB 1426 – is similar but has not yet been referred to any committees of reference.]
[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Update: Constitution Revision Commission“]
Several of the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) Committees will be meeting. Although no education specific proposals will be considered, a few proposals of tangential interest will be discussed.
The CRC General Provisions Committee will meet, 8:30 am – 12:00 pm, to consider the following proposal and others:
Proposal 11 sponsored by Sherry Plymale. The proposal amends Article VI, Section 5 of the Florida Constitution. The proposal would authorize all qualified electors, regardless of party affiliation, to vote in a partisan primary election for an office if all the candidates for the office have the same party affiliation and the winner will be opposed only by one or more write-in candidates in the general election.
The CRC Ethics and Elections Committee will meet, 1:00 – 5:00 pm, to consider the following proposals and others:
Proposal 56 sponsored by Frank Kruppenbacher. The proposal amends Article VI, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution. The proposal would remove the requirement that a method of public financing for campaigns for statewide office be established by law and to prohibit the expenditure of any public funds on campaigns for state or local elections.
Proposal 62 sponsored by Bill Schifino. The proposal amends Article VI, Section 5 of the Florida Constitution. The proposal would authorize a qualified elector who is registered with no party affiliation to vote a primary election ballot of a political party.
Please note that all of the meetings listed below may be viewed via live webcast on the Florida Channel. For real-time updates on these meetings and other legislative activities, please click HERE to access our Twitter feed.
We will report on the outcome of these meetings in our next issue of the Session Spotlight. The next round of CRC Committee meetings is scheduled for January 18-19, 2018. For more information, please visit our Florida CRC page on the FSBA website. This page includes our CHART that provides information and links on the proposals that are of direct or tangential interest to school board members.
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