A House committee unanimously approved an overhaul of local ethics rules Tuesday, paving the way for legislation that would require more stringent financial disclosure by some city officials and create a state registration system for local lobbyists.
The proposal (PCB PIE 17-03) comes amid a broad-based push by House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, to toughen ethics rules on lobbyists and lawmakers.
The bill approved Tuesday by the House Public Integrity & Ethics Committee would require council or commission members of cities with more than $5 million in annual revenues to fill out more-detailed personal financial disclosure information, known as a Form 6.
In Flagler County, the change would apply to city council members in Palm Coast and city commission members in Flagler Beach and Bunnell. The bill defines a city’s revenue as total revenue, not just general fund revenue, and bases those totals on figures reported to the Florida Department of Financial Services. In 2014, the last year for which the division had total figures for all three cities, Bunnell had revnues of $7.6 million, Flagler Beach of $12.7 million, and Palm Coast $121.8 million.
Currently, city government officials are only required to fill out a less-detailed Form 1. The Form 6 is required for state and county officials.
The difference between the two forms is significant. Compare, for example, Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s Form 1 to County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin’s Form 6: Holland on her form is not required to list dollar figures (it’s optional), whether of assets or liabilities, as McLaughlin is–down to the value of the vehicles he owns, the amounts in his checking and savings accounts, or other sources of revenue.
The detail required of Form 6 has on occasion led to errors and ethics charges against local officials, most recently against former County Commissioner Barbara Revels, who had to correct errors on three years’ worth of forms and pay a fine to the Florida Ethics Commission in a settlement finalized last month. But complaints against local officials are not filed by the ethics commission, which does not itself review the forms unless a complaint is filed. The complaints are often filed by political opponents looking to damage candidates or sitting officials, as was the case with Revels. In effect, while numerous officials may file error-prone forms similar to those filed by Revels, few of those mistakes may result in intervention by the ethics commission absent complaints. Nevertheless, the complaint system is intended to enable citizens at large a means of being the watchdogs over their elected officials.
The proposal in the House was toned down slightly from an original House idea that would have required all city council or commission members to file the more detailed form. And the requirement would not apply to administrative staff.
Public Integrity & Ethics Chairman Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, said the $5 million threshold was an attempt to try to balance out a desire for transparency with the needs of smaller cities, which often pay elected officials very small sums.
If the more detailed disclosures were required of even small towns, Metz said, “you might discourage people from serving in public office by doing that.”
“But the other side of the coin is the public has a right to know, especially when large sums of money are involved,” Metz said.
According to the most recent figures, which cover the year that ended Sept. 30, 2015, 204 cities would be covered by the new disclosure rules.
There are some concerns about how to implement that system, though, given that some cities might cross the threshold in certain years and miss it in others. For example, there were 254 cities that had $5 million of revenue in the year that ended Sept. 30, 2013, and 250 the year after that.
Virlindia Doss, executive director of the Florida Commission on Ethics, said lawmakers might need to figure out a way to design a system that would be easier to predict instead of the $5 million threshold.
“That (revenue) number could fluctuate for a given municipality, and I think in the end you would not want your city council members to be filing Form 6 one year, Form 1 the next year, Form 6 the year after that, as the number goes up and down,” Doss said.
The bill would also create a statewide lobbyist registry for people looking to influence local governmental entities. While some local governments have set up their own systems, and water management districts are required to have a registry, the new legislation would require the Commission on Ethics to register lobbyists for about 2,400 local governments and special districts.
Doss said the commission would likely need workers to keep track of the new standards. Currently, it handles the registrations for 1,200 to 1,300 people who lobby the state’s executive branch.
The committee approved another bill (PCB PIE 17-04) that would create a trust fund that could use local lobbyist fees to help pay for the registration, but Doss said the state would need to invest some money up front to start operations.
–FlaglerLive and the News Service of Florida
Bendover says
This has been needed for yrs…..and by the way …why does Landon make more then a US Senator,?????…the town is a mess , an accident waiting to happen….money that should be spent on sidewalks and lighting are going into the pockets of those supposedly spending it on studies for traffic lights and companies to fix them …..when all they have to do is reset them to the way they were before they doctored them to get more red light violations….you could get a damn crossing guard to fix them….SMH
Rick Belhumeur says
As a planning board member I was required to complete the same financial disclosure form that I am required to fill out as a city commissioner. Would planning board members be required to fill out the more detailed form as well?
YankeeExPat says
Impeachment and removal (From Conservapedia)
Impeachment and removal are the two steps in taking a high government official, such as a president or a judge, from his position. It is typically used in cases of malfeasance (see also recall election).
The first step, impeachment, is a formal accusation by a simple majority of the House of Representatives. This vote leaves the accused in office, while he is “tried” by the Senate. A two-thirds majority there results in removal from office.
Sixteen federal officials have been impeached (i.e., charged) by the House of Representatives, but the Senate has removed (i.e., convicted) only seven. [1]
The United States House of Representatives has “sole power of impeachment.” The House has to vote on articles of impeachment. If they pass by a majority, the President is not yet removed from office, until (and unless) the next step is completed.
The impeachment case is sent to the United States Senate for trial. If the Senate votes by a two-thirds majority to convict, then the person will be removed from office.
In impeachment cases against the President, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside.
RayD says
Since the foxes control the hen house, good idea. Given that this is a smaller city with a city manager who makes more than a US Senator, something is very wrong. Good luck catching a fox, the symbiotic reationshios are many and they run deep.
Anonymous says
i guess Holland now will have to show what she hasn’t had to and then we will all know…..just sayin. We don’t need a lobbyist as a elected public official. Follow the money, follow the money…….
Karen says
EVERY public official should have to be 100% transparent. If the longer form “might” discourage some people from running, that’s great we might have dodged a bullet. If a public official is serious they will be serious about transparency. It’s the ones who refuse to show tax returns or other forms of transparency we should worry about. More to the point it’s our money for our cities we pay taxes for certain promises made, how can we see where this money is being spent without accountability measures? The public official that dosn’t want transparency, take a look at how they live and who they are spending time with?