Bill Text: FL S0438 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Voting Conflicts [GPSC]
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Ethics and Elections [S0438 Detail]
Download: Florida-2010-S0438-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2010 SB 438 By Senator Dockery 15-00467-10 2010438__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to voting conflicts; providing a short 3 title; amending s. 112.3143, F.S.; providing an 4 exception to provisions relating to voting conflicts, 5 to conform to changes made by the act; creating s. 6 112.31435, F.S.; providing definitions; prohibiting a 7 member of the Legislature from voting upon or 8 participating in any legislation inuring to the 9 personal gain or loss of the member or his or her 10 relative; prohibiting a member of the Legislature from 11 participating in any legislation inuring to the 12 personal gain or loss of a business associate, 13 employer, board on which the member sits, principal by 14 whom the member is retained, or parent corporation or 15 subsidiary of such principal; requiring that a member 16 disclose all such interests to the applicable 17 legislative body or committee before such legislation 18 is considered; requiring that the member disclose the 19 specific nature of any such interests within a 20 specified period after the date on which a vote on the 21 legislation occurs; requiring that such disclosure be 22 made by written memorandum and filed with the 23 Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of 24 Representatives; requiring that the memorandum be 25 displayed in the journal of the house of which the 26 legislator is a member; providing an effective date. 27 28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 29 30 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Restoring Trust in 31 Government Act.” 32 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 112.3143, Florida 33 Statutes, is amended to read: 34 112.3143 Voting conflicts.— 35 (2) Except as provided in s. 112.31435, no state public 36 officer is prohibited from voting in an official capacity on any 37 matter. However, any state public officer voting in an official 38 capacity upon any measure which would inure to the officer’s 39 special private gain or loss; which he or she knows would inure 40 to the special private gain or loss of any principal by whom the 41 officer is retained or to the parent organization or subsidiary 42 of a corporate principal by which the officer is retained; or 43 which the officer knows would inure to the special private gain 44 or loss of a relative or business associate of the public 45 officer shall, within 15 days after the vote occurs, disclose 46 the nature of his or her interest as a public record in a 47 memorandum filed with the person responsible for recording the 48 minutes of the meeting, who shall incorporate the memorandum in 49 the minutes. 50 Section 3. Section 112.31435, Florida Statutes, is created 51 to read: 52 112.31435 Voting conflicts; state legislators.— 53 (1) As used in this section, the term: 54 (a) “Participate” means any attempt, other than casting a 55 vote, to influence the passage, defeat, or amendment of 56 legislation by oral or written communication made by a 57 legislator or at such legislator’s direction. 58 (b) “Relative” means any father, mother, son, daughter, 59 husband, wife, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, 60 son-in-law, or daughter-in-law. 61 (2) A member of the Legislature may not vote upon or 62 participate in any legislation that would inure to his or her 63 special private gain or loss or that he or she knows would inure 64 to the special private gain or loss of his or her relative. The 65 member shall, before any consideration of the legislation by the 66 legislative body of which he or she is a member or any committee 67 on which the member sits, publicly state to the body or 68 committee all of his or her interests in the legislation or all 69 of the relative’s interests in the legislation which are known 70 to the member and, within 15 days after the date on which a vote 71 on the legislation occurs, disclose the specific nature of those 72 interests as a public record in a memorandum filed with the 73 Secretary of the Senate, if the member is a Senator, or the 74 Clerk of the House of Representatives, if the member is a 75 Representative. The memorandum shall be spread upon the pages of 76 the journal of the house of which the legislator is a member. 77 (3) A member of the Legislature may not participate in any 78 legislation that he or she knows would inure to the special 79 private gain or loss of a principal by whom he or she is 80 retained, the parent organization or subsidiary of a corporate 81 principal by which he or she is retained, a business associate, 82 an employer, or a board upon which the member sits. The member 83 shall, before any consideration of the legislation by the 84 legislative body of which he or she is a member or any committee 85 on which the member sits, publicly state to the body or 86 committee all of the interests in the legislation of such 87 principals, parent organizations or subsidiaries of a corporate 88 principal, business associates, employers, or boards which are 89 known to the member and, within 15 days after the date on which 90 a vote on the legislation occurs, disclose the specific nature 91 of those interests as a public record in a memorandum filed with 92 the Secretary of the Senate, if the member is a Senator, or the 93 Clerk of the House of Representatives, if the member is a 94 Representative. The memorandum shall be spread upon the pages of 95 the journal of the house of which the legislator is a member. 96 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
