CRC - 2017 P 19
By Commissioner Rouson
rousond-00041A-17 201719__
1 A proposal to amend
2 Section 8 of Article II and create a new section in
3 Article XII of the State Constitution to prohibit
4 legislators and statewide elected officers from
5 personally representing another person or entity for
6 compensation before any state government body or state
7 agency except judicial tribunals for six years
8 following vacation of office and to provide that the
9 prohibition applies to individuals who were members of
10 the Legislature or who were statewide elected officers
11 at any time after November 6, 2018.
12
13 Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of
14 Florida:
15
16 Section 8 of Article II of the State Constitution is
17 amended to read:
18 ARTICLE II
19 GENERAL PROVISIONS
20 SECTION 8. Ethics in government.—A public office is a
21 public trust. The people shall have the right to secure and
22 sustain that trust against abuse. To assure this right:
23 (a) All elected constitutional officers and candidates for
24 such offices and, as may be determined by law, other public
25 officers, candidates, and employees shall file full and public
26 disclosure of their financial interests.
27 (b) All elected public officers and candidates for such
28 offices shall file full and public disclosure of their campaign
29 finances.
30 (c) Any public officer or employee who breaches the public
31 trust for private gain and any person or entity inducing such
32 breach shall be liable to the state for all financial benefits
33 obtained by such actions. The manner of recovery and additional
34 damages may be provided by law.
35 (d) Any public officer or employee who is convicted of a
36 felony involving a breach of public trust shall be subject to
37 forfeiture of rights and privileges under a public retirement
38 system or pension plan in such manner as may be provided by law.
39 (e) A No member of the legislature or a statewide elected
40 officer may not shall personally represent another person or
41 entity for compensation before any state the government body or
42 state agency other than judicial tribunals of which the
43 individual was an officer or member for a period of six two
44 years following vacation of office. A No member of the
45 legislature may not shall personally represent another person or
46 entity for compensation during term of office before any state
47 agency other than judicial tribunals. Similar restrictions on
48 other public officers and employees may be established by law.
49 (f) There shall be an independent commission to conduct
50 investigations and make public reports on all complaints
51 concerning breach of public trust by public officers or
52 employees not within the jurisdiction of the judicial
53 qualifications commission.
54 (g) A code of ethics for all state employees and
55 nonjudicial officers prohibiting conflict between public duty
56 and private interests shall be prescribed by law.
57 (h) This section shall not be construed to limit
58 disclosures and prohibitions which may be established by law to
59 preserve the public trust and avoid conflicts between public
60 duties and private interests.
61 (i) Schedule—On the effective date of this amendment and
62 until changed by law:
63 (1) Full and public disclosure of financial interests shall
64 mean filing with the custodian of state records by July 1 of
65 each year a sworn statement showing net worth and identifying
66 each asset and liability in excess of $1,000 and its value
67 together with one of the following:
68 a. A copy of the person’s most recent federal income tax
69 return; or
70 b. A sworn statement which identifies each separate source
71 and amount of income which exceeds $1,000. The forms for such
72 source disclosure and the rules under which they are to be filed
73 shall be prescribed by the independent commission established in
74 subsection (f), and such rules shall include disclosure of
75 secondary sources of income.
76 (2) Persons holding statewide elective offices shall also
77 file disclosure of their financial interests pursuant to
78 subsection (i)(1).
79 (3) The independent commission provided for in subsection
80 (f) shall mean the Florida Commission on Ethics.
81
82 A new section is added to Article XII of the State
83 Constitution to read:
84 ARTICLE XII
85 SCHEDULE
86 State officers post-service personal representation
87 prohibitions.—The amendment to Section 8 of Article II
88 prohibiting legislators and statewide elected officers from
89 providing personal representation for compensation before any
90 state government body or state agency for six years following
91 vacation of office is applicable only to those individuals who
92 were members of the legislature or who were statewide elected
93 officers at any time after November 6, 2018.