Gaetz touts ethics bill in Senate
- April 27, 2015
- / Shannon Nickinson
- / government
In an email to constituents today, State Sen. Don Gaetz said a “long stride toward local government accountability was made today in the Florida Senate.”
Senate Bill 1372, inspired, Gaetz’s email says, by a Tourism Development Council scandal in Okaloosa County, “is a clean-up of ol’ boy practices and wink-and-nudge government.”
Read the full text of the bill, here http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/1372/BillText/c3/PDF.
Gaetz’s email says that the bill has a wide sweep and applies greater public accountability to “school districts, charter schools, colleges and universities, public hospitals, regional transportation authorities, state boards and commissions, public/private partnerships like Enterprise Florida, water management districts, tourist development boards and, yes, county and city governments.”
The bill:
— The legislation defines “abuse” as “misuse of authority or position for personal gain” and “fraud” as “intentional misstatements or omissions…to deceive users of financial statements.” “Waste” means “using or expending resources unreasonably, carelessly, extravagantly, or for no useful purpose.”
The bill requires local and state government bodies to establish controls to prevent, detect and reveal them.
— Lobbyists trying to influence school boards, local governments or special districts would have to register and publicly disclose who they represent
— All local governments must post their proposed or amended budgets on their websites for 45 days and keep final budgets posted for at least two years.
— Requires that illegal compensation be recovered from those who received it and punishing officials who knowingly approve unlawful compensation.
— Prohibits taxpayer funds or Medicaid funds from being used for excessive pay-outs to public hospital administrators.
— Requires local governments to hold public meetings to enact corrective actions or explain publicly why the actions won’t be taken.
— Mandates that outside auditors for local governments be selected by a committee that doesn't include the officials whose management is to be audited.
— Prohibits members and officers of public/private partnership from lobbying the boards they've served on for a period of two years after leaving office.
The bill is headed to the House of Representatives, where Representative Larry Metz is sponsoring a companion measure.
“I look forward to passage there and approval by the Governor,” Gaetz writes.
The bill:
— The legislation defines “abuse” as “misuse of authority or position for personal gain” and “fraud” as “intentional misstatements or omissions…to deceive users of financial statements.” “Waste” means “using or expending resources unreasonably, carelessly, extravagantly, or for no useful purpose.”
The bill requires local and state government bodies to establish controls to prevent, detect and reveal them.
— Lobbyists trying to influence school boards, local governments or special districts would have to register and publicly disclose who they represent
— All local governments must post their proposed or amended budgets on their websites for 45 days and keep final budgets posted for at least two years.
— Requires that illegal compensation be recovered from those who received it and punishing officials who knowingly approve unlawful compensation.
— Prohibits taxpayer funds or Medicaid funds from being used for excessive pay-outs to public hospital administrators.
— Requires local governments to hold public meetings to enact corrective actions or explain publicly why the actions won’t be taken.
— Mandates that outside auditors for local governments be selected by a committee that doesn't include the officials whose management is to be audited.
— Prohibits members and officers of public/private partnership from lobbying the boards they've served on for a period of two years after leaving office.
The bill is headed to the House of Representatives, where Representative Larry Metz is sponsoring a companion measure.
“I look forward to passage there and approval by the Governor,” Gaetz writes.
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