Pursuant to Florida Senate Bill 774 (entitled “Ethics Requirements for Public Officials”), state officials would be subject to more detailed reporting of their personal finances and debts. According to the state’s Commission on Ethics, officials required to complete the new document (Form 6) include: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Cabinet members, members of the Legislature, State Attorneys, Public Defenders, Clerks of Circuit Courts, Sheriffs, Tax Collectors, Property Appraisers, Supervisors of Elections, County Commissioners, elected Superintendents of Schools, members of District School Boards, Mayor and members of the Jacksonville City Council, Judges of Compensation Claims; the Duval County Superintendent of Schools, and members of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation Board, each expressway authority, transportation authority (except the Jacksonville Transportation Authority), bridge authority, toll authority, as well as any other general law, mayors, elected members of the governing body of a municipality, and each member of the Commission on Ethics and judges. The commission says that the new guidelines will help the public to evaluate potential conflicts of interest, deter corruption, and increase confidence in government. Form 6, which is a public record, requires the above officials to disclose their net worth, assets individually valued at more than $1,000, liabilities exceeding $1,000, income, real estate, jewelry, 401(k) plans, and other financial information. While the law was intended to increase transparency, some have suggested the new disclosure requirements are too invasive. "This has been a little controversial because some city and municipal elected officials have actually resigned because they think it’s invasive," Gary Lesser, President of the Florida Bar Association, told CBS12 News. He said the new law attempts to level the playing field between elected officials and candidates by making them all subject to the same reporting requirements at all levels of government. However, numerous officials have opted to step down rather than provide detailed personal information. “They think I'm just serving my local community. ... I'm not going up to Tallahassee and meeting with movers and shakers,” Lesser said. “So a number of municipal and elected officials have actually resigned over this new law, including three right here in North Palm Beach." Among the government officials who have left their posts, per the Naples Daily News:Numerous Florida officials have resigned from their posts, refusing to comply with a new financial disclosure law that took effect Jan. 1.
Penalties for noncompliance include impeachment, suspension, removal from office, public censure, forfeiture of a third of the official’s salary for up to a year, and total fines of up to $20,000. The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Jan. 4 that the administration would not be appointing replacements for the officials who have resigned. “Our office is aware that in several municipalities, city and town commission members have publicly contemplated resigning their offices before the new year to avoid filing more detailed financial disclosure statements now required by law," Jeremy Redfern, the governor’s press secretary, told USA Today in an e-mail. “Under Florida law, each municipality is responsible for providing a mechanism to fill municipal vacancies. Section 166.031, Florida Statutes, specifically provides that ‘[e]ach municipality shall, by ordinance or charter provision, provide procedures for filling a vacancy in office caused by death, resignation, or removal from office,’” he said. “Therefore, each local government is, by law, responsible for addressing these vacancies," Redfern added.
