Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1890, establishing a contribution limit of $3,000 to PACs sponsoring or opposing constitutional amendments proposed by initiative.

The new law also establishes a preemption of contribution limits established by local government entities.

The bill is effective July 1.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced the special election to fill Florida’s 20th Congressional District to replace Rep. Alcee Hastings who died last month.

The special primary election will be held on November 2 with the special general election being held on January 11, 2022.

The Florida Legislature adjourned sine die on April 30.

Among the measures passed was the record $101.5 billion budget bills.

Other measures passed include the controversial election reform, anti-protest, and transgender athletes bills.

Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson have announced a special session to convene on May 17.

The special session will focus on legislation implementing and ratifying the 30-year gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida announced on April 23 by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

This expansive compact looks to modernize the state’s gaming industry, authorize sports betting, and is projected to increase revenue by over $6 billion over the next decade.

The Florida House and Senate have instituted COVID-19 safety protocols during committee meetings ahead of the 2021 legislative session.

For the month of January, Senate committee meetings will be limiting in-person attendance to individuals invited by the committee leaders.

Rooms at the Leon County Civic Center have been reserved and will be made available to other individuals wishing to remotely appear and provide testimony.

House committee meetings attendance will also be limited.

Individuals seeking to attend and provide public testimony must register online at least three hours prior to the meeting.

Once seating capacity is reached, individuals will be allowed to provide written testimony.

The testimony will then be distributed amongst the committee members prior to the meeting.

The new House protocols will be in effect until February 28.

Leon County, Florida commissioners have approved an ordinance updating the county’s lobbying regulations.

The new ordinance updates the registration and reporting process by removing the notary requirement and developing an online registration form.

The ordinance also defines a clear process for enforcement and adds new penalties for violations of the lobbyist regulations.

A public hearing will be held on the new ordinance on October 13.

After extending the session to complete work on several appropriations bills, the Florida Legislature adjourned sine die Thursday, March 19.

During the 2020 session, the Legislature considered but failed to pass any of the proposed ethics bills.

Bills include changes to revolving door restrictions and the establishment of a centralized local lobbyist registration system.

Additionally, this does not affect any lobbyist dates reporting.

The Florida Senate has introduced a bill creating a statewide registration system for lobbying government entities.

The bill expands the definition of lobbying to include seeking to influence any governmental entity with respect to a decision or an attempt to obtain the goodwill of an official or employee of any governmental entity.

Further, the bill defines governmental entity as including:

• • Water management districts
  • Hospital districts
  • Children’s services districts
  • Expressway authorities
  • Port authorities
  • Counties
  • Municipalities
  • School districts
  • Special districts

With these new expanded definitions, the Commission on Ethics will establish the Local Government Lobbyist Registration System.

All lobbyists wishing to lobby any governmental entity within the state would have to register with this new system.

All previously established rules and local ordinances currently governing lobbyist registration would be preempted and replaced by this new system.

On December 4, the Tallahassee City Commission approved an ordinance amending the city’s ethics code.

The ordinance expands the Independent Ethics Board’s jurisdiction to covered individuals including:

• Each public official
• An employee or member of a city board, commission, or council required to file financial disclosures, or with purchasing authority exceeding $35,000
• Employees participating in the procurement of services or commodities exceeding $10,000

The amended ethics code extends the ban on solicitation and acceptance of gifts to covered individuals.

Additionally, the amended code extends the prohibition against misuse of public position to all public officials and employees of the city.

The ordinance becomes effective January 1, 2020.

The Florida Legislature adjourned sine die on May 4.

The 61-day legislative session ran a day longer than expected as lawmakers passed a $91.1 billion state budget over the weekend.

During the session, lawmakers failed to pass an ethics reform bill revising post-service lobbying restrictions and executive branch lobbyist registration.

The Legislature passed House Bills 7021 and 7023 requiring the electronic filing of financial disclosures.

If signed by the governor, the electronic filing requirement is effective January 1, 2022.

On Tuesday, the Tallahassee Independent Ethics Board proposed changes to expand the city’s ethics code.

The proposal expands the Board’s jurisdiction to procurement employees and individuals required to file state financial disclosures.

Additionally, the proposal increases the fines faced by lobbyists to $1,000 for the first intentional violation, and prohibits covered individuals from accepting or soliciting all gifts regardless of value from vendors and lobbyists.

The draft ordinance will head to the city commission for final approval later this spring.

Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher resigned last week from her post.

Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended her earlier this month for failing to meet deadlines during last November’s election recount.

Wendy Santory Link has been appointed by the governor to replace her.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the dates to hold a special election to fill the vacancy in House District 7.

The special primary election will take place on April 9, while the special general election will be on June 18.

The seat was vacated when Halsey Beshears resigned in order to serve as the head of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Voters passed Amendment 10 proposing four changes to state and local government structure and operation.

The first proposal changes the regular sessions for the Legislature from March to January on even-numbered years.

The measure also created the Office of Domestic Security and Counter-Terrorism within the Department of Law Enforcement and requires the Legislature to provide for a Department of Veterans Affairs within the executive branch.

The last proposal passed by the measure ensures elections for the county offices of sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of elections, and clerk of the circuit court.

The changes relating to the election of county officers will take effect January 5, 2021, except for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties which will take in January 7, 2025.