The new contribution limits passed earlier this year take effect today. The contribution limit for individuals, corporations, PACs, and other groups increased from $500 to $3,000 for statewide candidates, and from $500 to $1,000 for legislative candidates.

The legislation also eliminated the contribution limits for contributions to political committees.

Senate President Don Gaetz is calling for random audits of lobbying firm compensation reports. Gaetz says funding was never set aside for audits to be performed in the past, so he has asked the Senate general counsel to determine what powers the Legislature has to provide funding to conduct audits going forward.

House Speaker Will Weatherford has already indicated his support for the proposal.

Voters in House District 36 will head to the polls this fall to select a successor to Rep. Mike Fasano, who resigned to take a position as Pasco County’s tax collector.

The special primary will be held September 17, 2013, with the special general election following on October 15.

The Florida Legislature adjourned Friday, May 3, 2013, without passing an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program.

Governor Rick Scott has not indicated whether he will call a special session, or leave the issue unresolved until the next legislative session.

Photo of the Florida State Capitol building by Jenn Greiving on Wikipedia.

Two major bills passed by the Florida Legislature were signed by Governor Rick Scott late on Wednesday, May 1, 2013. The bills make significant changes to the state’s ethics and campaign finance laws.

Senate Bill 2, the state’s ethics overhaul, becomes effective immediately upon becoming a law.

House Bill 569, the campaign finance bill, takes effect November 1, 2013, except for the provisions eliminating committees of continuous existence (CCEs). CCEs are prohibited from accepting contributions after August 1, 2013, and their certification will be revoked as of September 30, 2013. Additionally, the bill requires the Division of Elections to present a proposal for mandatory electronic filing to the legislature by December 1, 2013.

For previous coverage about this legislation, see “Florida Legislature Passes Campaign Finance Bill” and “Florida Ethics Bill Heads to Governor Scott” by Jennifer Zona.

Perhaps the most talked-about piece of legislation this session, Senate Bill 2 was passed unanimously by both houses of the Florida Legislature.

The final ethics bill:

• Prohibits members of the legislature from acting as lobbyists for compensation before an executive branch agency, agency official, or employee for two years after leaving office. The version passed by the House eliminated an original provision preventing legislators from becoming lobbyists or principals of lobbying firms lobbying the legislature;
• Provides for a fine of up to $5,000 for executive branch lobbyists who fail to disclose required material facts as required or knowingly provide false information;
• Allows the Commission on Ethics to investigate whether a lobbyist has made a prohibited expenditure if a complaint is filed; and
• Prohibits vendors from providing gifts to a reporting individual or procurement employee for vendors doing business with the reporting individual’s or procurement employee’s agency.

The ethics bill was a top priority of Senate President Don Gaetz. He called the bill his “proudest moment as a senator.” The bill was sent immediately to Governor Rick Scott, who has seven days to sign or veto the bill.

The Florida House and Senate reached a compromise on contribution limits, passing a comprehensive campaign finance bill.

The major changes in the bill include:

• Elimination of committees of continuous existence;
• Requiring weekly reporting by political committees and electioneering communications organizations beginning with the 60th day prior to a primary election and continuing until the 4th day before a general election, and daily reporting beginning with the 10th day before a general election;
• Increasing campaign contribution limits from $500 to $3,000 for a candidate for statewide office or retention as a justice of the state supreme court, and from $500 to $1,000 for a candidate for legislative office, retention as a judge of a district court of appeal, or circuit judge; and
• Elimination of limits on contributions to political committees.

The original bill increased all contribution limits from $500 to $10,000. At the beginning of debate on the bill, House Speaker Will Weatherford tweeted, “today is meet me halfway day.”

While critics argue the bill doesn’t go far enough and too many loopholes remain, Senator Jack Latvala, chairman of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, said the goal is transparency. He contends money in politics isn’t going anywhere, so the best the legislature can do is require disclosure.

The bill now awaits action by Governor Rick Scott.

Governor Rick Scott has scheduled the special election for House District 2 for June 11, 2013.

A primary election will be held May 14.

The election will replace the late Representative Clay Ford, who lost his battle with cancer in March.

The Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics selected attorney Steven Cullen to be their new executive director.

Mr. Cullen was previously a judge and mediator. He replaces former executive director Alan Johnson, who left the Commission on Ethics to join the state attorney’s office.

Mr. Cullen plans to boost the commission’s public outreach and ethics education efforts.

A bill to allow lobbyist expenditures on legislators is pending before the Florida Senate. Currently, almost all expenditures by lobbyists and principals on members and employees of the legislature are prohibited.

Senate Bill 1634 provides exceptions to the ban on lobbyist expenditures, permitting:

• Individual servings of nonalcoholic beverages provided by a lobbyist or a principal as a courtesy to the attendees of a meeting;

• A single meal not solicited by the member or employee of the legislature, served as part of a scheduled meeting of an established membership organization that is also a principal, and attended by the member or employee as a featured speaker, moderator, or participant of a panel discussion; and

• Food and beverages provided as part of a widely attended event hosted by a membership organization or governmental body that is also a principal if the cost per attendee does not exceed $25.

Widely attended event is defined as one reasonably expected to be attended by at least 25 persons other than members or employees of the legislature, open to persons from throughout a given industry or profession, or to a wide range of persons interested in a given issue presented at the event.

The bill requires the houses of the legislature to establish a rule regarding registration and approval of events at which such expenditures may be made.

The new exceptions would take effect on July 1, 2013, and would expire June 30, 2015.

On the first day of the 2013 legislative session the Florida Senate unanimously passed ethics reform bills.

The bills add revolving door provisions, increase the responsibilities of the ethics commission, and require financial disclosure reports to be posted online.

The reform package now moves to the House, where somewhat different versions of the legislation are already under consideration.

The Palm Beach County Commission voted in favor of a proposal to expand the county’s ethics commission from five members to seven. County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor pushed for the change, saying the commission needed more diversity.

The proposal will go before the committee responsible for drafting changes to the county code, and then back to the county commission for a final vote.

Independent community groups are responsible for selecting the ethics commission’s members.

The Florida Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections is working on a proposed bill to revise the state’s ethics law.

The draft language relating to lobbying and gift law in the bill establishes a fine for executive branch lobbyists for failure to provide required information or knowingly providing false information in a report, and prohibits vendors from providing gifts to reporting individuals or procurement employees. Other changes the committee is considering include:

• Restrictions on former legislators’ employment as a lobbyist, such as ban on executive branch lobbying and a prohibition on becoming a partner, principal, or employee of a firm whose primary business is lobbying the state legislature within the two years after a legislator leaves office; and
• A prohibition on or reduced gift limit for gifts to covered individuals from committees of continuous existence, or CCEs. House Speaker Will Weatherford has called for elimination of CCEs, which are often used by legislators to pay for meals, travel, and gifts.

The committee plans to have final draft language available on January 18, and plans to consider the proposed bill at its January 22 meeting.

The Federal Election Commission issued an Advisory Opinion on December 6, 2012, concluding a federal candidate’s campaign committee may make a contribution to an independent expenditure-only committee from funds raised for the federal candidate’s terminated political campaign.

Friends of Mike H, the principal campaign committee of former candidate Mike Haridopolos, requested an opinion to determine whether it could give $10,000 or more of its excess funds raised for Mr. Haridopolos’s 2012 U.S. Senate primary election campaign in Florida, from which he withdrew, to an independent expenditure-only committee called Freedom PAC. Currently, Mr. Haridopolos does not hold federal office and is not seeking any elected federal office.

Because Friends of Mike H. is not using its funds for personal use or for any unlawful use, the Commission found Mr. Haridopolos’s political committee may make its requested contributions to Freedom PAC. The Commission also noted that “amount limitations are generally unconstitutional as applied to contributions that will be used to finance independent activity.”