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.

The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust selected Jose J. Arrojo as its new executive director.

Arrojo is currently a Chief Assistant State Attorney and will be the third director of the commission since it was created in 1996.

Arrojo, will assume the post when Joseph Centorino steps down at the end of August.

Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order setting the dates for a special election to replace Sen. Frank Artiles. A special primary will be held on July 25, 2017, followed by a special general election on September 26.

Artiles resigned from the District 40 seat last month after calling fellow senators by racist and sexist names while having drinks at the Governors Club.

Senate District 40 is located in southwest Miami-Dade County.

With the court battle over for the time being, a ballot issue affecting campaign finance and ethics laws in Miami-Dade County will not appear on the ballot this November.

Earlier this month, the county appealed a circuit court’s order requiring the measure be placed on the ballot. The 3rd District Court of Appeal reversed the lower court this week, stating the County Commission acted within its authority to block the measure after determining it was not sufficient.

The appeals court left open the possibility of a challenge of the commission’s conclusion. An Accountable Miami-Dade, however, issued a statement following the ruling vowing to continue the fight in a future election.

A judge has ordered a campaign finance ballot measure be placed on the ballot in November. After the County Commission rejected the proposal for containing legally insufficient language, An Accountable Miami-Dade filed a petition for a writ of mandamus last week.

The political committee asked the court to force the County Commission, the Mayor, and the Supervisor of Elections to place the measure on the ballot. Circuit Court Judge William Thomas granted the petition, stating the group met all of the requirements to get a proposal on the ballot, including gathering nearly 130,000 signatures.

The County has appealed the ruling and a hearing has been set for next week before the Third District Court of Appeal.

If successfully passed, the measure will reduce the campaign contribution limit from $1,000 to $250 and ban vendors, their lobbyists, and immediate family members from contributing to county candidates.

A political committee called An Accountable Miami-Dade is sponsoring a proposal to change campaign finance rules for county elections.

The proposal would limit contributions to candidates to $250, rather than the state-set limit of $1,000, and county vendors and lobbyists would be prohibited from making contributions. A system of matching contributions with public funds would also be created.

The group delivered 125,000 signed petitions to the county clerk of courts. If enough are verified, the county commission will decide whether to adopt the measure or to place it on the ballot. The proposed changes would not take effect until the next county election cycle.

The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust gave its support for a proposed City of Miami Beach ordinance amending campaign finance rules. The ordinance, if passed, would prohibit the mayor and city commissioners, as well as candidates for those offices, from soliciting contributions on behalf of PACs donating to city candidates. The change would be in addition to the prohibition on city vendors, lobbyists, and real estate developers from making contributions.

The proposed amendment, from Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, is in response to an investigation into $1.5 million raised by a PAC established by Wolfson and Mayor Philip Levine. The contributions were from local businesses and lobbyists.

The Miami-Dade Clerk of the Courts has announced a new online lobbyist registration system will launch on June 1, 2015.

Current lobbyist information will be transferred to the new system and lobbyists will receive temporary log in information via email in order to create a profile.

This release only affects registration; however, plans to incorporate expenditure reporting are forthcoming.

The Internal Services Department in Miami-Dade County has combined the separate vendor enrollment and registration processes into one online vendor registration. The online vendor registration process can be accessed here.

Paper based registrations are no longer accepted.

All registered vendors whose status was “Active” prior to September 15, 2014 will be able to update their existing registration profiles through this portal. An email containing the login information will be sent to each firm currently registered or enrolled. These vendors will only be required to log-in to the portal to establish an online, secure profile. Thereafter, the existing registration records will be available to them online.

Vendors still must return a notarized business entity registration application by regular mail.

Just over a month ago, the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust cleared David Beckham of a complaint charging he violated county ethics law by failing to register as a lobbyist. At the time, Beckham’s meetings with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez were characterized as “meet and greets” regarding potential interest in bringing a Major League Soccer franchise to Miami. Once the plans start to take shape, however, individuals meeting with county officials would need to register as lobbyists, according to the Commission’s report.

Now, with potential sites being discussed, Beckham and his business partner Simon Fuller have registered as county lobbyists ahead of their meeting with county commissioners. But, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners may not be the only government body to need convincing on stadium site approval. One of two potential waterfront stadium sites is under the city of Miami’s jurisdiction, and Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado has cautioned voter approval may be required.

David Beckham’s Lobbyist Registration, courtesy of the Miami Herald.

Photo of David Beckham courtesy of Paulblank on Wikimedia Commons.