Michelle Herring

The meeting provided a legislative update on bills affecting the code of ethics. Key discussions included Senate Bill 92 and House Bill 139 regarding whistleblower protections for ethics complainants, Senate Bill 964 and House Bill 6011 clarifying the Form 10 filing location to be the Commission on Ethics, and Senate Bill 572 which amends the nepotism law concerning foster families and relatives. The commission also reviewed proposed legislation on records exemption for commission members and staff, an extension of the expenditure ban to water management district reporting individuals, referrals from the Department of Financial Services, House Bill 1251 concerning expenditure of public funds by local governments, legislation on foreign influence prohibiting accepting gifts from designated terrorist organizations, and House Bill 1221 which provides an exemption in the nepotism law for relatives of firefighters under collective bargaining agreements. Staff noted that passing the local government expenditure legislation might necessitate hiring additional administrative and attorney staff due to anticipated case intake increases.

This document provides an economic overview of Florida, presenting data and forecasts across several key indicators. It covers Florida's GDP growth, per capita GDP by county, personal income trends, the narrowing wage gap, current employment conditions including unemployment rate and labor force participation, and population growth projections. The overview also details aspects of the housing market, such as documentary stamp tax collections, homeownership rates, building permits, existing single-family home sales, rental prices, and tourism recovery and forecasts. It concludes with an assessment of consumer perceptions and general revenue forecasts.

The meeting of the Florida Commission on Ethics included discussions on advisory opinion files 2825 and 2827. File 2825 concerned the applicability of the inoffice representation ban to a state representative. The commission also reviewed a request from a recently appointed member of the Pulk County School Board regarding whether her employment violates the inoff lobbying ban.

This document serves as the first supplement to the 1998 Master Plan for Florida Postsecondary Education, specifically addressing the critical challenge of 'Access.' The plan aims to accommodate growing student demand and improve undergraduate degree attainment for all Floridians. Key strategic areas include enhancing postsecondary education delivery through joint or concurrent programming, ensuring effective and efficient use of state resources, addressing tuition and financial aid policies, and continually assessing progress toward increased baccalaureate degree productivity. The recommendations are designed to eliminate systemic, institutional, or geographic barriers to postsecondary opportunities and ensure timely access to degree attainment.

The meeting included an overview of the Office of Public Counsel, a discussion of the Public Counsel vacancy, and a recommendation to the presiding officers of a designee to carry out the responsibilities of the position until a Public Counsel is appointed by the joint committee for the unexpired term. Charles Rehwinkel, Deputy Public Counsel, was recognized and gave a presentation. The committee recommended Charles Rehwinkel to carry out duties until the position is filled.