The document discusses Florida's open government laws, including the Sunshine Law and ethics laws. It provides a history of these laws beginning in 1909 and examines the requirements of the Sunshine Law, including that meetings must be open to the public with reasonable notice and minutes taken. It also discusses the agencies covered under the law and the role of the Commission on Ethics in investigating complaints and administering financial disclosure.

1. By: Stephanie Moncada
Applied Ethics
December 5th, 2011

2.  Introduction
 Sunshine Law Requirements
 Agencies Under the Sunshine Law
 History of Florida’s Ethics Laws
 Ethics Laws

3.  To assist the public and governmental agencies in
understanding the requirements and exemptions to
Florida's open government laws, the Attorney General's
Office compiles a comprehensive guide known as the
Government-in-the-Sunshine manual. The manual is
published each year at no taxpayer expense by the First
Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee.
 Florida is renowned for putting a high priority on the
public's right of access to governmental meetings and
records. In fact, the principles of open government are
embodied not only in Florida statutes, but also guaranteed
in the state Constitution.

4.  Florida began its tradition of openness back in 1909 with the passage of
what has come to be known as the "Public Records Law," Chapter 119 of
the Florida Statutes. This law provides that any records made or received
by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for
inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Legislature. Over the
years, the definition of what constitutes "public records" has come to
include not just traditional written documents such as papers, maps and
books, but also tapes, photographs, film, sound recordings and records
stored in computers.
 It was in 1967 that Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine Law was
enacted. Today, the Sunshine Law can be found in Chapter 286 of the
Florida Statutes. The Sunshine Law establishes a basic right of access to
most meetings of boards, commissions and other governing bodies of
state and local governmental agencies or authorities.

5. What agencies are covered under the Sunshine Law?
 The Government-in-the-Sunshine Law applies to "any
board or commission of any state agency or authority
or of any agency or authority of any county, municipal
corporation or political subdivision." Thus, it applies to
public collegial bodies within the state at both the
local as well as state level. It applies equally to elected
or appointed boards or commissions.
 Are federal agencies covered by the Sunshine Law?
Federal agencies operating in the state do not come
under Florida's Sunshine law.

6.  What are the requirements of the Sunshine
law?
The Sunshine law requires that
1) meetings of boards or commissions must be
open to the public
2) 2) reasonable notice of such meetings must
be given, and
3) 3) minutes of the meeting must be taken.

7.  Florida Constitution revised in 1968
o Required a code of ethics for all state employees
and non-judicial officers
o Prohibited conflict between public duty and
private interests be prescribed by law
o 1976 the “Sunshine Amendment” was adopted
o Provided additional constitutional guarantees
concerning ethics in government.
o Created independent commission(Commission on
Ethics) to investigate complaints

8. o Five of the Commission’s nine members are appointed
by the Governor
o Two each are appointed by the President of the Senate
and Speaker of the House of Representatives
o No more than five (5) Commission members may be
members of the same political party
o None of the Commission members may hold any public
employment during their two-year terms of office

9.  The “Code of Ethics for Public Officers and
Employees” adopted by the Florida Legislature is
found in Chapter 112 of the Florida Statutes
o Primary goal to promote public interest and maintain
respect of the people for their government
o Ensure that public officials conduct themselves
independently and impartially
o Ensure that public officials are not using their office for
personal gain
o Avoid creation of unnecessary barriers to public service
while maintaining integrity of government

10.  ROLE OF THE COMMISSION ON ETHICS
o Investigate complaints
o Renders advisory opinions to public officials
o Prescribes forms for disclosure
o Administers the Executive Branch Lobbyist Registration and
Reporting Law
o Maintains financial disclosure filings of constitutional officers
and state officers and employees
o Administers automatic fines for public officers and
employees who fail to timely file and financial disclosures
o May file suit to void contracts, prepares mailing lists of
officials subject to disclosure and makes recommendations to
disciplinary officials when appropriate

11.  Primarily two types of provisions:
o Those prohibiting certain actions or conduct
o Those requiring certain disclosures be made to public
 Laws generally apply to all public officers and
employees, State and local as well as members
of advisory bodies.
 Principal exclusion are judges – fall under
jurisdiction of Judicial Qualifications Commission
 Public Service Commission members and
employees are subject to additional ethics
standards enforced by the Ethics Commission
under Sec 350 of Florida Statutes.

12.  Unauthorized Compensation
o Public officers or employees, local government
attorneys, and their spouses or minor children
prohibited from taking any compensation or
anything of value that:
 They know
 They should have known with exercise of reasonable
care
will influence their vote or official action

13.  Misuse of Public Position
o Prohibited from corruptly using or attempting to
use their official positions to obtain a special
privilege for themselves or others
 Disclosure or Use of Certain Information
o Information not available to the public and
obtained by reason of their position for the
personal benefit of themselves or others