Proposed: Florida Constitutional Amendment 12 Lobbying and Abuse of Office by Public Officer
Posted October 5, 2018 10:30 pm
By
CD Davidson-Hiers
Amendment 12: lobbying and abuse of office by public officer
Ballot summary: “Expands
current restrictions on lobbying for
compensation by former public officers;
creates restrictions on lobbying for
compensation by serving public officers and
former justices and judges; provides
exceptions; prohibits abuse of a public
position by public officers and employees to
obtain a personal benefit."
Florida voters could
face twelve different proposed amendments to
the state Constitution on Nov. 6 – one of
the longest lists ever. The amendments
include complex changes to tax policy,
banning offshore oil drilling and greyhound
racing, expanding gambling, automatically
restoring voting rights for ex-felons,
setting new rules on lobbying, and whether
Florida should ban vaping in public places.
Some of the amendments
“bundle” several different ideas into one,
meaning voters may be forced to vote for
something they don’t like in order to
approve something they want, or vice versa.
(Three of the amendments are mired
in a legal challenge that’s
before the Florida Supreme Court)
What it’s about?
Proposed Florida Constitutional Amendment 12 “bundles” the most proposals of any of the other multi-topic Amendments on the Nov. 6 ballot. Voters will have only one yes or no vote to cast. What has raised the most eyebrows about Amendment 12 is a proposal to extend the ban on Florida public officials becoming lobbyists from two years to six years after they leave their position.
Amendment 12 deals with ethics and lobbying restrictions and sets out more detailed instructions governing how public officials become lobbyists in Florida.
This Amendment would:
1. Set out a
sweeping definition of “public officer”
to include any statewide elected officer,
member of the Legislature, county
commissioner, school board member and other
governing positions.
2. Prohibit public officers – while
in office – from lobbying any political
agency or governing body for anything
related to policy, appropriations, or
procurement (obtaining goods or services,
sometimes through a competitive bidding
process).
3. Make public officers wait six
years before becoming lobbyists in the
state; includes rules detailing the types of
government agencies these officials must
wait six years before lobbying.
4. Prohibit public officers or
employees from using their positions to
“disproportionally benefit” themselves,
their families, or businesses they may be
involved in. The Florida Commission on
Ethics will define what a “disproportionate
benefit” is.
5. Prohibit judges and justices from
lobbying state government for six years
after leaving the bench.
Who’s for it:
Nonprofit government watchdog group Integrity Florida, former Florida Sen. Don Gaetz who served on the Constitution Revision Commission that sponsored this Amendment, other groups interested in government ethics.
Who’s against it:
A group called Save My Constitution, made up of former lawmakers, opposes all the proposed Constitution Revision Commission Amendments on the November ballot.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce says everything in Amendment 12 can be achieved through a legislative process and it is unnecessary for the proposals to be “permanently incorporated into Florida’s Constitution.”
Other key points:
Right now, any statewide elected official or member of the Legislature must wait two years before registering as lobbyists.
If Amendment 12 passes, the Florida Commission on Ethics would need to define by Oct. 1, 2019, what a “disproportionate benefit” is and what penalties are involved. The proposal would then take effect Dec. 31, 2020.
The changes to lobbying practices in Amendment 12 would take effect Dec. 31, 2022.
Amendment 12 needs 60 percent of the vote to pass.
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CD Davidson-Hiers is a 2017 summa cum laude graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Creative Writing and French. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key honors societies and has received multiple writing awards for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Prior to joining the Florida Phoenix, CD worked at the Tallahassee Democrat and has bylines in Tallahassee Magazine. She is a native of Pensacola.
This piece appeared in the Florida Phoenix and was reprinted by the Columbia County Observer with permission or license.
Graphics and layout by the Observer
