Ethics in Government

Florida Ethics Law Requirements for Public Officers and Employees

In Florida, public officers and public employees, both state and local, are agents of the people and hold their positions for the benefit of the public. To ensure that a public office remains a public trust, Florida has enshrined the existence of ethical standards applicable to public officers, public employees, and candidates for public office, within Art. II, s. 8, of the Fla. Const., commonly referred to as the “Ethics in Government” or “Sunshine Amendment.”

To secure and sustain the public’s trust against abuse, the Sunshine Amendment provides for the existence of an independent commission, the Florida Commission on Ethics to conduct investigations of ethics complaints and make public reports on all complaints concerning breach of the public trust. The Sunshine Amendment further provides for the existence of a “code of ethics for all state employees and nonjudicial officers prohibiting conflict between public duty and private interests” as prescribed by law. Art. II, s. 8(g), Fla. Const. Pursuant to this requirement the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees (“Code of Ethics”) has been adopted and is found in Part III, of Chapter 112, Florida Statutes (“F.S.”). The Code of Ethics contains statutory restrictions designed to ensure that public officials conduct themselves independently and impartially, not using their offices for private gain.

Who is subject to the Code of Ethics in Florida?

ALL public officers on both the state and local levels of government in Florida
ALL public employees (state and local)
Local government attorneys
Candidates for public office
Miscellaneous others

What conduct does the Code of Ethics address?

The Code of Ethics (Part III, Ch. 112, F.S.) and the Sunshine Amendment (Art. II, s. 8, Fla. Const.) contain legal restrictions and reporting requirements which primarily fall within four categories:

Laws pertaining to prohibited or restricted conduct (including the misuse of public position, conflicts of interest, nepotism, voting conflicts, prohibited disproportionate benefit, and more)
Laws pertaining to bribes, gifts, honoraria, and expenditures
Government transparency laws involving financial disclosure
Laws pertaining to executive branch lobbying activity

What penalties exist for violations of the Code of Ethics?

The penalty provisions of the Code of Ethics, s. 112.317, F.S., provide an array of non-criminal penalties for current and former public officers and public employees, candidates for public office, and others who have been found to have violated the Code of Ethics and/or Sunshine Amendment including:

Impeachment
Removal/suspension from public office or employment
Public censure and reprimand
Forfeiture of up to one third of public salary
Restitution of pecuniary benefits received because of the violation
Civil penalties of $20,000 per violation

Florida Ethics Resources

Florida Ethics Law Handbook

FEI publishes “The Florida Ethics Law Handbook: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees,” the only comprehensive guide to ethics laws in Florida. The Florida Ethics Law Handbook provides a brief but rigorous review of Florida’s ethics regulations, and related constitutional provisions, by topic—including gifts and bribes, conflicts of interest, nepotism, financial disclosure, voting conflicts, and more.

Ethics Training Products & Services

FEI provides in-person and on-line ethics training resources to assist public officials, public employees, journalists, citizen access advocates, and attorneys to better understand and facilitate compliance with Florida’s ethics requirements. More information regarding FEI trainings and services can be found at:

www.floridaethics.org.

Florida Statutes, Constitution, and Laws

The Florida Statutes, constitution and Laws can be found on the “Online Sunshine” site, the official site of the Florida Legislature:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/

Florida Department of State’s Administrative Code and Regulations

The Florida Administrative Code contains the rules that have been developed by state agencies in order to implement state laws.
Website: https://www.flrules.org/

Florida Commission on Ethics

The Florida Commission on Ethics is the constitutionally created independent agency tasked with interpreting and enforcing the state’s ethics laws. The Commission’s website is located at: www.ethics.state.fl.us.
The Commission maintains a free, searchable database of more than 2,000 advisory opinions issued by the agency to public officials and public employees and interpreting Florida’s ethics laws and related constitutional provisions in different factual scenarios which is available under the “Research” tab by selecting the “Search” option on the Commission’s homepage located at: www.ethics.state.fl.us.
The “Electronic Financial Disclosure Management System” launched by the Commission in 2022 to provide for the electronic creation and filing of financial disclosure and to make disclosure filings available in a searchable format that is accessible to the public may be accessed at: www.disclosure.floridaethics.gov
For additional information regarding Florida’s ethics law requirements the Florida Commission on Ethics may be reached via telephone at:

(850) 488-7864.