Tallahassee, FL.—On March 14, 2024, the Florida Ethics Institute and nineteen other open government organizations as well as current and former ethics officials, sent a letter to Governor DeSantis calling on him to veto SB 7014, an ethics bill that will make it harder for Floridians to file ethics complaints against public officials who engage in unethical conduct. Additional calls for a gubernatorial veto of this controversial ethics bill have been issued in recent days by the Jacksonville Ethics Commission, Common Cause Florida, and other ethics advocates throughout Florida.

 

The letter requests that Governor DeSantis veto the bill because it seeks to introduce burdensome requirements on citizens seeking to file legitimate ethics complaints with state and local ethics commissions requiring that they have “personal knowledge or information other than hearsay” regarding the alleged violations. These requirements, if implemented into law, could prevent the investigation of ethics complaints predicated upon news articles and reports exposing public corruption. The letter notes that this “is a profound change in favor of shielding ethics violators from investigatory scrutiny.”

 

It also notes that the bill seeks “to prevent local ethics commissions (as well as any other “governing body of the political subdivision”) from ordering the investigation of possible ethics violations even in the presence of overwhelming evidence indicating that a public officer or employee has acted unethically.” In addition, the bill attempts to tie the hands of the State Commission on Ethics to act as a collegial body.

 

“The people of Florida have clearly expressed their desire for stronger, not weaker, ethics laws,” said Caroline Klancke, Executive Director of the Florida Ethics Institute. “Yet SB 7014 seeks to move us in the opposite direction, making it increasingly difficult for even a modicum of transparency to be given to the public regarding possible ethics violations.”

 

“This bill cuts to the heart of both the state Commission’s ethics complaint process and that of local commissions in an unprecedented attack on the good work that these agencies provide through ethics investigations.”

 

The Florida Ethics Institute calls on Governor DeSantis to veto this bill, and to affirm Florida’s commitment to ethics in government.

 

To view the letter, click here.

 

 

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