On May 8 Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 905 into law. The law, which becomes effective July 1, contains a wide-ranging array of new requirements that are purported to be designed to limit influence stemming from “foreign countries of concern” including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria.

The 19 page law includes provisions limiting surrogacy contracts signed with citizens of foreign countries of concern, prohibits state agencies, local governments and publicly funded schools from entering into agreements or accepting grants from foreign countries of concern or entities controlled by them, and allows local governments to revoke business tax receipts for businesses operating in such countries.

Portions of the law germane to ethics amend the Florida Code of Ethics’ anti-bribery provision, s. 112.313(2), F.S., to create additional penalties for public officials and candidates that accept gifts from a terrorist organization or foreign country of concern in contravention of the new law.

The law also amends the annual ethics training requirements of the Florida Code of Ethics, s. 112.3142, F.S., to require Florida’s constitutional officers, elected municipal officers, and others to receive yearly training on “known efforts by foreign countries of concern to target and influence subnational governments,” “how to identify, recognize, and report suspected foreign influence campaigns,” and the new enhanced “penalties for violations relating to gifts from foreign countries of concern.”