Ethics Gifts Government in the Sunshine Public Records · Government in the Sunshine Public Records...

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Ethics Gifts Government in the Sunshine Public Records A briefing for the VOLUSIA GROWTH MANAGEMENT COMMISSION August 23, 2017

Transcript of Ethics Gifts Government in the Sunshine Public Records · Government in the Sunshine Public Records...

Page 1: Ethics Gifts Government in the Sunshine Public Records · Government in the Sunshine Public Records A briefing for the VOLUSIA GROWTH MANAGEMENT COMMISSION August 23, 2017. 2 ...

Ethics

Gifts

Government in the Sunshine

Public Records

A briefing for the

VOLUSIA GROWTH

MANAGEMENT COMMISSION

August 23, 2017

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CODE OF ETHICS

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CODE OF ETHICS

Ethics ≠ not committing crimes

Three principles:

• No one can serve two masters

• A public office is a public trust (Art. II, Sec. 8, Florida Constitution)

• A situation that merely TEMPTS TO DISHONOR is unethical

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CODE OF ETHICS

Criminal violation: an act is required

Ethical violation: getting into a situation that

“tempts to dishonor”

Goal of criminal law:

Punish criminal & deter crime

Preserve public safety

Goal of ethics code:

Avoid “temptations to dishonor”

Preserve public trust

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CODE OF ETHICS

Applies to a “public officer” and each

public employee:

Public officer – any person elected or

appointed to hold office, including any

person on an advisory body [Sec. 112.313(1),

Fla. Stat.]

VGMC and Committees

VGMC employee(s)

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CODE OF ETHICS

PROHIBITED ACTS:

Do not solicit a gift for your vote (or

other official action)

Do not accept a gift or other

compensation for your vote

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CODE OF ETHICS

PROHIBITED ACTS (cont’d):

Do not misuse your public position …

• Perform your duties

• Obtain special benefit or privilege

• For yourself or others

• Corruptly

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CODE OF ETHICS

Example – Misuse of your position:

• School superintendent defeated in his re-election.

• Calls a special meeting on his last day.

• Nominates himself for job as elementary-school principal.

• Position becomes open the next day, because …

• The incumbent principal was the guy who ran and beat him. [CEO 85-10].

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CODE OF ETHICS

PROHIBITED ACTS (cont’d):

Do not do business with the VGMC

Do not sell or lease to the VGMC any …

• Goods

• Services

• Real estate

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CODE OF ETHICS

Example – Doing business with the

VGMC

• Commission member owns a catering

business

• The catering business may not provide

food or refreshments for Commission

meetings or functions [CEO 85-71].

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CODE OF ETHICS

PROHIBITED ACTS (cont’d):

Do not have a conflicting “employment”

or “contractual” relationship:

For a business or government agency

doing business with the VGMC…

• You may not hold a job with that business

or agency

• You may not have a “contract relationship”

with that business or agency

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CODE OF ETHICS

Example: Doing business with

someone doing business with VGMC:

• Company doing planning work for VGMC

• You hire the company to do planning work

for your development

• You would have a contractual relationship

with the planning business doing business

with VGMC

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CODE OF ETHICS

PROHIBITED ACTS (cont’d):

Exemptions from the not-doing-business rule and

not-holding-job rule:

• Contract entered into prior to taking office or appointment

• Business is rotated among qualified suppliers

• Awarded by sealed competitive bidding

• Emergency purchase

• Sole-source

• Less than $500 per year

• VGMC’s bank

• In a private capacity you purchase goods or services and get

the same deal as the rest of the public

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CODE OF ETHICS

PROHIBITED ACTS (cont’d):

Do not have a job or a contract

relationship …

• that creates a “frequently recurring

conflict,” or

• that “would impede the full and faithful

discharge of [your] duties”

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CODE OF ETHICS

PROHIBITED ACTS (cont’d):

Your relatives may not be

Employed by the VGMC

Promoted by VGMC (if already

employed)

Appointed to a VGMC advisory

committee

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CODE OF ETHICS

PROHIBITED ACTS:

One last word about prohibited acts …

They are NOT cured by abstaining from

voting

They are NOT cured by disclosure

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CODE OF ETHICS

VOTING CONFLICTS:

General rule – you must vote on all

commission issues

– “abstentions” are not

allowed

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CODE OF ETHICS

VOTING CONFLICTS:

Must disclose if, on any issue, the Commission’s

vote would benefit … or hurt …• You

• Your relative

• Your business partner

• Your employer

• Your client/customer

• The parent company, subsidiary company, or

sister company of …Your employer

Your client

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CODE OF ETHICS

VOTING CONFLICTS (cont’d):

Must not vote

Must file Form 8B (with the VGMC Operations

Manager) within 15 days after the vote

May participate in the discussion if the

conflict is first disclosed … but WHY WOULD

YOU?!

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CODE OF ETHICS

VOTING CONFLICTS:

MUST abstain in a conflict

MAY abstain in an “appearance” of a conflict

If you abstain, file Form 8B

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GIFTS

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GIFTS

Do not solicit a gift from a “lobbyist” or

a “vendor”

Do not accept a gift worth more than

$100 from a “lobbyist” or a “vendor”

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GIFTS

Who is a “vendor”?

Any person or entity doing business with

the VGMC.

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GIFTS

Who is a “lobbyist”?

“Lobbyist” means one who meets all the following tests:

• a natural person,

• who is being compensated,

• who is trying or has tried to influence a decision of a Commission member or of the VGMC or this Commission, and

• the attempt to influence a decision has occurred in the past 12 months.

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GIFTS

PROHIBITION ON GIFTS (cont’d):

What is a “gift”?

The term gift includes:

• money

• real estate

• use of real estate

• tangible personal property

• intangible personal property

• use of personal property

• food or beverages

• membership dues

• transportation

• plants & flowers

• admission tickets (sports,

concerts, cruises, theme

parks, etc.)

• forgiveness of debt

• a preferential rate or price on

a debt, loan, goods or

services

• any other thing having value

• any other service having value

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GIFTS

DISCLOSURE OF GIFTS BY YOU:

What must be disclosed?

Any gift which is accepted AND worth over

$100

Exceptions:

• Gifts from relatives

• Prohibited gifts (i.e., from lobbyists and vendors)

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GIFTS

GIFTS DISCLOSED … BY LOBBYISTS

AND VENDORS:

All gifts to you worth over $25

Disclosed quarterly ... by the lobbyist or

vendor, not you

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GIFTS

DISCLOSURE OF GIFTS (cont’d):

How disclosed by you?

Form 9:

• gifts worth over $100

• quarterly

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GIFTS

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GIFTS

Scenarios:

Two $75 tickets to an Orlando Magic game

from your brother

Value – $150

___ Accept?

___ Report?

Two tickets to an Orlando Magic game from

your college roommate who lives in Miami

Value – $150

___ Accept?

___ Report?

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GIFTS

Two tickets to the game from Mr. VGMC Planner

Value – $150

___ Accept?

___ Report?

Two tickets from Mr. VGMC Planner – you pay him $150

Value – $ -0- net

___ Accept?

___ Report?

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GIFTS

Two tickets from Planner – you pay him $50

Value – $100 net

___ Accept?

___ Report?

Two tickets from Planner – you pay him $150 ... but not until 9 months later, after there is a newspaper article

Value – ??!!___ Accept?

___ Report?

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GIFTS

You ask Planner for one ticket

Value – $75

___ Accept?

___ Report?

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CODE OF ETHICS/GIFTS

SLOW-NEWS-DAY TEST:

Would you want what you did reported on the front page of the newspaper?

If the answer is NO, then whatever you are thinking about doing you probably shouldn’t be doing!

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FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

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FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

WHAT IS DISCLOSED?

Form 1: certain assets and liabilities,

sources of income, and certain other

information

Form 2: all clients represented before the

Commission by your firm or you

Form 1F: financial disclosure statement …

from January 1 to your last day in office

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FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

WHEN AND WHERE TO FILE?

Form 1: July 1 (for the previous calendar

year)

Form 2: every calendar quarter, no later than

3 months after the quarter

Form 1F: no later than 60 days after leaving

the Commission

All three filed with the Volusia County

Supervisor of Elections

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FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

PENALTIES:

Fail to file by July 1st: delinquency notice

Fail to file, then, by September 1st: $25-per-day fine

Max fine: $1,500

Note: The Commission on Ethics must send Form 1 to Commission members no later than June 1st of each year. You must obtain Form 2 on your own. F.S. 112.3145(6)(b)

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FLORIDA COMMISSION ON ETHICS

Available for advice: ethics / gifts /

financial disclosure

Phone: 850-488-7864

Website: www.ethics.state.fl.us

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SUNSHINE LAW

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SUNSHINE LAW

All meetings … at which official acts are

to be taken are declared to be public

meetings open to the public at all times,

and no … action shall be considered

binding except as taken or made at such

meeting. The board or committee must

provide reasonable notice of all such

meetings.§286.011(1), Florida Statutes

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SUNSHINE LAW

THE PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO ATTEND VGMC

MEETINGS

GENERAL RULE: “Where two or more are

gathered ... there will be a meeting.”

… if “foreseeable action” by the Commission is

discussed.

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SUNSHINE LAW

“MEETINGS” CAN MEAN:

Hallway talks between Commission members

Phone calls between Commission members

E-mails and letters between Commission members

Notes to or from another Commission member

Discussions between Commission members’ assistants or secretaries

Messages via mutual friends

Messages via lobbyists

Messages via Commission staff

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SUNSHINE LAW

“MEETINGS” DO NOT INCLUDE:

Discussions with county commissioners

Discussions with city commissioners

Discussions with state legislators

Discussions on matters on which the VGMC will

never vote

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PUBLIC RECORDS LAW

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PUBLIC RECORDS LAW

Every person who has custody

of a public record shall permit

the record to be inspected and

copied by any person desiring to

do so, at any reasonable time….§ 119.07, Florida Statutes

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PUBLIC RECORDS LAW

GENERAL RULE:

If you have it, the public – including the

news media – can see it!!

Public records are open for inspection

• By any person

• At any reasonable time

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PUBLIC RECORDS LAW

“PUBLIC RECORDS” INCLUDE:

• E-mails (incoming and

outgoing)

• Letters (incoming and

outgoing)

• Memos

• Notes

• Telephone logs

• Calendars

• Computer data/documents

• Data processing software

• Tapes/CD’s/DVD’s/videos

• Drafts of documents

• Reports/studies/analyses

• Maps/plans/permits/permit

applications

• Pictures

• All copies of anything

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PUBLIC RECORDS LAW

What about …

Text messages?

Instant messages?

Facebook posts?

Twitter posts?

Are they about VGMC

business?

Then … YES, they are

public records

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PUBLIC RECORDS LAW

WHAT TO DO WHEN DEMANDED:

Call the VGMC Operations Manager!

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PUBLIC RECORDS LAW

DISPOSING OF PUBLIC RECORDS:

Originals? Keep them.

Copies? Pitch them (unless you have the

only copy).

Best practice: send all originals to the VGMC

Operations Manager.

End of your term: you must transfer all

records to the VGMC Operations Manager or

your successor. §119.021(4)(a), Fla. Stat.

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“You know it’s a bad day when …”

Ethics Complaint

… Ethics Commission – investigation, hearings,

fines

… nasty press coverage

Sunshine Law & Public Records Lawsuit

… lawsuit / attorneys’ fees

… indictment – 2nd degree misdemeanor

… civil infraction – $500 fine

… nasty press coverage

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ETHICS/SUNSHINE/PUBLIC

RECORDS

Good news!

If you are NOT a City or County

Commissioner

You do NOT have to listen to this

… for four hours

… every year!

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Questions?