Ordinance 99-22~ , ! :, ORDINANCE NO. 99-.?.2._
gR 1999 ); AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE
RECEIVED ESTABLISHMENT OF MORE STRINGENT LOCAL
Clerk ETHICS STANDARDS AND FOR ENFORCEMENT
of Board THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR TITLE AND CITATION;
,. PROVIDING FOR FINDINGS; PROVIDING FOR
" DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR PROHIBITED RECEIPT
OF GIFTS BY INDIVIDUALS FILING FULL OR LIMITED
PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS AND
BY PROCUREMENT EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING FOR
LOBBYIST REGISTRATION; PROVIDING FOR POST-
EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS; PROVIDING FOR
SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS; PROVIDING FOR
PENALTIES; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE
CODE OF LAWS AND ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR
CONFLICT AND SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Chapter 112, Part III, Florida Statutes, establishes a code of ethics and
provides standards of conduct for public officers and employees; and
WHEREAS, Section 125.01(1), Florida Statutes, authorizes the goveming body of a
county to adopt ordinances and resolutions necessary for the exercise of its powers and to
prescribe fines and penalties for the violation of ordinances in accordance with the law; and
WHEREAS, the Collier County Board of County Commissioners ("Board") appointed an
Ad Hoc Ethics Standards Review Committee ("Committee") on June 16, 1998 by Resolution No.
98-186; and
WHEREAS, said Committee met, discussed and presented a report to the Board on
September 15, 1998, recommending that the Board adopt a local ethics code; and
WHEREAS, the Board desires to adopt a local ethics law that will complement the State
standards set forth in Chapter 112, Florida Statutes, as well as create more efficient local
enforcement and provide additional requirements that will serve to promote and protect the
public's trust in their local government.
WHEREAS, the Board intends that the standards set forth in this ordinance shall be more
stringent and in addition to those established in Chapter 112, Part III, Florida Statutes, as
authorized by Section 112.326, F.S.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA that:
- 1-
SECTION ONE: TITLE AND CITATION.
This Ordinance shall be known and cited as the "Collier County Ethics Ordinance."
SECTION TWO: FINDINGS.
1. The report submitted to the Collier County Board of County Commissioners
("Board') by the Ad Hoc Ethics Standards Review Committee ("Committee")
recommends the adoption of a local ethics code.
2. The Board finds that the legislative intent and declaration of policies set forth in
Section 112.311, Florida Statutes, sets forth a laudable philosophy regarding the purpose,
scope and application of ethics laws in relation to county officers and employees.
Moreover, the Board also finds, based on the Committee's report, that additional, more
stringent requirements are needed with regard to lobbyists, gifts, and post-county
employment restrictions in order to promote and protect the public trust in its local
government.
3. Section 112.326, Florida Statutes, authorizes the Board to impose more stringent
standards of conduct and disclosure requirements, beyond those specified in Chapter 112,
Part III, Florida Statutes, upon its own officers and employees provided that said
standards of conduct and disclosure requirements do not otherwise conflict with Chapter
112, Part III, Florida Statutes.
4. Section 125.69(1), Florida Statutes, provides, in pertinent part, that violations of
county ordinances shall be prosecuted in the same manner as misdemeanors are
prosecuted. Such violations shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00 or by
imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed sixty (60) days or by both such fine and
imprisonment. The Board further finds that an efficient and effective method for the
determination of allegations of violations of the additional more stringent ethical
standards set forth in this Ordinance is through local enforcement thereof.
5. Section 112.313(13), Florida Statutes, authorizes the Board to adopt an ordinance
establishing post-employment restrictions for certain designated county employees. The
Board further finds that said restrictions should apply only to those certain designated
County employees who began their employment with County government subsequent to
March 9, 1999.
- 2-
6. The Board finds that preservation of the integrity of the governmental decision-
making process is essential to the continued functioning of an open govemment.
Therefore, in order to preserve and maintain the integrity of the process and to better
inform the citizens of efforts to influence legislative branch action, the Board finds it
appropriate to require public registration and disclosure of the identity of certain persons
who attempt to influence actions of the Board or actions of any of the County's quasi-
judicial boards.
7. Section 112.3148(2)(b), Florida Statutes, authorizes the Board to establish a local
registration process for lobbyists. The Board finds that such a registration process serves
to promote and protect governmental integrity as well as to foster open govemment. The
Board further finds that such a public registration process for lobbyists may assist to
promote full compliance by lobbyists with the lobbyist gift reporting requirements set
forth in Section 112.3148, Florida Statutes.
8. The Board finds that more stringent requirements are needed with regard to the
value of gifts which may be provided by lobbyists to public officers and employees
beyond the standards set forth in Section 112.3148, Florida Statutes. Specifically, the
Board finds that a limit of $50.00, rather than $100.00 as set forth by Section 112.3148,
Florida Statutes, should be enacted in order to better promote and preserve the integrity of
the governmental decision-making process.
9. Collier County Office of the County Administrator, Administrative Procedure,
Instruction 5311 (Code of Ethics/Standards of Conduct), restricts Collier County
employees from receiving gifts or other items of value in connection with the
performance of official duties. Said restrictions exist separate and independent from the
provisions of this Ordinance and Part III, Ch. 112, Florida Statutes.
10. Nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed to chill, restrict or prohibit the flee
exercise of any citizen's constitutional rights, including, but not limited to, the right to
petition his or her County govemment or exercise his or her rights of free speech.
SECTION THREE: DEFINITIONS.
1. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the definitions contained in Chapter 112, Part
III, Florida Statutes, shall apply and control, in accordance with the subject matter,
unless the text and/or context of this Ordinance provides otherwise.
2. "County Managerial Employee" shall mean the County Administrator,
---- Assistant County Administrator, County Attorney, Chief Assistant County Attorney and
all Division Administrators and Authority Directors of Collier County Government.
3. "Lobbying" shall mean influencing or attempting to influence legislative or
quasi-judicial action or non-action through oral or written communication or an attempt
to obtain the good will of a member or employee of the Board or of a Collier County
advisory board or a quasi judicial board.
4. "Lobbyist" shall mean:
a. Any natural person who, for compensation, seeks, or sought during the
preceding twelve months, to influence the governmental decision-making of a
reporting individual or procurement employee or his or her agency or seeks, or
sought during the preceding twelve months, to encourage the passage, defeat, or
modification of any proposal or recommendation by the reporting individual or
procuremerit employee or his or her agency.
b. A person who is employed and receives payment, or who contracts for
economic consideration, for the purpose of lobbying, or a person who is
principally employed for governmental affairs by another person or governmental
entity to lobby on behalf of that other person or governmental entity.
c. A person who registers with the Board as a lobbyist pursuant to Section
Five of this Ordinance.
5. "Principal" shall mean the person, firm, corporation, or other entity which has
employed or retained a lobbyist.
- 4-
SECTION FOUR: PROHIBITED RECEIPT OF GIFTS BY INDIVIDUALS
FILING FULL OR LIMITED PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL
INTERESTS, AND BY PROCUREMENT EMPLOYEES.
The following provisions regarding gifts from lobbyists are enacted as additional and
more stringent standards of conduct and disclosure requirements than those specified in
Section 112.3148, Florida Statutes:
1. A reporting individual or procurement employee or any other person on his or her
behalf is prohibited from knowingly accepting, directly or indirectly, a gift from a
political committee or a committee of continuous existence, as defined in Section
106.011, Florida Statutes, or from a lobbyist who lobbies the reporting individual's or
procurement employee's agency, or directly or indirectly on behalf of the partner, firm,
employer, or principal of a lobbyist, if he or she knows or reasonably believes that the
gift has a value in excess of $50.00; however, such a gift may be accepted by such person
on behalf of a governmental entity or a charitable organization. If the gift is accepted on
behalf of a governmental entity or chadtable organization, the person receiving the gift
shall not maintain custody of the gift for any period of time beyond that reasonably
necessary to arrange for the transfer of custody and ownership of the gift.
2. A political committee or a committee of continuous existence, as defined in
Section 106.011, Florida Statutes; a lobbyist who lobbies a reporting individual's or
procurement employee's agency; the partner, firm, employer or principal of a lobbyist;
or another on behalf of the lobbyist or parmer, firm, principal, or employer of the lobbyist
is prohibited from giving, either directly or indirectly, a gift that has a value in excess of
$50.00 to the reporting individual or procurement employee or any other person on his or
her behalf; however, such person may give a gift having a value in excess of $50.00 to a
reporting individual or procurement employee if the gift is intended to be transferred to a
govemmental entity or a chadtable organization.
SECTION FIVE: LOBBYIST REGISTRATION.
1. All lobbyists shall, before engaging in any lobbying activities, register with the
Clerk to the Board located at the Board Minutes and Records Department. Every lobbyist
required to so register shall: register on forms prepared by the Clerk; pay an annual
registration fee of $25.00; and state under oath his or her name, business name and
- 5-
address, and the name and business address of each person or entity which has employed
said registrant to lobby, as of the date of said registration. The registration shall be an
annual registration and shall not require additional registration or amendment to the
registration form by the lobbyist even if the lobbyist subsequently engages in lobbying
for additional persons or entities. The purpose of the registration is merely to identify
-.-- the registrant as a lobbyist. If, subsequent to the registration, the registrant ceases to act
as a lobbyist, the registrant may file a request, on a form provided by the Clerk, to not be
listed as a lobbyist. However, pursuant to Section 112.3148, Florida Statutes, said
registrant shall continue to appear on the list of lobbyists until the expiration of the time
period set forth in said statute. In the event that the registrant neither withdraws nor re-
registers, the registrant shall be placed on a "lobbyist status unknown" list for a period of
twelve (12) months from the expiration of the annual registration. The registration fee of
$25.00 is non-refundable.
2. Annual registration shall be required and shall initially commence on March 22,
1999. Thereafter, annual registration shall occur on or after October 1, of each year.
Registration by lobbyists shall occur at any time during the calendar year provided that it
occurs prior to the lobbyist engaging in any lobbying activity.
3. The registration fee required by this section shall be maintained by the Clerk to
the Board and shall be deposited into a separate fund to be expended for the purpose of
administering and maintaining the lobbyist registration list as well as to cover other
related costs. Lobbyists shall not be charged a fee for filing the form for removal from
the lobbyist list.
4. The following persons shall not be required to register as lobbyists:
a. Any public officer, employee or appointee who only appears in his or her
official capacity.
b. Law enforcement personnel conducting an investigation.
c. Any person who only appears in his or her individual capacity for the
purpose of self-representation without compensation or reimbursement, whether
direct, indirect or contingent, to express support of or opposition to any item.
- 6-
d. Any person who only appears as a representative of a neighborhood
association without special compensation or reimbursement for their appearance,
whether direct, indirect or contingent, to express support of or opposition to any
item.
5. The Clerk to the Board shall keep accurate and complete records regarding
lobbyist registration including an up to date list of all lobbyist registrations, lobbyist
withdrawals from the list and a "lobbyist status unknown" list.
6. A registration form that is not renewed (along with payment of the $25.00 annual
registration fee) by October 1 of each year, shall expire and may not thereafter be relied
upon by the lobbyist for lobbying activities.
7. The validity of any action or determination of the Board or of any county
personnel, board or committee, shall not be affected by the failure of any lobbyist to
comply with the provisions of this section.
SECTION SIX: POST-EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS.
1. No County Managerial Employee shall personally represent another person or
entity for compensation before the govemment body or agency of which the individual
was an officer or employee for a period of two years following vacation of office,
resignation of employment, or termination of employment, as applicable, except for the
purposes of collective bargaining.
2. These post-employment restrictions shall apply only to those County Managerial
Employees who began employment with Collier County Government on or after March
9, 1999.
SECTION SEVEN: SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS.
This Ordinance sets forth more stringent supplemental standards of conduct in addition to
the requirements of Chapter 112, Part III, Florida Statutes, entitled "Code of Ethics for
Public Officers and Employees." This Ordinance shall not be construed to authorize or
permit any conduct or activity that is in violation of Chapter 112, Part III, Florida
Statutes. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Ordinance and Chapter
112, Part III, Florida Statutes, the more restrictive/stringent provisions shall apply.
- 7-
It shall be the duty of each commissioner and of all County Managerial Employees and
reporting individuals to become familiar with the Collier County Ethics Ordinance. To
this end, the Human Resources Director shall annually distribute to each such person a
current copy of the "Florida Commission on Ethics Guide to the Sunshine Amendment
and Code of Ethics for Public Employees" (or similar Florida Commission on Ethics
---- publication) and a copy of this Ordinance. The specific duties set forth in this Section
Seven regarding familiarity with the ethics rules and distribution of informative materials
shall not be subject to the penalties set forth in Section Eight of this Ordinance.
SECTION EIGHT: PENALTIES.
Pursuant to Section 125.69, Florida Statutes, a person who violates any provision of this
Ordinance shall be subject to prosecution in the name of the State in the same manner as
misdemeanors are prosecuted; and, upon conviction, such person shall be punished by a
fine not to exceed $500.00 or by imprisonment in the Collier County Jail not to exceed
(60) days or by both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION NINE: INCLUSION IN THE CODE OF LAWS AND ORDINANCE.
The provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of Laws
and Ordinances of Collier County, Florida. The sections of the Ordinance may be
tenumbered or re-lettered to accomplish such, and the word "ordinance" may be changed
to "section," "article," or any other appropriate word.
SECTION TEN: CONFLICT AND SEVERABILITY.
In the event this Ordinance conflicts with any other Ordinance of Collier County or other
applicable law, the more restrictive shall apply. If any phrase or portion of the Ordinance
is held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion
shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not
affect the validity of the remaining portion.
SECTION ELEVEN: EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall become effective on April 12, 1999.
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Collier
County, Florida, thist~~1 day of ~ ,1999.
A:TTEST:, ,,: :. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
· E.'sP-0C , Cl.kCOt, UEP, COttonY, ORmA
2 "';,.'~ ."i ~:~' Q .....', ~'::':'
'~;- ~'.': .'5 .'~- :' ':,' '?'~"~ P~ELA S. MAC'~E, Chai~om~
:'; This ordinance fi~ed with the
.- ..., Secreta~ of Siote's Office the
Approved ~ to fo~ ~d /~dey of -~,
and ockr:ow~edaement of ~'hat
legal sufficiency:, filing received i~his
o{ ~~/~
Ch~~ Depu~/Clerk
Chief Assist~t County Attorney
H :public/dcbbic~ordin ancc~ 1 ~98/cthics ordinance
- 9-
STATE OF FLORIDA)
COUNTY OF COLLIER)
I, DWIGHT E. BROCK, Clerk of Courts in and for the Twentieth
Judicial Circuit, Collier County, Florida, do hereby certify that the
foregoing is a true copy of:
ORDINANCE NO. 99-22
Which was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners on the
9th day of March, 1999, during Regular Session.
WITNESS my hand and the official seal of the Board of County
Commissioners of Collier County, Florida, this llth day of March,
1999.
DWIGHT E. BROCK
Clerk of Courts and Clerk
Ex-officio to Board of
By: Lisa Steele,
Deputy Clerk ~