The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Appropriations
BILL: CS/SB 242
INTRODUCER: Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee and Senator Garcia
SUBJECT: Fiscal Accountability
DATE: March 15, 2023
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Limones-Borja McVaney GO Fav/CS
2. Sanders, Shettle Sadberry AP Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 242 requires any nonprofit organization that receives state funds through a contract with
the State of Florida (state), on or after July 1, 2023, to post documents that indicate the amount
of state funds it used for the remuneration of its board of directors or officers to the contract
tracking system.
The bill requires state entities that execute, amend, or extend a contract with a nonprofit
organization on or after July 1, 2023, to include in the contract a requirement that the contractor
nonprofit provide documentation indicating its use of state funds for remuneration on a
per-contract and per-allocation basis. The required documentation must specify the amounts and
recipients of the remuneration. The bill also requires a state entity to post this documentation to
the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System, and the nonprofit organizations to post this
documentation to its website, if it maintains one.
The impact on state government expenditures is indeterminate, but most likely insignificant. The
Department of Financial Services will likely incur costs modifying the contract management
system to include the information required by the bill.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
REVISED: BILL: CS/SB 242 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Transparency Florida Act
Section 215.985, F.S., is referred to as the Transparency Florida Act (the Act). The Act mandates
the Executive Office of the Governor, in consultation with the appropriations committees of the
Senate and the House of Representatives, to establish and maintain a single website that provides
access to all other websites required under s. 215.985, F.S. The single website, and other
websites must:
Be constructed for usability and provide an intuitive user experience;
Provide a consistent visual design, interaction or navigation design and information or data
presentation;
Be deployed in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and
Be compatible with all major web browsers.
The outcome of this requirement has been the single webpage known as “Transparency
Florida,”
1
an initiative to ensure accountability in how the state spends its money. The
Transparency Florida website allows Florida citizens to view state budgets, payments, and
contracts in order to hold state government accountable. The website provides links to:
Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System (FACTS);
Local Government Financial Reporting;
State Payments;
State Financial Reports;
State Employee Data;
State Contract Audits;
State Economic Incentives Program; and
State Financial Reports.
Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is required to establish and maintain a secure contract
tracking system available for viewing and downloading by the public through a secure website.
2
The Department of Financial Services (DFS) maintains and updates the contract tracking system.
The tracking system contains contracts, grant awards, and amendments to contracts.
Within 30 days after executing a contract, each state entity is required to post the following
information relating to the contract on the contract tracking system:
The names of the contracting entities;
The procurement method;
The contract beginning and ending dates;
The nature or type of commodities or services purchased;
Applicable contract unit prices and deliverables;
Total compensation to be paid or received under the contract;
1
Department of Financial Services, Transparency Florida, available at https://www.myfloridacfo.com/Transparency/ (last
visited Mar. 9, 2023).
2
Section 215.985(14), F.S. BILL: CS/SB 242 Page 3
All payments made to the contractor to date;
Applicable contract performance measures;
If a competitive solicitation was not used to procure the goods and services, the justification
of the action, including citation to a statutory exemption from competitive solicitation if any;
and
Electronic copies of the contract and procurement documents that have been redacted to
exclude confidential information or exempt information.
3
The state entity that is a party to the contract must update the information on the contract
tracking system within 30 calendar days after an amendment to an existing contract.
4
Records made available on the contract tracking system may not reveal information made
confidential or exempt by law. Each state entity that is a party to a contract must redact
confidential and exempt information from the contract and procurement documents before
posting an electronic copy on the contract tracking system.
5
A request to redact confidential and
exempt information must be made in writing and delivered by mail, facsimile, electronic
transmission, or in person to the state entity. The CFO and the DFS, or an employee thereof, is
not responsible for redacting confidential or exempt information contained on the system or the
failure of a state entity to redact the confidential or exempt information. The CFO may regulate
and prohibit the posting of records that could facilitate identity theft or fraud. Such action by the
CFO does not supersede the duty of a public entity to provide a copy of a public record upon
request.
6
Contract Terms
Each public agency contract for services entered into or amended on or after July 1, 2020, must
authorize the public agency to inspect the:
Financial records, papers, and documents of the contractor that are directly related to the
performance of the contract or the expenditure of state funds.
Programmatic records, papers, and documents of the contractor that the public agency
determines are necessary to monitor the performance of the contract or to ensure that the
terms of the contract are being met.
7
The contract shall require the contractor to provide the records, papers, and documents requested
by the public agency within 10 business days after the request is made.
8
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 amends s. 215.985, F.S., to require state entities to post to the Florida Accountability
Contract Tracking System (FACT system) any documentation it receives pursuant to
s. 216.1366, F.S., which evinces a contractor nonprofit organization’s use of state funds for
3
Section 215.985(14)(a), F.S.
4
Id.
5
Section 215.985(14)(d), F.S.
6
Section 215.985(14)(f), F.S.
7
Section 216.1366(1), F.S.
8
Section 216.1366(2), F.S. BILL: CS/SB 242 Page 4
remuneration of its board of directors or officers. This requirement applies only to contracts with
nonprofit organizations that are executed, amended, or extended on or after July 1, 2023, and
pursuant to which the state entity makes a payment of state funds.
Section 2 amends s. 216.1366, F.S., to require any contract for services executed, amended, or
extended on or after July 1, 2023, with a nonprofit organization as defined in
s. 215.97(2)(m), F.S., to include the amount of state funds:
Allocated to be used during the full term of the contract for remuneration to any member of
the board of directors or an officer of the contractor.
Allocated under each payment by the public agency to be used for remuneration of any
member of the board of directors or an officer of the contractor. The documentation must
indicate the amounts and recipients of the remuneration.
Section 2 further requires that such information be included in the FACT system maintained
pursuant to s. 215.985, F.S., and be posted on the nonprofit’s website, if it maintains one.
Section 2 defines the following terms:
“Officer” to mean a chief executive officer, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, or
any other position performing an equivalent function.
“Remuneration” to mean all compensation earned by or awarded to personnel, whether paid
or accrued, regardless of contingency, including bonuses, accrued paid time off, severance
payments, incentive payments, contributions to a retirement plan, or in-kind payments,
reimbursements, or allowances for moving expenses, vehicles and other transportation,
telephone services, medical services, housing, and meals.
“State funds” to mean funds paid from the General Revenue Fund or any state trust fund,
funds allocated by the Federal Government and distributed by the state, or funds appropriated
by the state for distribution through any grant program. The term does not include funds used
for the state Medicaid program.
Section 3 provides the bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
Not applicable. The bill does not require counties and municipalities to spend funds,
reduce counties’ or municipalities’ ability to raise revenue, or reduce the percentage of
state tax shared with counties and municipalities.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None. BILL: CS/SB 242 Page 5
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
To implement Section 2 of the bill, a nonprofit organization may incur costs associated
with making changes necessary to post the required information on its website.
C. Government Sector Impact:
To implement Section 2 of the bill, the Department of Financial Services may incur costs
in modifying its website to include the information required by the act.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends the following sections of the Florida Statutes: 215.985 and
216.1366.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS by Governmental Oversight and Accountability on March 7, 2023:
The committee substitute requires the state entity to post any documents submitted that
indicate the use of state funds as remuneration to the contract tracking system. The term
“state contracting system” in the original bill is corrected to read “state contract tracking
system.” The committee substitute also makes conforming changes in the title. BILL: CS/SB 242 Page 6
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.