FL
Florida House Bill H1445

Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1445 Compare Versions

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1010 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to public officers and employees; 2
1616 creating s. 20.70, F.S.; requiring certain public 3
1717 officers and employees to be United States citizens 4
1818 and residents of this state, and, for specified public 5
19-officers and employees, to reside in a certain co unty 6
20-or within a certain area by a specified date; 7
21-requiring members of a state university board of 8
22-trustees and members of the Board of Governors to be 9
23-United States citizens and either a resident of this 10
24-state or a graduate of a state university beginnin g on 11
25-a specified date; providing that specified offices are 12
26-deemed vacant under certain circumstances; amending s. 13
27-104.31, F.S.; narrowing applicability of certain 14
28-prohibitions regarding political activities; creating 15
29-s. 104.315, F.S.; providing definition s; prohibiting 16
30-certain state officers and employees from engaging in 17
31-certain political activities; prohibiting certain 18
32-state officers from using the authority or influence 19
33-of their positions for certain purposes; prohibiting 20
34-certain supervisors from engagi ng in certain conduct; 21
35-providing construction; providing a criminal penalty; 22
36-amending s. 110.233, F.S.; prohibiting Career Service 23
37-System employees from using the authority or influence 24
38-of their positions for certain purposes; creating s. 25
19+officers and employees, to reside in a certain county; 6
20+creating s. 112.31251, F.S.; defining the term 7
21+"office" for purposes of s. 5(a), Art. II of the State 8
22+Constitution; defining the term "employment"; 9
23+providing an effective date. 10
24+ 11
25+Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
26+ 13
27+ Section 1. Section 20.70, Florida Statutes, is created to 14
28+read: 15
29+ 20.70 Residency requirements. —Notwithstanding any other 16
30+law: 17
31+ (1) All of the following persons must be United States 18
32+citizens and residents of this state: 19
33+ (a) A member of a commission. 20
34+ (b) A member of a board of trustees. 21
35+ (c) A member of the Board of Governors. 22
36+ (d) A member of a licensing board. 23
37+ (e) A member of a governing board or the ch ief executive 24
38+of a statewide entity that is explicitly created or established 25
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4747 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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51-112.31251, F.S.; defining the term "office" for 26
52-purposes of s. 5(a), Art. II of the State 27
53-Constitution; defining the term "employment"; amending 28
54-s. 1001.71, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes 29
55-made by the act; providing an effective date. 30
56- 31
57-Be It Enacted by the Legi slature of the State of Florida: 32
58- 33
59- Section 1. Section 20.70, Florida Statutes, is created to 34
60-read: 35
61- 20.70 Residency requirements. —Notwithstanding any other 36
62-law: 37
63- (1)(a) Effective October 1, 2025, each of the following 38
64-persons must be a United States c itizen and a resident of this 39
65-state: 40
66- 1. A member of a commission. 41
67- 2. A member of a licensing board. 42
68- 3. The chairperson of the governing board of, or the chief 43
69-executive of, a statewide entity that is explicitly created or 44
70-established by statute, rega rdless of its legal form, for a 45
71-public purpose or to effectuate a government program and which 46
72-is not under the direct control of a governmental entity. 47
73- 4. Any other person appointed to hold state office. 48
74- (b) If a person listed in subparagraph (a)1., subparagraph 49
75-(a)2., or subparagraph (a)3. does not meet the requirements of 50
51+by statute, regardless of its legal form, for a public purpose 26
52+or to effectuate a government program and which is not under the 27
53+direct control of a governmental entity. 28
54+ (f) Any other person appointed to hold state office. 29
55+ (2) All of the following persons must be United States 30
56+citizens, be residents of this state, and reside in the same 31
57+county as their respective departments' headquarters: 32
58+ (a) The secretary of a department. 33
59+ (b) The executive director of a department of the 34
60+executive branch. 35
61+ (c) The chief administrative officer of any unit of state 36
62+government that is housed under a department for administrative 37
63+purposes but is not subject to the control, supervision, or 38
64+direction of such department. 39
65+ Section 2. Section 112.31251, Florida Statutes, is created 40
66+to read: 41
67+ 112.31251 Definition of the term "office." — 42
68+ (1)(a) For purposes of s. 5(a), Art. II of the State 43
69+Constitution, the term "office," when referring to an office in 44
70+this state, means any position in state, county, or municipal 45
71+government that: 46
72+ 1. Delegates to the individual holding such position a 47
73+portion of the sovereign power of the government. 48
74+ 2. Requires the exercise of independent governmental 49
75+authority, which is performed in an official capacity and is not 50
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8484 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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88-paragraph (a), such person's office is automatically deemed 51
89-vacant. 52
90- (2)(a) Effective October 1, 2025, each of the following 53
91-persons must be a United States citizen, must be a resi dent of 54
92-this state, and must reside in the same county as his or her 55
93-respective department headquarters or within 30 miles of the 56
94-department headquarters: 57
95- 1. The secretary of a department. 58
96- 2. The executive director of a department of the executive 59
97-branch. 60
98- 3. The chief administrative officer of any unit of state 61
99-government that is housed under a department for administrative 62
100-purposes but is not subject to the control, supervision, or 63
101-direction of such department. 64
102- (b) If a person listed in subparagraph (a)1., subparagraph 65
103-(a)2., or subparagraph (a)3. does not meet the requirements of 66
104-paragraph (a), such person's office is automatically deemed 67
105-vacant. 68
106- (3) Effective January 6, 2027, each member of a state 69
107-university board of trustees must be a United States citizen and 70
108-either a resident of this state or a graduate of the state 71
109-university, the administration of which is overseen by such 72
110-board of trustees. If any member of a board of trustees does not 73
111-meet the requirements of this subsection, such person's office 74
112-is automatically deemed vacant. 75
88+based solely on a contractual or employment relationship. 51
89+ 3. Has a prescribed tenure. 52
90+ 4. Exists independently of the individual holding such 53
91+position. 54
92+ (b) The term includes, but is not limi ted to, all of the 55
93+following positions: 56
94+ 1. The Governor. 57
95+ 2. The Lieutenant Governor. 58
96+ 3. A member of the Cabinet. 59
97+ 4. A state senator. 60
98+ 5. A state representative. 61
99+ 6. A county commissioner. 62
100+ 7. A sheriff. 63
101+ 8. A tax collector. 64
102+ 9. A property appraiser. 65
103+ 10. A supervisor of elections. 66
104+ 11. A clerk of the circuit court. 67
105+ 12. A member of the Board of Governors of the State 68
106+University System. 69
107+ 13. A member of a board of trustees for a state 70
108+university. 71
109+ 14. A member of a district school board. 72
110+ 15. A county or municipal administrator. 73
111+ 16. A county or municipal attorney. 74
112+ 17. The director of a county or municipal emergency 75
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121121 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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125- (4) Effective January 6, 2027, each member of the Board of 76
126-Governors must be a United States citizen and either a resident 77
127-of this state or a graduate of a state university, a s defined in 78
128-s. 1000.21. If any member of the Board of Governors does not 79
129-meet the requirements of this subsection, such person's office 80
130-is automatically deemed vacant. 81
131- Section 2. Section 104.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to 82
132-read: 83
133- 104.31 Political activities of state, county, and 84
134-municipal officers and employees. — 85
135- (1) No officer or employee of the state, or of any county 86
136-or municipality thereof, except as hereinafter exempted from 87
137-provisions hereof, shall: 88
138- (a) Use his or her official authority or influence for the 89
139-purpose of interfering with an election or a nomination of 90
140-office or coercing or influencing another person's vote or 91
141-affecting the result thereof. 92
142- (b) Directly or indirectly coerce or attempt to coerce, 93
143-command, or advise any other officer or employee to pay, lend, 94
144-or contribute any part of his or her salary, or any money, or 95
145-anything else of value to any party, committee, organization, 96
146-agency, or person for political purposes. Nothing in this 97
147-paragraph or in any county or municipal charter or ordinance 98
148-shall prohibit an employee from suggesting to another employee 99
149-in a noncoercive manner that he or she may voluntarily 100
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158-F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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162-contribute to a fund which is administered by a party, 101
163-committee, organization, agency, person, labor union or other 102
164-employee organization for political purposes. 103
165- (c) Directly or indirectly coerce or attempt to coerce, 104
166-command, and advise any such officer or employee as to where he 105
167-or she might purchase commodities or to interfere in any other 106
168-way with the personal rig ht of said officer or employee. 107
169- 108
170-The provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to 109
171-prevent any person from becoming a candidate for and actively 110
172-campaigning for any elective office in this state. All such 111
173-persons shall retain the right to vote as they may choose and to 112
174-express their opinions on all political subjects and candidates. 113
175-The provisions of paragraph (a) shall not be construed so as to 114
176-limit the political activity in a general, special, primary, 115
177-bond, referendum, or other election of any kind or nature, of 116
178-elected officials or candidates for public office in the state 117
179-or of any county or municipality thereof ; and the provisions of 118
180-paragraph (a) shall not be construed so as to limit the 119
181-political activity in general or special elections of the 120
182-officials appointed as the heads or directors of state 121
183-administrative agencies, boards, commissions, or committees or 122
184-of the members of state boards, commissions, or committees, 123
185-whether they be salaried, nonsalaried, or reimbursed for 124
186-expense. In the event of a dual capacity of any member of a 125
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195-F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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199-state board, commission, or committee, any restrictive 126
200-provisions applicable to either capacity shall apply. The 127
201-provisions of paragraph (a) shall not be construed so as to 128
202-limit the political activity in a ge neral, special, primary, 129
203-bond, referendum, or other election of any kind or nature of the 130
204-Governor, the elected members of the Governor's Cabinet, or the 131
205-members of the Legislature. The provisions of paragraphs (b) and 132
206-(c) shall apply to all officers and e mployees of the state or of 133
207-any county or municipality thereof, whether elected, appointed, 134
208-or otherwise employed, or whether the activity shall be in 135
209-connection with a primary, general, special, bond, referendum, 136
210-or other election of any kind or nature. 137
211- (2) An employee of the state or any political subdivision 138
212-may not participate in any political campaign for an elective 139
213-office while on duty. 140
214- (3) Any person violating the provisions of this section is 141
215-guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 142
216-provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 143
217- (4) Nothing contained in this section or in any county or 144
218-municipal charter shall be deemed to prohibit any public 145
219-employee from expressing his or her opinions on any candidate or 146
220-issue or from particip ating in any political campaign during the 147
221-employee's off-duty hours, so long as such activities are not in 148
222-conflict with the provisions of subsection (1) or s. 110.233. 149
223- Section 3. Section 104.315, Florida Statutes, is created 150
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232-F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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236-to read: 151
237- 104.315 Political activities of state officers and 152
238-employees.— 153
239- (1) As used in this section, the term: 154
240- (a) "Contribution" has the same meaning as in s. 106.011. 155
241- (b) "Electioneering communications organization" has the 156
242-same meaning as in s. 106.011. 157
243- (c) "Issue" has the same meaning as in s. 106.011. 158
244- (d) "Political committee" has the same meaning as in s. 159
245-106.011. 160
246- (2) Except for an elected official, an officer or employee 161
247-of this state may not: 162
248- (a) Solicit or receive a contribution for, or on behalf 163
249-of, any of the following: 164
250- 1. A political party. 165
251- 2. A political committee, an affiliated party committee, 166
252-or any other committee. 167
253- 3. An electioneering communications organization or any 168
254-other organization. 169
255- 4. An agency. 170
256- 5. A person. 171
257- (b) Participate in any political campaign, whether on 172
258-behalf of a candidate for public office, an elected public 173
259-official, an issue, a political party, a political committee, an 174
260-affiliated party committee, or an electioneering communications 175
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269-F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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273-organization: 176
274- 1. While on duty; or 177
275- 2. Within any period of time during which the officer or 178
276-employee is expected to perform services for which he or she 179
277-receives compensation from this state. 180
278- (c) Use his or her official authority or influence for the 181
279-purpose of: 182
280- 1. Interfering with a campaign for elective office or an 183
281-issue; 184
282- 2. Coercing or influencing another person's vote in a 185
283-general, special, primary, or referendum election; or 186
284- 3. Affecting, directly or indirectly, the results of a 187
285-campaign for elective office or an issue. 188
286- (3) A supervisor of an officer or employee of this state 189
287-may not require, request, or otherwise pressure such officer or 190
288-employee to engage in conduct prohibited by this section. 191
289- (4) This section may not be construed so as to limit a 192
290-person's right to vote as he or she may choose or to express his 193
291-or her opinions on all political subjects and candidates. 194
292- (5) Any person violating this section is guilty of a 195
293-misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 196
294-775.082 or s. 775.083. 197
295- Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 198
296-110.233, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 199
297- 110.233 Political activities and unlawful acts 200
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306-F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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311- (4) As an individual, each employee retains all rights and 202
312-obligations of citizenship provided in the Constitution and laws 203
313-of the state and the Constitution and laws of the United States. 204
314-However, no employee in the career service shall: 205
315- (b) Use the authority or influence of his or her position 206
316-for any of the purposes described in s. 104.315(2) to secure 207
317-support for, or oppose, any candidate, party, or issue in a 208
318-partisan election or affect the results thereof . 209
319- Section 5. Section 112.31251, Florida Statutes, is created 210
320-to read: 211
321- 112.31251 Definition of the term "office." — 212
322- (1)(a) For purposes of s. 5(a), Art. II of the State 213
323-Constitution, the term "office," when referring to an office in 214
324-this state, means any position in state, county, or municipal 215
325-government that: 216
326- 1. Delegates to the individual holding such position a 217
327-portion of the sovereign pow er of the government. 218
328- 2. Requires the exercise of independent governmental 219
329-authority, which is performed in an official capacity and is not 220
330-based solely on a contractual or employment relationship. 221
331- 3. Has a prescribed tenure. 222
332- 4. Exists independently of the individual holding such 223
333-position. 224
334- (b) The term "office" includes, but is not limited to, all 225
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343-F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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347-of the following positions: 226
348- 1. The Governor. 227
349- 2. The Lieutenant Governor. 228
350- 3. A member of the Cabinet. 229
351- 4. A state senator. 230
352- 5. A state representative. 231
353- 6. A county commissioner. 232
354- 7. A sheriff. 233
355- 8. A tax collector. 234
356- 9. A property appraiser. 235
357- 10. A supervisor of elections. 236
358- 11. A clerk of the circuit court. 237
359- 12. A member of the Board of Governors of the State 238
360-University System. 239
361- 13. A member of a board of trustees for a state 240
362-university. 241
363- 14. A member of a district school board. 242
364- 15. The county or municipal administrator. 243
365- 16. The director of a county or municipal emergency 244
366-management agency. 245
367- 17. A member of a state, county, or municipal board or 246
368-commission that exercises governmental authority and is not 247
369-purely advisory in nature. 248
370- 18. A member of the board of the Citizens Property 249
371-Insurance Corporation established under s. 627.351(6). 250
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380-F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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384- 19. A member of the board of the Florida Housing Finance 251
385-Corporation established under s. 420.504. 252
386- 20. A member of the board of the Florida Healthy Kids 253
387-Corporation established under s. 624.91. 254
388- (2) The term "office" does not include either of the 255
389-following: 256
390- (a) A legislative designation of an officer to perform ex 257
391-officio the functions of another office; or 258
392- (b) The position of an individual whose relationship with 259
393-a state, county, or municipal government is considered 260
394-employment. For purposes of this subsection, the term 261
395-"employment" means a relationship with a state, county, or 262
396-municipal government where an individual does not exercise in 263
397-his or her own right any sovereign power or any prescribed 264
398-independent authority of a governmental nature. 265
399- Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 1001 .71, Florida 266
400-Statutes, is amended to read: 267
401- 1001.71 University boards of trustees; membership. — 268
402- (1) Pursuant to s. 7(c), Art. IX of the State 269
403-Constitution, each local constituent university shall be 270
404-administered by a university board of trustees compris ed of 13 271
405-members as follows: 6 citizen members appointed by the Governor 272
406-subject to confirmation by the Senate; 5 citizen members 273
407-appointed by the Board of Governors subject to confirmation by 274
408-the Senate; the chair of the faculty senate or the equivalent; 275
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421-and the president of the student body of the university. The 276
422-appointed members shall serve staggered 5 -year terms. In order 277
423-to achieve staggered terms, beginning July 1, 2003, of the 278
424-initial appointments by the Governor, 2 members shall serve 2 -279
425-year terms, 3 members shall serve 3 -year terms, and 1 member 280
426-shall serve a 5-year term and of the initial appointments by the 281
427-Board of Governors, 2 members shall serve 2 -year terms, 2 282
428-members shall serve 3 -year terms, and 1 member shall serve a 5 -283
429-year term. There shall be no state residency requirement For 284
430-university board members, but the Governor and the Board of 285
431-Governors shall consider diversity and regional representation. 286
432-Beginning July 2, 2020, for purposes of this subsection, 287
433-regional representation shall incl ude the chair of a campus 288
434-board established pursuant to s. 1004.341. 289
435- Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 290
125+management agency. 76
126+ 18. A member of a state, county, or municipal board or 77
127+commission that exercises governmental authorit y and is not 78
128+purely advisory in nature. 79
129+ 19. A member of the board of the Citizens Property 80
130+Insurance Corporation established under s. 627.351(6). 81
131+ 20. A member of the board of the Florida Housing Finance 82
132+Corporation established under s. 420.504. 83
133+ 21. A member of the board of the Florida Healthy Kids 84
134+Corporation established under s. 624.91. 85
135+ (2) The term "office" does not include either of the 86
136+following: 87
137+ (a) A legislative designation of an officer to perform ex 88
138+officio the functions of another office; or 89
139+ (b) The position of an individual whose relationship with 90
140+a state, county, or municipal government is considered 91
141+employment. For purposes of this subsection, the term 92
142+"employment" means a relationship with a state, county, or 93
143+municipal government whe re an individual does not exercise in 94
144+his or her own right any sovereign power or any prescribed 95
145+independent authority of a governmental nature. 96
146+ Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 97