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Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1760 By the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; and Senator Grall 601-03619-25 20251760c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to public officers and employees; 3 creating s. 20.71, F.S.; requiring that, beginning on 4 a specified date, members of commissions and licensing 5 boards, chairs of governing boards or certain chief 6 executives, or any persons appointed to hold state 7 office be United States citizens and residents of this 8 state; requiring that, beginning on a specified date, 9 secretaries and executive directors of departments and 10 certain chief administrative officers be United States 11 citizens and be residents of, and reside in, specified 12 areas; requiring that, beginning on a specified date, 13 members of the board of trustees for state 14 universities be United States citizens and residents 15 of this state or graduates of the state university 16 that the board oversees; requiring that, beginning on 17 a specified date, members of the Board of Governors of 18 the State University System be United States citizens 19 and residents of this state or have graduated from a 20 state university; providing that if any such 21 requirements are not met, the office is deemed vacant; 22 creating s. 112.31251, F.S.; defining the term 23 office for purposes of s. 5(a), Art. II of the State 24 Constitution; defining the term employment; amending 25 s. 1001.71, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes 26 made by the act; providing an effective date. 27 28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 29 30 Section 1.Section 20.71, Florida Statutes, is created to 31 read: 32 20.71Residency requirements.Notwithstanding any other 33 law: 34 (1)(a)Effective October 1, 2025, each of the following 35 persons must be a United States citizen and a resident of this 36 state: 37 1.A member of a commission. 38 2.A member of a licensing board. 39 3.The chair of the governing board, or the chief 40 executive, of a statewide entity that is explicitly created or 41 established by statute, regardless of its legal form, for a 42 public purpose or to carry out a government program and that is 43 not under the direct control of a governmental entity. 44 4.Any other person appointed to hold state office. 45 (b)If a person listed in subparagraph (a)1., subparagraph 46 (a)2., or subparagraph (a)3. does not meet the requirements of 47 paragraph (a), the office of such person is automatically deemed 48 vacant. 49 (2)(a)Effective October 1, 2025, each of the following 50 persons must be a United States citizen, must be a resident of 51 this state, and must reside in the same county as his or her 52 respective department headquarters or within 75 miles of the 53 department headquarters: 54 1.The secretary of a department. 55 2.The executive director of a department. 56 3.The chief administrative officer of any unit of state 57 government which is housed under a department for administrative 58 purposes, but is not subject to the control, supervision, or 59 direction of such department. 60 (b)If a person listed in subparagraph (a)1., subparagraph 61 (a)2., or subparagraph (a)3. does not meet the requirements of 62 paragraph (a), the office of such person is automatically deemed 63 vacant. 64 (3)Effective January 6, 2027, each member of a state 65 university board of trustees must be a United States citizen and 66 either a resident of this state or a graduate of the state 67 university, the administration of which is overseen by such 68 board of trustees. 69 (4)Effective January 6, 2027, each member of the Board of 70 Governors must be a United States citizen and either a resident 71 of this state or a graduate of a state university as defined in 72 s. 1000.21. If any member of the Board of Governors does not 73 meet the requirements of this subsection, such members office 74 is automatically deemed vacant. 75 Section 2.Section 112.31251, Florida Statutes, is created 76 to read: 77 112.31251Definition of the term office. 78 (1)(a)For purposes of s. 5(a), Art. II of the State 79 Constitution, the term office, when referring to an office in 80 this state, means any position in state, county, or municipal 81 government which all of the following apply: 82 1.Delegates to the individual holding such position a 83 portion of the sovereign power of the government. 84 2.Requires the exercise of independent governmental 85 authority, which is performed in an official capacity and is not 86 based solely on a contractual or employment relationship. 87 3.Has a prescribed tenure. 88 4.Exists independently of the individual holding such 89 position. 90 (b)The term office includes, but is not limited to, each 91 of the following positions: 92 1.The Governor. 93 2.The Lieutenant Governor. 94 3.A member of the Cabinet. 95 4.A state senator. 96 5.A state representative. 97 6.A county commissioner. 98 7.A sheriff. 99 8.A tax collector. 100 9.A property appraiser. 101 10.A supervisor of elections. 102 11.A clerk of the circuit court. 103 12.A member of the Board of Governors of the State 104 University System. 105 13.A member of a board of trustees for a state university. 106 14.A member of a district school board. 107 15.A member of a state, county, or municipal board or 108 commission that exercises governmental authority and is not 109 purely advisory in nature. 110 16.A member of the Board of Governors for the Citizens 111 Property Insurance Corporation established under s. 627.351(6). 112 17.A member of the board of directors for the Florida 113 Housing Finance Corporation established under s. 420.504. 114 18.A member of the board of directors for the Florida 115 Healthy Kids Corporation established under s. 624.91, other than 116 the member appointed pursuant to s. 624.91(6)(a)9. 117 19.An administrator or a manager of a county, a 118 municipality, or a corporation established under s. 420.504, s. 119 s. 624.91, or s. 627.351(6) who exercises in his or her own 120 right any sovereign power or any prescribed independent 121 authority of a governmental nature. 122 20.The director of a county or municipal emergency 123 management agency who exercises in his or her own right any 124 sovereign power or any prescribed independent authority of a 125 governmental nature. 126 21.A state, county, or municipal law enforcement officer 127 with the authority to arrest without a warrant. 128 22.Any position that meets all the criteria enumerated in 129 paragraph (a). 130 (2)The term office does not include either of the 131 following: 132 (a)A legislative designation of an officer to perform ex 133 officio the functions of another office; or 134 (b)The position of an individual whose relationship with a 135 state, county, or municipal government is considered employment. 136 For purposes of this paragraph, the term employment means a 137 relationship with a state, county, or municipal government where 138 an individual does not exercise in his or her own right any 139 sovereign power or any prescribed independent authority of a 140 governmental nature. 141 Section 3.Subsection (1) of section 1001.71, Florida 142 Statutes, is amended to read: 143 1001.71University boards of trustees; membership. 144 (1)Pursuant to s. 7(c), Art. IX of the State Constitution, 145 each local constituent university shall be administered by a 146 university board of trustees comprised of 13 members as follows: 147 6 citizen members appointed by the Governor subject to 148 confirmation by the Senate; 5 citizen members appointed by the 149 Board of Governors subject to confirmation by the Senate; the 150 chair of the faculty senate or the equivalent; and the president 151 of the student body of the university. The appointed members 152 shall serve staggered 5-year terms. In order to achieve 153 staggered terms, beginning July 1, 2003, of the initial 154 appointments by the Governor, 2 members shall serve 2-year 155 terms, 3 members shall serve 3-year terms, and 1 member shall 156 serve a 5-year term and of the initial appointments by the Board 157 of Governors, 2 members shall serve 2-year terms, 2 members 158 shall serve 3-year terms, and 1 member shall serve a 5-year 159 term. There shall be no state residency requirement For 160 university board members, but the Governor and the Board of 161 Governors shall consider diversity and regional representation. 162 Beginning July 2, 2020, for purposes of this subsection, 163 regional representation shall include the chair of a campus 164 board established pursuant to s. 1004.341. 165 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
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