MIAMI – If Florida senators’ recent vote counts, local ethics commissions’ ability to investigate tips from whistleblowers in need of anonymity will no longer be a way to stand against public officials’ unethical behavior.
Florida Sen. Danny Burgess, of Zephyrhills, filed late-hour amendments to State Bill 7014: Ethics on Wednesday.
Burgess, the state commission’s chair, said he wants the limits already in place for the state commission to be statewide.
“We want to be consistent,” Burgess said during the state senators’ debate on Thursday.
Florida senators passed the bill 39-0 on Thursday requiring local investigators to have a signed and sworn complaint from someone with “personal knowledge” of the wrongdoing to start an investigation.
“It completely eviscerates any local investigative authority,” Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust Executive Director Jose Arrojo said on Sunday during This Week In South Florida.
Inspector General for Broward County Carol “Jodie” Breece said her office received 450 tips and complaints last year, and about 17 were ethics-related, and only one would qualify.
“If a law enforcement officer were to come into our office and present the case — if they didn’t have personal knowledge, we couldn’t investigate the case,” Breece said on Sunday during TWISF. “If we saw a local media report, and we thought it would potentially be a violation, we could not follow up.”
Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones, of Miami Gardens, said the amendment process happened “extremely fast” and he added that it was still early in the legislative process.
“A lot of senators, I do believe, voted against the amendment itself, but then ended up voting for the whole bill because they liked the overall package,” Breec said during TWISF.
As of Sunday afternoon, House Bill 1597: Ethics didn’t include Burgess’ changes to restrict which complaints prompt an investigation, but it is under committee review, so amendments are still possible.
“Towards the last weeks of the session, either (A) that language will come out and the Senate will accept the House version or the House will accept the Senate version,” Jones said during TWISF.
Attorney Nelson Bellido, a Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics board member, told TWISF Anchor Glenna Milberg that if the bill passes into law it will “clip the wings” of investigators.
“Perhaps the state should come more in line with what the local commissions are doing now,” Bellido said.
Breece asked the public to contact their local state representative and state senator and let them know on Monday whether or not they should vote in favor of the bill.
If Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the state lawmakers’ ethics bill into law, it goes into effect on Oct. 1.
This is a developing story. Local 10 News This Week In South Florida Anchor Glenna Milberg contributed to this report.
WATCH TWISF
Jones on the legislative session
Part 1: Local watchdogs react to Senate vote
Part 2: Local watchdogs react to Senate vote