(1) In this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) “Agency” means:
1. A state agency, except an institution under the jurisdiction of the Board of Governors of the State University System;
2. An office, agency, or other establishment in the legislative branch;
3. An office, agency, or other establishment in the judicial branch;
4. A county;
5. A city; and
6. Any other political subdivision of the state, except a district school board or community college district.
(b) “Collegial body” means a governmental entity marked by power or authority vested equally in each of a number of colleagues.
(c) “Public official” means an officer, including a member of the Legislature, the Governor, and a member of the Cabinet, or an employee of an agency in whom is vested the authority by law, rule, or regulation, or to whom the authority has been delegated, to appoint, employ, promote, or advance individuals or to recommend individuals for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement in connection with employment in an agency, including the authority as a member of a collegial body to vote on the appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement of individuals.
(d) “Relative,” for purposes of this section only, with respect to a public official, means an individual who is related to the public official as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.
(2)(a) A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, or advance, or advocate for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement, in or to a position in the agency in which the official is serving or over which the official exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a relative of the public official. An individual may not be appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced in or to a position in an agency if such appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement has been advocated by a public official, serving in or exercising jurisdiction or control over the agency, who is a relative of the individual or if such appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement is made by a collegial body of which a relative of the individual is a member. However, this subsection shall not apply to appointments to boards other than those with land-planning or zoning responsibilities in those municipalities with less than 35,000 population. This subsection does not apply to persons serving in a volunteer capacity who provide emergency medical, firefighting, or police services. Such persons may receive, without losing their volunteer status, reimbursements for the costs of any training they get relating to the provision of volunteer emergency medical, firefighting, or police services and payment for any incidental expenses relating to those services that they provide.
(b) Mere approval of budgets shall not be sufficient to constitute “jurisdiction or control” for the purposes of this section.
(3) An agency may prescribe regulations authorizing the temporary employment, in the event of an emergency as defined in s. 252.34, of individuals whose employment would be otherwise prohibited by this section.
(4) Legislators’ relatives may be employed as pages or messengers during legislative sessions.
...of the City Commission for a one-year term. In 1991, Galbut's father-in-law, Seymour Eisenberg, was elected to the City Commission. After the election, Galbut's term on the Board expired and he sought reappointment. The City Attorney determined that section 112.3135(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1991), prohibited Galbut's reappointment. Section 112.3135(2)(a) provides: A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, or advance, or advocate for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement, in or to a position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a relative of the public official....
...within the plain language of the statute. The court also noted that due to the statute's penal nature, any doubts as to its meaning must be resolved in favor of a narrow construction. 605 So.2d at 467. For the reasons set forth below, we agree that section 112.3135(2) does not prohibit Galbut's reappointment to the Board of Adjustment....
...an unreasonable or ridiculous result. 612 So.2d at 573; 450 So.2d at 219. The plain language of the statute at issue indicates that only overt actions by a public official resulting in the appointment of *194 that official's relative are prohibited. Section 112.3135(2)(a) provides in pertinent part: A public official may not appoint ......
...In this case, only five of the seven City Commissioners must vote in favor of Galbut to affirm his reappointment; no affirmative action by Commissioner Eisenberg is required to effectuate the reappointment. In conclusion, consistent with the plain language of section 112.3135(2)(a), we construe Florida's anti-nepotism law so as *195 not to create an unnecessary barrier to public service by otherwise qualified individuals, such as Galbut....
...s, arbitrators, and guardians and personnel such as clerks, secretaries, and bailiffs. Consent by the parties to an appointment or an award of compensation does not relieve the judge of the obligation prescribed by Section 3C(4). See also Fla. Stat. § 112.3135 (1991)....
...Nevel, Miami Beach, for appellant. Laurence Feingold, City Atty., and Jean K. Olin, First Asst. City Atty., Miami Beach, for appellee. Before FERGUSON, COPE and LEVY, JJ. COPE, Judge. Russell Galbut appeals a declaratory judgment which construed Florida's anti-nepotism law, section 112.3135, Florida Statutes (1991)....
...Galbut first contends that the anti-nepotism law applies only to paid positions of employment, and does not apply to service on unpaid boards. We disagree. The statute provides, in part, "A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, or advance ... any individual who is a relative of the public official." Section 112.3135(2)(a), Fla....
...the public official. An individual may not be appointed ... to a position in an agency if such appointment ... has been advocated by a public official ... exercising jurisdiction or control over the agency, who is a relative of the individual." Id. § 112.3135(2)(a) (emphasis added)....
...Kinzer has served for many years as a member of the Surfside Town Commission. Surfside is an incorporated municipality in Dade County, Florida, having a population of approximately 4,000 people. The Ethics Commission made a finding that Kinzer had violated the anti-nepotism law, § 112.3135, Fla....
...During the pendency of this appeal, the Legislature amended the anti-nepotism law. Insofar as pertinent here, the amended anti-nepotism law does "not apply to appointments to boards other than those with land-planning or zoning responsibilities in those municipalities with less than 35,000 population." § 112.3135(2)(a), Fla....
...NOTES [1] The Town Attorney advised Kinzer that he had a legal duty to vote under section 286.012, Florida Statutes (1989), and that there was no exception for the anti-nepotism law. The Legislature has since clarified the anti-nepotism law where the appointing authority is a collegial body. See § 112.3135, Fla....
Cited 1 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 2006 WL 20522
...rs, arbitrators, and guardians and personnel such as clerks, secretaries, and bailiffs. Consent by the parties to an appointment or an award of compensation does not relieve the judge of the obligation prescribed by Section 3C(4). See also Fla.Stat. § 112.3135 (1991)....
...e); § 110.107(5) (defining
“position” as used in chapter on public officers and employees); § 111.012(1)(b)
(defining “elected public officer” for purposes of section); § 112.313(1) (defining
“public officer” for purposes of section); § 112.3135(1)(c) (defining “public
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As was mentioned above, Petitioner finds support for his ambiguity
argument in the dissenting views of Judge Altenbernd in LaMorte, who found the
phrase ...
..., CEO's 92-19 (1992), 91-06 (1991), 89-28 (1989), 88-43 (1988), and 85-52 (1985) (no prohibited conflict of interest exists where the spouse of a county commissioner is a member of a law firm which represents clients before the board of county commissioners). 3 Section 112.3135 (2)(a), Fla....
...lorida Statutes? 2. If the three-member team described in Question One was created, would that team be subject to the Government in the Sunshine Law and the Public Records Law? In sum: 1. In light of the absence of language such as that contained in section 112.3135 (2)(a), Florida Statutes, prohibiting action by a collegial body in the appointment or employment of relatives, it does not appear that the creation of such a team to make employment decisions for the Bay Haven Charter Academy would violate section 1002.33 (24), Florida Statutes....
...lative of the individual is a member. (c) The approval of budgets does not constitute `jurisdiction or control' for the purposes of this subsection. Charter school personnel in schools operated by a municipality or other public entity are subject to s. 112.3135 ." According to your letter, "the Principal of Bay Haven is tasked with the direct oversight of all of the school's employees, including but not limited to teachers, administration and maintenance personnel, and makes virtually all employ...
...Florida's Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees, Part III, Chapter 112 , Florida Statutes, includes antinepotism provisions and is applicable to personnel in public entity charter schools. Under the provisions of earlier codifications of section 112.3135 (2), Florida Statutes, this office and the Florida Commission on Ethics advised that a violation of the antinepotism law could not be avoided under these circumstances by the abstention of the related board member from voting on the...
...hat member's relative or advocating for the appointment or employment. 3 However, this interpretation was rejected in 1993 by the Florida Supreme Court in City of Miami Beach v. Galbut . 4 The Court in the Galbut case determined that the language of section 112.3135 (2)(a), Florida Statutes (1991), prohibited only affirmative acts on the part of the related public official....
...his father-in-law, who sat on the city commission which was responsible for appointing members of the zoning board, abstained from voting and in no way advocated his reappointment. Following the Court's decision in Galbut , 5 the Legislature amended section 112.3135 (2)(a), Florida Statutes, during the 1994 legislative session to include a prohibition against collegial action in nepotism cases: "A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, or advance, or advocate for appointment, employme...
...ich a relative of the individual is a member. However, this subsection shall not apply to appointments to boards other than those with land-planning or zoning responsibilities in those municipalities with less than 35,000 population." 6 (e.s.) Thus, section 112.3135 (2)(a), Florida Statutes, which now contains the language emphasized above, provides an antinepotism prohibition that applies even if the related official abstains from voting, as the statute prohibits a collegial body from appointin...
...nsisting of the principal, the chief financial officer, and a third party from Bay Haven Charter Academy to review all employment, promotion, and disciplinary decisions within the school. In light of the absence of language such as that contained in section 112.3135 (2)(a), Florida Statutes, prohibiting action by a collegial body in the appointment or employment of relatives, it would appear that the creation of such a team to make employment decisions would not violate section 1002.33 (24), Florida Statutes....
...to whether public and private charter school personnel decisions are both subject to the prohibitions against collegial body action in the appointment or employment of relatives over whom they exercise jurisdiction or control as clearly expressed in section 112.3135 (2)(a), Florida Statutes. In sum, in light of the absence of language such as that contained in section 112.3135 (2)(a), Florida Statutes, prohibiting action by a collegial body in the appointment or employment of relatives, I cannot advise you that the creation of such a team to make employment decisions for the Bay Haven Charter Academy would violate section 1002.33 , Florida Statutes....
...es on behalf of the Principal of the Bay Haven Academy, those records and meetings of that team would be subject to the Public Records Law and the Government in the Sunshine Law. Sincerely, Bill McCollum Attorney General BM/tgh 1 See , for example, ss. 112.3135 , and 1002.33 (24)(b), Fla....
...77-130 (1977) and 73-335 (1973). 4 626 So. 2d 192 (Fla. 1993). 5 See Kinzer v. State Ethics Commission , 654 So. 2d 1007 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) in which the court recognized that the statute was changed in response to the Galbut decision in situations involving collegial bodies. 6 Section 112.3135 (2)(a), Fla....
