CopyCited 48 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 1987 U.S. App. LEXIS 11208
...O’Keefe, a member of the Planning and Zoning Board, voted in favor of the special exemption use ordinance. That measure failed before the Planning and Zoning Board. However, that vote was only a recommendation to the city council, the final authority on such matters. Under the Florida law then in effect, FSA § 112.3143, a public official may vote on any matter in which he has a private interest, provided he discloses the “nature of his interest” in a public memorandum within 15 days of the vote....
CopyCited 22 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 1988 U.S. App. LEXIS 2083, 1988 WL 6559
...d or compensated. 139 (4) Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in Sec.
775.082, Sec.
775.083, or Sec.
775.084. 140 [4.] At times material herein, Florida Statute Sec.
112.3143 required disclosure of the nature of any personal, private or professional interest a public officer had which inured to his special private gain within 15 days after the vote occurred....
CopyCited 11 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1990 WL 27939
...uncil for further action. [2] On December 3, 1985, a political consultant for one of the candidates running for election as mayor of the city of Tampa filed a complaint with the commission alleging that the appellant's tie-breaking vote had violated section 112.3143(3), Florida Statutes (1985)....
...break the impasse at the November 21 hearing was merely preliminary and procedural and not a vote on the substance of the ordinance itself. Based on that legal conclusion, the hearing officer recommended a finding that the appellant did not violate section 112.3143(3)....
...Final action on her petition resulted in passage of an ordinance for a 4 COP-R zoning classification allowing sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises only. [3] This section, part of the Code of Ethics, proscribes voting for private gain in the following language: 112.3143(3) Voting conflicts....
...163.356 or s.
163.357 or an officer of an independent special tax district elected on a oneacre, one-vote basis is not prohibited from voting. [4] The hearing officer concluded that only a vote on the ordinance itself would constitute violation of section
112.3143(3)....
...The appellant was faced with an ethical dilemma in deciding whether to break the tie vote. We feel sure it is this very type of dilemma that the legislature addressed when it established the unequivocal standard of behavior expected of public officials when faced with voting in these circumstances. In the words of section 112.3143(3), "no ......
CopyCited 7 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...egard to the public generally. Petitioner, by its petition for writ of certiorari, has raised as a second point whether THE BOARD MEMBERS OF FGHS ARE "PUBLIC OFFICERS" FOR PURPOSES OF THE VOTING CONFLICT OF INTEREST PROVISIONS OF THE CODE OF ETHICS (SECTION
112.3143, FLORIDA STATUTES) AND THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT PROVISIONS (SECTION
112.313, FLORIDA STATUTES)....
CopyCited 7 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 1984 Fla. App. LEXIS 12751
...ision, ruling, or act, and a vote shall be recorded or counted for each such member present, except when, with respect to any such member, there is, or appears to be, a possible conflict of interest under the provisions of s.
112.311, s.
112.313, or s.
112.3143. In such cases said member shall comply with the disclosure requirements of s.
112.3143....
...He also may abstain as provided by §
286.012, which has been interpreted by the attorney general to require that a voting officer have a personal financial interest in a matter in order to abstain. Therefore, in the absence of any applicable provision of law which would override policy established by §
112.3143, a public officer may abstain from voting only if there is or appears to be a conflict or interest under §§
112.311,
112.313, or
112.3143......
CopyCited 4 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 4569, 1996 WL 96859
...decree.
to vote on all matters before them; abstaining from a vote is
prohibited unless "there is, or appears to be, a possible conflict
of interest under §
112.311, §
112.313, or §
112.3143."
Fla.Stat.Ann....
...it does not
describe the circumstances under which a public official must
abstain from voting. The statutory provision dealing with
mandatory abstention from city council voting is Fla.Stat.Ann. §
112.3143(3)(a) (West 1995); it provides that "[n]o county,
municipal, or other local public officer shall vote in his official
capacity upon any measure which would inure to his special private
gain or loss...." Under § 112.3143(3)(a), the identification of a
"special private gain or loss" to the city council member as a
result of his or her vote is a necessary condition for
disqualification.
A "special...
...interest of the public official that is directly enhanced by the
vote in question. See Izaak Walton League of America v. Monroe
County,
448 So.2d 1170, 1173 n. 8 (Fla.App. 3 Dist.1984)
(explaining that §
112.3143 does not apply "to bias or prejudice on
the part of a public officer based on other than private economic
interests or relationships" (quoting Op.Fla.Comm....
...on the performance of his
public duties, rather than the effect of his personal preferences
or animosities.").
Stone's vote on the redistricting plan did not result in any
direct financial benefit to him. If a "special private gain" under
§ 112.3143(3)(a) is limited to a financial gain, then Stone's vote
should not have been disqualified. The district court, however,
stated that it would be "inappropriate" to limit the application of
§ 112.3143 to conflicts surrounding finances,3 and held that
Stone's status as a potential African-American candidate in a
district in which the majority of voters were also African-American
was a "special case" that presented a "heightened potential for
conflict." R2-40-8.
Assuming arguendo that § 112.3143(3)(a) is not limited to
financial matters, we address potential non-economic "interests" of
3
The only authority cited by the district court for this
proposition is Garner v....
...istinguish
Stone and disqualify his vote,7 that reliance was inappropriate.
Any benefit enjoyed by hundreds of African-American residents of
Cocoa is not a "special private gain" within the meaning of
Florida's voting conflicts statute, § 112.3143(3)(a)....
...n measures
concerning the lawsuit, because the number of persons who stand to
benefit from such measures (297) is sufficiently large that any
gain to the trustee would not be "special"). Moreover, any
interpretation of § 112.3143(3)(a) that disqualifies an elected
official's vote on a matter of public concern because of race
obviously could not withstand scrutiny....
...ing on a school
desegregation consent decree on the basis that the plaintiff class
is composed of members of his race). We therefore hold that race
could not be a valid basis for disqualifying an elected official's
vote under § 112.3143(3)(a).
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court
is REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings not inconsistent
with this opinion.
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2013 WL 949878, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 5151
...32
Case: 12-11066 Date Filed: 03/13/2013 Page: 33 of 39
Nelson’s only remaining justification is that he recused himself from voting
on matters involving SSI. This presumably stems from section 112.3143(3)(a) of
the Florida Statutes, which provides that no “public officer shall vote in an official
capacity upon any measure ....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1990).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...mplaint for damages, or injury suffered as a result of act or omission of officers acting within scope of employment and mandating reimbursement of fees paid by defendant who prevails against such complaint for damages or injury). 3 Supra at n. 1. 4 Section 112.3143 (3), F.S....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1996).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...be made on a case-by-case basis and should initially be governed by the conscience of the commissioner. 1 While the rule does not define "a substantial conflict of interest," the standard to be used would appear to be analogous to that prescribed in section 112.3143 (4), Florida Statutes....
...Section VII of the Uniform Rules of Procedure for Circuit Judicial Nominating Commissions provides that, upon a motion by any Commissioner, a majority of all of the commissioners may declare that a commissioner has a conflict of interest. 2 See also, s. 112.3143 (2), Fla....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...application, (ii) committed a malicious and bad faith violation of his fiduciary
and contractual duties, and (iii) sought a political benefit to himself by
1
The appellees’ complaint also sought to enjoin Carollo from what it alleged
were Carollo’s violations of section 112.3143(4) of the Florida Statutes....
CopyPublished | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
...32
Case: 12-11066 Date Filed: 03/13/2013 Page: 33 of 39
Nelson’s only remaining justification is that he recused himself from voting
on matters involving SSI. This presumably stems from section 112.3143(3)(a) of
the Florida Statutes, which provides that no “public officer shall vote in an official
capacity upon any measure ....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2008).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...that the adoption of a resolution requires that affirmative vote of a majority of the members present." The conclusion in Attorney General Opinion 74-160, however, was based on the provisions of section
286.012 , Florida Statutes, read together with section
112.3143 , Florida Statutes, which, prior to the 1984 amendments to these statutes did not mandate a voting abstention in the case of a conflict, but afforded the officer a choice as to whether to abstain from voting or to vote and file a memorandum within 15 days disclosing the nature of his interest....
...m voting on those measures which inure to his special gain or which, to his knowledge inure to the special gain of any principal by whom he is retained. 12 In Attorney General Opinion 85-40, this office considered the effect of the 1984 amendment to section 112.3143 (3), Florida Statutes....
...d by statute from voting on the matter under consideration. Thus, only three members of the town council are present who are legally entitled to act. Relying on the definitions of "quorum," the opinion concludes that the effect of the prohibition in section 112.3143 , Florida Statutes, is to preclude those members who are prohibited from voting from being considered to be part of the quorum for that matter....
...of the existence of a conflict. In situations where there is a possible conflict of interest, the member is required to vote and comply with disclosure requirements. See s. 3, Ch. 94-277 , Laws of Florida. 13 Cf. , Op. Att'y Gen. Fla. 86-61 (1986) (s. 112.3143 (3), F.S., does not provide an exception or exemption from its mandatory abstention requirements in situations where abstention has the effect of preventing the local legislative body from taking any action on a measure).
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2011).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...authority requesting the authority to issue bonds on their behalf. You have further informed us that the new authority member has acknowledged that her spouse's position as a partner in this law firm will present a voting conflict of interest under section 112.3143 , Florida Statutes, if the law firm's clients are seeking action from the authority and she has indicated that she intends to declare a voting conflict when those situations arise....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1986).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
BODY FROM TAKING ANY ACTION ON THAT MEASURE? Section
112.3143(3), F.S., provides: No county, municipal
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...requires that affirmative vote of a majority of the members
present."
The conclusion in Attorney General Opinion 74-160, however,
was based on the provisions of section
286.012, Florida
Statutes, read together with section
112.3143, Florida Statutes,
which, prior to the 1984 amendments to these statutes did not
mandate a voting abstention in the case of a conflict, but
afforded the officer a choice as to whether to abstain from
v...
...This distinction, in combination with the Charter’s specific
mandatory provision for a five-member quorum, makes a difference in the
legal determination of the validity of the commission’s four-member vote.
In Attorney General Opinion 85-40, this office considered the
effect of the 1984 amendment to section 112.3143(3), Florida
Statutes....
...on the matter under
consideration. Thus, only three members of the town council
are present who are legally entitled to act. Relying on the
definitions of "quorum," the opinion concludes that the effect of
the prohibition in section 112.3143, Florida Statutes, is to
preclude those members who are prohibited from voting from
being considered to be part of the quorum for that matter.
https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/council-of-childrens-services-
tax...
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2017 WL 192013, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 452
...vested interest in
voting for the Agreement. The trial court agreed that this dual status created a
conflict of interest, and those Council Members should have abstained from voting
on the Agreement. The trial court based its conclusion following section 112.3143
(3), Florida Statutes (2013) which provides,
(3)(a) No county, municipal, or other local public officer shall vote in
an official capacity upon any measure which would inure to his or her
special private gain or l...
...ons of the Mayor and
three Village Council Members who were also Club Members, and that the
contract was voidable.3
14
What is considered a threshold “private gain or loss” is also set forth in
section 112.3143(d)(1), (2), and (3), which provide:
(d) “Special private gain or loss” means an economic benefit or harm
that would inure to the officer, his or her relative, business associate,
or principal, unless the measur...
...s to
whether there would be any economic benefit or harm to the public
officer, his or her relative, business associate, or principal and, if so,
the nature or degree of the economic benefit or harm must also be
considered.
§ 112.3143, Fla....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...application, (ii) committed a malicious and bad faith violation of his fiduciary
and contractual duties, and (iii) sought a political benefit to himself by
1
The appellees’ complaint also sought to enjoin Carollo from what it alleged
were Carollo’s violations of section 112.3143(4) of the Florida Statutes....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1994).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...ions? 5. Are conferences with staff of the city department initiating the rezoning request considered ex parte communications? 6. Does consideration of a county-initiated rezoning request for county-owned property create a conflict of interest under section 112.3143 , Florida Statutes? In sum: 1....
...Such communication, therefore, should be disclosed to all interested parties and placed on the record during the proceeding to allow such parties to respond. 6. The determination of whether consideration of a county-initiated rezoning request for county-owned property would constitute a conflict of interest in violation of section 112.3143 , Florida Statutes, is within the jurisdiction of the Florida Commission on Ethics. It would appear, however, that the prohibition in section 112.3143 , Florida Statutes, relates to those instances where the vote of a public officer would result in a "special private gain" to such officer and would not prohibit the consideration of rezoning county-owned property....
...d parties and placed on the record during the proceeding to allow the parties to respond. Question Six The determination of whether consideration of a rezoning request for county-owned property would constitute a conflict of interest in violation of section 112.3143 , Florida Statutes, is within the jurisdiction of the Florida Commission on Ethics. 15 It would appear, however, that the prohibition in section 112.3143 , Florida Statutes, relates to those instances where the vote of a public officer would result in a "special private gain" to such officer....
...It would appear, therefore, that absent an allegation or showing of private gain to a county commissioner as a result of voting for the rezoning of county-owned property for the purpose of bringing it into compliance with the county's comprehensive plan, there would be no conflict of interest pursuant to section 112.3143 , Florida Statutes....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2004).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
interest, for agency officers and employees. Section
112.3143(3)(a), Florida Statutes, provides: "No county
