Okaloosa County BOCC — January 18, 2013 — reading text

Attachment: Palm Beach County Ethics.pdf (1256 : Ethics Ordinance) or employee shall accept or agree to accept a gift from a person or entity, because of: (1) An official public action taken or to be taken, or which could be taken; (2) A legal duty performed or to be performed or which could be performed; or (3) A legal duty violated or to be violated, or which could be violated by any official or employee. (f) Gift reports. Any official or employee who receives a gift in excess of one hundred dollars ($100) shall report that gift in accordance with this section. (1) Gift reports for officials and employees identified by state law as reporting individuals. Those persons required to report gifts pursuant to state law shall report those gifts in the manner provided by Florida Statutes, §112.3148, as may be amended. A copy of each report shall be filed with the county commission on ethics. (2) All other officials and employees who are not reporting individuals under state law. a. Personal Gifts. All officials and employees who are not reporting individuals under state law are not required to report gifts in excess of one hundred dollars ($100) so long as those gifts are given to the official or employee by a personal friend or co-worker and the circumstances demonstrate that the motivation for the gift was the personal or social relationship rather than an attempt to obtain the goodwill or otherwise influence the official or employee in the performance of his or her official duties. Factors to be considered in determining whether a gift was motivated by a personal or social relationship may include but shall not be limited to: whether the relationship began before or after the official or employee obtained his or her office or position; the prior history of gift giving between the individuals; whether the gift was given in connection with a holiday or other special occasion; whether the donor personally paid for the gift or sought a tax deduction or business reimbursement; and whether the donor gave similar gifts to other officials or employees at or near the same time. If the personal friend or co-worker is a vendor, lobbyist or principal or employer of a lobbyist that lobbies the county or municipality as applicable, then the official or employee shall not accept a gift in excess of $100 in accordance with subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1). b. All other gifts. All officials or employees who are not reporting individuals under state law and who receive any gift in excess of one hundred dollars ($100), which is not otherwise excluded or prohibited pursuant to this subsection, shall complete and submit an annual gift disclosure report with the county commission on ethics no later than November 1 of each year beginning November 1, 2011, for the period ending September 30 of each year. All officials or employees who are not reporting individuals under state law and who do not receive a gift in excess of one hundred dollars ($100) during a given reporting period shall not file an annual gift disclosure report. The annual gift disclosure report shall be created by 8|Page Packet Pg. 317  8.1.e the county commission on ethics and shall be in a form substantially similar in content as that required by state law. (g) For the purposes of this section, "gift" shall refer to the transfer of anything of economic value, whether in the form of money, service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, item or promise, or in any other form, without adequate and lawful consideration. Food and beverages consumed at a single setting or a meal shall be considered a single gift, and the value of the food and beverage provided at that sitting or meal shall be considered the value of the gift. In determining the value of the gift, the recipient of the gift may consult, among other sources, §112.3148, Florida Statutes and the Florida Administrative Code as may be amended. (1) Exceptions. The provisions of subsection (g) shall not apply to: a. Political contributions specifically authorized by state or federal law; b. Gifts from relatives, domestic partners, and dependents named on the official’s or Attachment: Palm Beach County Ethics.pdf (1256 : Ethics Ordinance) employee’s latest federal income tax return, or one's household member; c. Awards for professional or civic achievement; d. Materials such as books, reports, periodicals or pamphlets which are solely informational or of an advertising nature; e. Gifts solicited or accepted by county or municipal officials or employees as applicable on behalf of the county or municipality in performance of their official duties for use solely by the county or municipality for a public purpose; f. Publicly advertised offers for goods or services from a vendor under the same terms and conditions as are offered or made available to the general public; g. Inheritance or other devise; h. Registration fees and other related costs associated with educational or governmental conferences or seminars and travel expenses either properly waived or inapplicable pursuant to §2-443(f), provided that attendance is for governmental purposes, and attendance is related to their duties and responsibilities as an official or employee of the county or municipality; i. A ticket, pass or admission in connection with public events, appearances or ceremonies related to official county or municipal business, if furnished by a nonprofit sponsor organization of such public event, or if furnished pursuant to a contract between the event’s non-profit sponsor and the county or municipality as applicable, provided the sponsor organization does not employ a lobbyist, and further provided the ticket, pass or admission is given by a representative of the sponsor organization who is not otherwise a vendor, lobbyist, principal or employer of a lobbyist. Notwithstanding the exception as provided in this subsection, the ticket, pass or admission must be disclosed in accordance with the gift law reporting requirements of subsections 2-444(f)(1) and (f)(2); j. Expenditures made in connection with an event sponsored by a nonprofit organization funded in whole or in part with public funds whose primary function is to encourage and attract tourism or other business opportunities for the benefit of Palm Beach County or the municipalities as applicable, provided the sponsor organization does not employ a lobbyist, and further provided that the invitation to the event is made by a representative of the sponsor organization and the representative is not otherwise a vendor, lobbyist, principal or employer of a lobbyist. Notwithstanding the exception as provided in this subsection, the expenditure must be disclosed in accordance with the gift law reporting requirements of subsections 2-444(f)(1) and (f)(2). 9|Page Packet Pg. 318  8.1.e (h) Solicitation of Contributions on Behalf of a Non-Profit Charitable Organization. (1) Notwithstanding the prohibition on gifts as outlined in subsection 2-444(a) and (b), the solicitation of funds by a county or municipal official or employee for a non-profit charitable organization, as defined under the Internal Revenue Code, is permissible so long as there is no quid pro quo or other special consideration, including any direct or indirect special financial benefit to the official or employee or to the person or entity being solicited. The solicitation by an official or employee as contemplated herein, is expressly prohibited if made to any person or entity with a pending application for approval or award of any nature before the county or municipality as applicable. (2) To promote the full and complete transparency of any such solicitation, officials and employees shall disclose, on a form provided by the Commission on Ethics, the name of the charitable Attachment: Palm Beach County Ethics.pdf (1256 : Ethics Ordinance) organization, the event for which the funds were solicited, the name of any person or entity that was contacted regarding a solicitation or pledge by the official or employee, and the amount of the funds solicited or pledged if known. The form shall be completed legibly and shall be filed with the Commission on Ethics. The form shall be filed within 30 days from the occurrence of the event for which the solicitation was made, or if no event, within 30 days from the occurrence of the solicitation. (3) Officials and employees may not use county or municipal staff or other county or municipal resources in the solicitation of charitable contributions described in this subsection. Sec. 2-445. Anti-nepotism law. An official may not appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement in or to a position in the county or municipality as applicable in which the official is serving or over which the official exercises jurisdiction or control, any individual who is a relative or domestic partner of the official. An individual may not be appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced in or to a position in the county or a municipality if such appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement has been advocated by an official, serving in or exercising jurisdiction or control over the county or municipality as appropriate, who is a relative or domestic partner 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 section 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 section 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