28838602, 34-7.010 - Florida Administrative Rules, Law, Code, Register

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Florida Department of State and Division of Library and Information Services

Notice: 28838602

Notice of Proposed Rule

Department:

COMMISSION ON ETHICS

Chapter:

ETHICS TRAINING, FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS

Overview

RULE:

34-7.010

List of Forms and Instructions

PURPOSE:

This amendment relates to material incorporated by reference within Rule 34-7.010(1)(b), F.A.C.  That rule subsection concerns the Form 50, which is the form submitted by individuals seeking to file a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics concerning the actions of a public officer or employee.  The purpose of the proposed amendment is to update, clarify, and re-adopt the Form 50.  The updates/clarifications are explained in the Summary section of this Notice.

SUMMARY:

Given a recent statutory amendment to Section 112.324(1)(a), Florida Statutes, an allegation in a Form 50 ethics complaint may now only be investigated if it is based on personal knowledge or information other than hearsay. See Ch. 2024-253, Laws of Florida.  The Form 50 is being amended to indicate this new requirement.  Moreover, the amendment will remove language from the Form 50 concerning the Commission's jurisdiction and statute of limitations, the process by which a complaint is reviewed, investigated, and prosecuted, as well as the confidentiality of ethics complaint proceedings, and the law concerning costs and attorney's fees.  This material is being removed because it is general information about the complaint process but is not instructive to actually completing the Form 50, and its removal will shorten the form and make it more accessible for filers.  The language being removed either repeats language included elsewhere on the Form 50, or repeats language already publicly available in other Commission laws and rules.  A link also will be added to the Form 50 where filers can learn about the Commission and its procedures.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY:

112.3147, 112.322(9), 112.324(1)(a) F.S.

LAW:

112.324(1)(a), F.S.

PRINT PUBLISH DATE:

10/7/2024 Vol. 50/196

COMMENTS:

From 10/7/2024 To 10/28/2024 (21 Days)

REFERENCE MATERIALS:

No reference(s).

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