A member of the Florida Commission on Ethics is calling for changes in an ethics bill that has been a top priority of Senate President Don Gaetz, saying the measure could have “unintended consequences.” In a letter sent to news organizations, Commissioner Matt Carlucci said he would like to see the House make changes in the bill (SB 2), which was unanimously approved by the Senate last week.
For example, he pointed to a definition of “special private gain” in part of the bill dealing with voting conflicts. He said the definition is too narrow. In another example, he said the bill would allow officials to have a “do over” if complaints are filed against them because of erroneous financial-disclosure forms. He wrote that would remove “any incentive to file the report accurately in the first place.” Carlucci, a former Jacksonville City Council president, praised other parts of the bill, such as a provision that would allow liens to be placed against officials who don’t pay financial-disclosure fines.
