Florida’s incoming Senate President, Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, plans to require all senators to complete at least an hour of ethics training prior to lawmaking. It’s all part of a set of proposed rules to improve the ethical standards in the chamber.
The new rules will prohibit senators from voting on issues if they know they would have a any special private gain. They will also have to disclose any gain that could help an employer or family member. Dan Krassner with nonpartisan government watchdog group, Integrity Florida, applauds the move.
“These reforms put more emphasis on public service, rather than past rules that allowed private gain to go unchecked and Integrity Florida is glad to see disclosure of conflicts in advance of votes and that will serve the public much better.
The rules expected to be adopted Tuesday, will bring the Senate more in line with the House and will address requirements in the state Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees. The Senate will also see the creation of a new Ethics and Elections committee.