Florida SB 802: Public Officers and Employees

Bill Text

802 
Public Officers and Employees 
2025-12-09T03:41:37Z 
Requiring that, beginning on a specified date, secretaries and executive directors of departments, chief administrative officers of certain units of state government, members of commissions and licensing boards, chairs of governing boards or certain chief executives of certain statewide entities, or any persons appointed to hold state office in the executive branch of state government be United States citizens and residents of this state; providing that such an office is automatically deemed vacant if the person holding that office does not meet certain requirements; requiring the Commission on Ethics to investigate certain lobbyists or principals who make prohibited expenditures, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 802 

 By Senator Mayfield 

 19-00269-26 2026802__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to public officers and employees; 
 3 creating s. 20.71, F.S.; requiring that, beginning on 
 4 a specified date, secretaries and executive directors 
 5 of departments, chief administrative officers of 
 6 certain units of state government, members of 
 7 commissions and licensing boards, chairs of governing 
 8 boards or certain chief executives of certain 
 9 statewide entities, or any persons appointed to hold 
 10 state office in the executive branch of state 
 11 government be United States citizens and residents of 
 12 this state; providing that such an office is 
 13 automatically deemed vacant if the person holding that 
 14 office does not meet certain requirements; requiring 
 15 that, beginning on a specified date, members of the 
 16 board of trustees for state universities be United 
 17 States citizens and residents of this state or 
 18 graduates of the state university that the board 
 19 oversees; requiring that, beginning on a specified 
 20 date, members of the Board of Governors of the State 
 21 University System be United States citizens and either 
 22 residents of this state or graduates of a state 
 23 university; providing that if any such requirements 
 24 are not met, the member’s office is deemed vacant; 
 25 amending s. 104.31, F.S.; prohibiting state, county, 
 26 and municipal officers and employees from using their 
 27 official authority or influence to solicit another 
 28 person to make certain contributions; revising 
 29 construction of provisions relating to political 
 30 activities of state, county, and municipal officers 
 31 and employees; amending s. 112.061, F.S.; prohibiting 
 32 the authorization or approval of reimbursements for 
 33 travel expenses between the personal residence and 
 34 official headquarters of persons in specified 
 35 positions; defining the term “residence”; requiring 
 36 that the official headquarters for specified positions 
 37 be the city or town in which the department’s official 
 38 headquarters is located; prohibiting persons serving 
 39 in specified positions from being reimbursed for 
 40 certain travel expenses; creating s. 112.31251, F.S.; 
 41 defining the term “office” for purposes of s. 5(a), 
 42 Art. II of the State Constitution; defining the term 
 43 “employment”; amending s. 112.3261, F.S.; defining the 
 44 term “expenditure”; requiring the Commission on Ethics 
 45 to investigate certain lobbyists or principals who 
 46 make prohibited expenditures; prohibiting lobbyists or 
 47 principals from making, and district governing board 
 48 members, executive directors, or certain employees of 
 49 water management districts from accepting, any 
 50 expenditure; amending s. 1001.71, F.S.; conforming a 
 51 provision to changes made by the act; providing an 
 52 effective date. 
 53 
 54 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 55 
 56 Section 1. Section 20.71, Florida Statutes, is created to 
 57 read: 
 58 20.71 Residency requirements.—Notwithstanding any other 
 59 law: 
 60 (1)(a) Effective October 1, 2026, each of the following 
 61 persons must be a United States citizen and a resident of this 
 62 state: 
 63 1. The secretary of a department. 
 64 2. The executive director of a department. 
 65 3. The chief administrative officer of any unit of state 
 66 government which is housed under a department for administrative 
 67 purposes but is not subject to the control, supervision, or 
 68 direction of such department. 
 69 4. A member of a commission. 
 70 5. A member of a licensing board. 
 71 6. The chair of the governing board, or the chief 
 72 executive, of a statewide entity that is explicitly created or 
 73 established by statute, regardless of its legal form, for a 
 74 public purpose or to carry out a government program and that is 
 75 not under the direct control of a governmental entity. 
 76 7. Any other person appointed to hold state office in the 
 77 executive branch of state government. 
 78 (b) If a person listed in paragraph (a) does not