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Training



Pursuant to Section 112.3142, Florida Statutes, Florida's Constitutional officers (including the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner of Agriculture, state attorneys, public defenders, sheriffs, tax collectors, property appraisers, supervisors of elections, clerks of the circuit court, county commissioners, district school board members, and superintendents of schools), elected municipal officers, and commissioners of a community redevelopment agency (created under Part III of chapter 163) are required to "complete 4 hours of ethics training each calendar year which addresses, at a minimum, s. 8, Art. II of the State Constitution, the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees, and the public records and public meetings laws of this state." Beginning January 1, 2024, each elected local officer of an independent special district, as defined in s. 189.012, and each person who is appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term of elective office must complete 4 hours of ethics training each calendar year.

Officials should complete the required training as close as possible to the date they assume office. A newly-elected official who assumes a new office on or before March 31 must complete the annual training on or before December 31 of that year. However, if the individual takes office after March 31, he or she is not required to complete the training until the next calendar year.

The training must include:

  • Article II, Section 8 of the Florida Constitution
  • Part III, Chapter 112, Florida Statutes (Code of Ethics)
  • Public Records
  • Public Meetings (Sunshine Law)

The Commission has no jurisdiction with respect to the open meetings and public records laws and does not provide training on those topics. Open government training may be found on the Attorney General's website at https://www.myfloridalegal.com/open-government/training

The Commission is authorized to make rules concerning the course content for the ethics portion of the training. That rule is found in Rule Chapter 34-7.025, Florida Administrative Code.

The Commission adopted CEO 13-15 at its meeting on September 13, 2013. The opinion addresses a number of questions regarding the training requirement, including that "hours," for this purpose, may be measured in 50-minute increments.

The Commission adopted CEO 13-24 at its meeting on December 18, 2013. That opinion states that the combination of two hours of ethics, one hour of open meetings, and one hour of public records, would satisfy the four-hour requirement.

The Commission adopted CEO 14-29 at its meeting on December 17, 2014. The opinion indicates that elected members of the governing board of a special district are not elected municipal officers subject to the training requirement.
NOTE: Effective January 1, 2024 these officials will be subject to the training requirement. See Ch. 2023-121, Laws of Florida.

The Commission adopted CEO 15-05 at its meeting on June 5, 2015. The opinion indicates that Constitutional officers and elected municipal officers are not subject to the training requirement in the calendar year in which they leave public office.

Reporting completed training:

There is a check box on the Form 6 and the Form 1 for Constitutional officers, elected municipal officers, and others to certify that they completed the required training. The training is a calendar year requirement and corresponds to the form year.

Constitutional officers, elected municipal officers, and others should keep track of all ethics training they complete. Please do not send certificates of completion or letters verifying that you have received training; the Commission does not track officers' completed hours. Officials may take training from any source they choose. There is no certification or accreditation process for training providers.

TRAINING LINKS

The following links allow you to watch short training videos or hear audio on specific ethics topics. Only training in which Ethics Commission staff participates will be posted here.

  • State Ethics Laws for Constitutional Officers & Elected Municipal Officers (Video Tutorial) NEW for 2021! This 100 minute video training is an overview of Florida’s Ethics Code (Part III, Chapter 112, and Article II, Section 8, Florida Constitution) geared toward Constitutional Officers and Elected Municipal Officers. Topics covered include gifts, voting conflict, misuse of office, prohibited business relationships, conflicting employment relationships, revolving door, and Amendment 12.

  • Business and Employment Conflicts and Post-Public-Service Restriction (Video Tutorial)
    This 56-minute presentation addresses conflicting business and employment relationships, blind trusts, prohibitions on public employees holding office and dual public employment, post-office-holding (revolving door) prohibitions, and additional restrictions, for state level and/or local level public officers, public employees, and certain others. (2017)

  • Financial Disclosure - Form 1 (Video Tutorial)
    This 52-minute presentation is about the Form 1, Statement of Financial Interests. It provides a brief overview of the financial disclosure process, as well as detailed instructions on how to complete the Form 1. The presentation also discusses automatic fines for late filing, consequences for failure to file, and the disclosure appeal process. (2017)

  • Financial Disclosure - Form 6 (Video Tutorial)
    This 50-minute presentation is about the Form 6, Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests. It provides a brief overview of the financial disclosure process, as well as detailed instructions on how to complete the Form 6. The presentation also discusses automatic fines for late filing, consequences for failure to file, and the disclosure appeal process. (2017)

  • Gifts (Video Tutorial)
    This 50-minute presentation is a review of the ethics laws governing the acceptance of gifts and things of value, as well as the Executive Branch lobbyist expenditure ban. (2017)

  • Voting Conflicts - Local Officers (Video Tutorial)
    This 58-minute presentation addresses the voting conflicts statute as it applies to local officers. It discusses the differences in voting conflicts at the state and local level, as well as the circumstances in which a voting conflict for a local officer will not be found. Finally, it covers how a local officer should respond if a voting conflict is presented. (2017)

  • Voting Conflicts - State Officers (Video Tutorial)
    This 56-minute presentation addresses the voting conflicts statute as it applies to state officers. It addresses circumstances in which a voting conflict will be found, circumstances in which a voting conflict will not be found, and how to handle a voting conflict when one is presented. (2017)


ADDITIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES

** Only training in which the staff of the Commission on Ethics participates will be posted here.

Other training opportunities involving the staff of the Commission on Ethics will be added to this page as they arise.