HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity of Tamarac Ordinance O-2011-018Temp. Ord. # 2237
November 9, 2011
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1 ORDINANCE NO. /T
2
3 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
4 TAMARAC, FLORIDA AMENDING CHAPTER 2 OF THE CITY OF
5 TAMARAC CODE OF ORDINANCES, ENTITLED
6 "ADMINISTRATION"; BY SPECIFICALLY CREATING ARTICLE
7 XII, TO BE CALLED "LOBBYING ACTIVITIES"; PROVIDING
8 FOR DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR LOBBYIST
9 REGISTRATION; PROVIDING FOR FILING OF A CONTACT LOG;
10 PROVIDING FOR A PROHIBITION ON USE OF LOBBYING
11 STATEMENTS; PROVIDING FOR CONTINGENCY FEES, AND
12 DISCLOSURES; PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES; PROVIDING FOR
13 CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING
14 FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE
15 DATE.
16
17 WHEREAS, Broward County recently enacted Ordinance #2011-19, requiring all
18 municipalities in Broward County to establish lobbyist registration procedures; and
19 WHEREAS, the City Commission deems it to be in the best interests of the City to
20 enact lobbyist registration regulations; and
21 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF
22 THE CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA, THAT:
23 Section 1: The foregoing "WHEREAS" clause is hereby ratified as true and
24 correct and is incorporated herein by this reference.
25 Section 2: Part II, Chapter 2, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Tamarac,
26 entitled "Administration", is amended by creating Article XII to be entitled "Lobbying
27 Activities," as follows:
28 ARTICLE XII. LOBBYING ACTIVITIES
29
30 Sec. 2-409. Title; intent and purpose.
31
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1 (a) Sections 2-409 through 2-415 of Chapter 2, Tamarac Code of Ordinances,
2 may be cited as the "Tamarac Lobbyist Registration Act."
3
4 (b) The Broward County Code of Ethics for Elected Officials provides that all
5 municipalities in Broward County shall establish lobbyist registration
6 procedures. The City Commission determines that the registration of lobbyists
7 promotes the integrity of the governmental decision -making process and
8 fosters transparency in government by providing the identity and activities of
9 certain persons who engage in efforts to influence City Commissioners and
10 decision -making bodies under the jurisdiction of the City Commission.
11
12 Sec.2-410. Definitions.
13
14 As used in this Article, unless the context otherwise indicates:
15
16 (a) Board means the City Commission of Tamarac, Florida or any other
17 decision -making body under the jurisdiction of the City Commission.
18
19 (b) Lobbying or lobbying activities means a communication, by any means,
20 from a lobbyist to a member of a Board regarding any item that will
21 foreseeably be decided by the Board, which communication seeks to influence,
22 convince, or persuade the covered individual to support or oppose the item.
23 Lobbying does not include communications made on the record at a duly-
24 noticed public meeting or hearing.
25
26 (c) Person means any individual, business, corporation, association, firm,
27 partnership, nonprofit organization, or other organization or group.
28
29 (d) "Lobbyist" means a person who is retained, with or without compensation,
30 for the purpose of lobbying, or a person who is employed by another person or
31 entity, on a full-time or part-time basis, principally to lobby on behalf of that
32 other person or entity. "Lobbyist" does not include a person who is:
33
34 (1) An Elected Official, employee, or appointee of Broward County or of
35 any municipality within Broward County communicating in his or her
36 official capacity.
37
38 (2) An individual who communicates on his or her own behalf, or on
39 behalf of a person or entity employing the individual on a full-time or
40 part-time basis, unless the individual is principally employed by that
41 person or entity to lobby.
42
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1 (3) Any employee, officer, or board member of a homeowners'
2 association, condominium association, or neighborhood association
3 when addressing, in his or her capacity as an employee, officer, or
4 board member of such association, an issue impacting the association
5 or its members; or
6
7 (4) Any employee, an officer, or a board member of a nonprofit public
8 interest entity (e.g., Sierra Club, NAACP, ACLU) when addressing an
9 issue impacting a constituent of that entity.
10
11 Sec. 2-411. Lobbyist registration and statements.
12
13 (a) Registration Statement Required. By January 2, 2012 and annually
14 thereafter, every lobbyist shall file with the City Clerk the following
15 information:
16
17 (1) Prior to engaging in lobbying activities, a registration statement
18 under oath containing the following information:
19
20 a. The lobbyist's full name, residence address, business address,
21 and nature of business.
22
23 b. The full name and address of all persons on whose behalf the
24 lobbyist will be lobbying. If, after filing the registration
25 statement, the lobbyist intends to lobby on behalf of any
26 person(s) not listed on the registration statement, the lobbyist
27 shall, prior to engaging in any lobbying activities on behalf of
28 such unlisted person(s), file an amendment to the registration
29 statement in form prescribed by the City Clerk, containing all
30 the information required in the annual registration statement.
31
32 c. The subject matters which the lobbyist seeks to influence.
33
34 d. The extent of any direct business association by the lobbyist
35 with any current elected or appointed official or employee of the
36 City of Tamarac. For the purposes of this Article, the term
37 "direct business association" shall mean any mutual endeavor
38 undertaken for profit or compensation.
39
40 e. A lobbyist representing a group, association, or organization
41 shall, prior to engaging in lobbying, receive appropriate
42 authorization from said group, association, or organization to
43 lobby on its behalf upon a particular subject matter. A copy of
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1 the applicable minutes, motion, or other documentation of
2 action shall be attached to the statements required this
3 subsection.
4
5 (b) List of Current Lobbyists. The City Clerk's Office shall keep a current list
6 of registered lobbyists and their respective reports required under this Article,
7 all of which shall be open for public inspection.
8
9 (c) Fees. A Lobbyist shall pay to the City Clerk's Office an annual
10 registration fee. The registration fees required by this section shall be expended
11 for the purpose of defraying the administrative costs of implementing,
12 monitoring, and otherwise ensuring compliance with this section and shall be
13 determined by resolution of the City Commission. A lobbyist, who is lobbying
14 as a volunteer, without any compensation, is not required to pay a registration
15 fee in connection with those uncompensated lobbying activities.
16
17 Sec. 2-412. Filing of Contact Log.
18
19 To promote full and complete transparency, lobbyists and their principals or
20 employers who intend to meet or otherwise communicate with a member of the
21 Board for the purpose of engaging in lobbying activities, either at the Board
22 member's offices or elsewhere on City premises, must legibly complete a
23 contact log listing each member of the Board with whom the lobbyist,
24 principal, or employer meets or intends on meeting or communicating.
25
26
(1) The information stated on the contact log shall include the lobbyist's
27
name; the name of the entity by which the lobbyist is employed; the
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name of the person or entity for whom or which he or she is lobbying;
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the name of each member of the board with whom he or she is meeting
30
or communicating; the date and time of each such meeting; and the
31
specific purpose and subject matter of each such meeting.
32
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(2) The contact log shall be completed contemporaneously with the
34
meeting(s) and shall be filed for public inspection.
35
36
Sec. 2-413. Prohibition on use of lobbying statements.
37
38
No information obtained from lobbying statements required by this Article
39
shall be sold or utilized by any person for the purpose of soliciting campaign
40
contributions or selling tickets to a testimonial or similar fund-raising affair or
41
for commercial purposes.
42
43
Sec. 2-414. Contingency fees; disclosure
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1 (a) "Contingency fee" means a fee, bonus, commission, or nonmonetary
2 benefit as compensation which is dependent or in any way contingent on the
3 enactment, defeat, modification, or other outcome of any specific action of the
4 City Commission.
5
6 (b) A lobbyist shall separately disclose to the City Clerk any compensation
7 received in the form of contingency.
8
9 Sec.2-415. Penalties.
10
11 (a) The City Attorney or City Manager, or their designee, shall be informed of
12 any person engaged in lobbying activities who has failed to comply with the
13 registration, reporting requirements and prohibitions of this act, and, in each
14 such instance, shall conduct such investigation as he or she shall deem
15 necessary under the circumstances. The results of each investigation shall be
16 reported to the City Commission.
17
18 (b) The City Commission may warn, reprimand, or censure the violator or
19 may suspend or prohibit the violator from appearing on behalf of any employer
20 before the City Commission or any decision -making body under the
21 jurisdiction of the City Commission or from otherwise lobbying for any
22 employer in any fashion for a period of time; provided, however, that any
23 suspension or prohibition may not exceed a period of two (2) years, and no
24 sanction shall be imposed unless the lobbyist allegedly in violation has been
25 afforded reasonable notice and an opportunity to be heard.
26
27 (c) The validity of any action taken by the City Commission, city employees,
28 or any decision -making body under the jurisdiction of the City Commission,
29 shall not be affected by the failure of any person to comply with the provisions
30 of this Article.
31
32 (d) In addition to the penalties provided by this section, individuals found to
33 be in violation may be subject to additional penalties as provided by law.
34 Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Broward
35 County Office of the Inspector General as provided for by Article XII of the
36 Broward County Charter.
37
38 Section 3: It is the intention of the City Commission, and it is hereby ordained that
39 the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of the City of
40 Tamarac, Florida.
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1 Section 4: That all
ordinances
and
resolutions
or parts
of ordinances and
2 resolutions in conflict herewith,
be and the
same
are hereby
repealed,
to the extent of such
3 conflict.
4 Section 5: That if any clause, section or other part of this Ordinance shall be held
5 invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this
6 Ordinance shall not be affected thereby, but shall remain in full force and effect.
7 Section 6: That this Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon the date
8 of adoption.
10
11 [Remainder of page intentionally left blank]
12 PASSED ON FIRST READING BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
13 TAMARAC, FLORIDA, THIS r/ 4 / DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2011.
14
15 PASSED AND ADOPTED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING BY THE CITY
16 COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA THIS DAY OF
17 nyaJ&, 2011.
18
19
20
21
22 ATTEST:
23
24
25 PETER RICHARDSON, CMC
BY: ].,,L VaLc(
MAYOR PAMELA BUSHNELL
RECORD OF COMMISSION VOTE: First Reading
26 CITY CLERK MAYOR BUSHNELL
27 ���``9��.TA.�,�DIST 1: COMM. SwENSON
�. ' ' • • : 9.Q ''. DIST 2: VICE MAYOR GOMEZ
28 U�•' 29 0DIST 3: COMM. GLASSER
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30 = W ;' ESTABLISHED• ' DIST 4: COMM. DRESSLER
31 =70� :a-
32 I HEREB ,�. RTIF�et '
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I HEREBY CERTIFY that
I have approved this
ORDINANCE as to;form:
Temp. Ord. # 2237
November 9, 2011
Page 7
RECORD OF COMMISSION VOTE: Second Reading
MAYOR BUSHNELL
DIST 1: COMM. SWENSON
DIST 2: COMM. GOMEZ
DIST 3: V/M GLASSER
DIST 4: COMM. DRESSLER
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