Ethics

Under the bill, SB 7014, ethics boards won’t be able to initiate their own investigations. Members of the public would have to file complaints to start any inquiry and can only do so if they’ve personally witnessed an ethics violation.

The bill adds time limits to the length of ethics investigations, requires sworn affidavits to launch ethics complaints, and bans second-hand knowledge from being used.

The executive director of the Florida Ethics Institute and former deputy executive director of the Florida Commission on Ethics, speaks about ethics in government and an unprecedented threat via the Florida Senate’s recent passage of Senate Bill (SB) 7014.

A top Florida ethics expert is sounding the alarm about an ethics bill passed by the state Senate Thursday that would make it easier for corrupt officials to avoid investigation – and much harder for residents to hold them to account.

The institute intends to protect ethics in government by providing education, training and information.

It's easy to play armchair quarterback -- or, in the case of politics, armchair legislator.But as Florida's 2013 lawmaking session gets under way Tuesday,…