By Caitlin Ginley, Center for Public Integrity

A Florida research group released a report yesterday on how to improve the state’s ethics laws, using results from the State Integrity Investigation as a basis for reform. The Sunshine State ranked 18^th out of 50 states in the investigation, with an overall grade of C-.

Integrity Florida, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes integrity and exposes corruption in state government, has previously held presentations around the state to share the conclusions of the State Integrity Investigation’s corruption risk scorecard for the Sunshine State. The group’s new report, “Corruption Risk Report: Florida Ethics Laws,” identifies key policy changes —  such as increasing penalties for ethics violations and creating a corruption report hotline — that could help the state move towards an A grade.

State integrity news for Florida, from the Tampa Bay Tribune:

The Legislature should unleash the Commission on Ethics to help change Florida's tarnished image. And while they're at it, lawmakers also should look in the mirror.

State legislators are not required to disclose their own conflicts of interest on the bills they write and pass into law until more than two weeks after they've voted. That's too late to do much good.

Read the rest of the story at the Tampa Bay Tribune.

Early last month, lawmakers in Iowa completed work on a new open records statute. Senate File 430 creates the Iowa Public Information Board, a nine-member commission charged with enforcing the state’s open records and meetings laws.

For good government advocates in the Hawkeye State, the new legislation was cause for celebration — sort of.

Indeed, there were smiles all around as Gov. Terry Branstad signed the law on May 3 in the ornate Capitol Building, surrounded by lawmakers and journalists — many of whom spent six years on the effort. And the law is undoubtedly a victory of sorts for open government in the state, where enforcement was spotty at best, divided among several local and state entities. If a citizen’s request for information was denied, the only option was to sue — a time-consuming and costly course of action. Now, the Board can investigate complaints and bring them to court on citizens’ behalf.

It all sounds good — except for the fine print.

State integrity news for Florida, from the Orlando Sentinel:

Federal courts struck two blows last week for more transparency in election campaigns. Voters should be pleased. If the public must put up with attack ads from special interest groups and individuals, then the ads' sponsors ought to be revealed.

We're gratified that the two appeals panels ruled that the public is better served by more information, not less.

Read the rest fo the story at the Orlando Sentinel.

State integrity news for Florida, from the Miami Herald:

With an early legislative session speeding up action in the Capitol, at least three lobbying firms collected more than $1 million in fees during the first three months of the year, according to new reports.The reports also show that an additional eight firms raked in between $500,000 and $999,999 for their work in the Legislature. Those totals could grow, as lobbyists faced an 11:59 p.m. deadline Tuesday for filing quarterly compensation reports.

The three firms that topped $1 million were Ballard Partners, Ronald L. Book PA and Southern Strategy Group. The reports don't give the exact totals collected by the firms, but they detail some of the largest payments made by clients.

Read the rest of the story at the Miami Herald.

State integrity news for Florida, from the Miami Herald:

Steve MacNamara, Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff. resigned Saturday afternoon, ending what has been a tumultuous week of news reports about his steering of no-bid contracts to friends and interfering in staffing decisions throughout state government.

In the Senate, MacNamara steered a $5.5 million contract with Spider Data Systems for a software platform to improve public access to state budgets. The developer of the patented system, Anna Mattson, was a partner of lobbyist Jim Eaton, a close friend of MacNamara’s.

Read the rest of the story at the Miami Herald.

State integrity news for Florida, from the Miami Herald:

When South Miami commissioners were readying to take a vote opposing Florida Power & Light's proposed base-rate increase, Mayor Philip Stoddard got an unexpected phone call -- from his state senator. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, a lawyer and lobbyist, called on behalf of his firm's client: FPL.

It's not the first time that Diaz de la Portilla or any other lawmaker lobbies a city in his or her district. Nothing prohibits them from doing so.

Read the rest of the story at the Miami Herald.

State integrity news for Florida, from the Palm Beach Post:

Palm Beach County's Republican Party, citing an April 15 report in The Palm Beach Post, has asked three agencies to open an investigation into what caused Circuit Judge Krista Marx to decide against running for state attorney .

The Post's report described how supporters of Democratic state attorney candidate Dave Aronberg had warned Marx she could face ethics allegations and her husband could face a costly re-election fight if she pursued the job. She decided against running.

Read the rest of the story a the Palm Beach Post.

State integrity news for Florida, from the Tallahassee Democrat:

The Florida Commission on Ethics decided this morning against writing off thousands of dollars in unpaid fines levied against local and state workers and officials -- including some still in office -- in hopes of collecting later.

Ethics commissioners, who expressed exasperation over officials who simply refuse to pay the fines, voted unanimously to defer the write-offs. Commissioner Linda Robison said she was particularly outraged by "people who enforce the law themselves" but haven't paid their fines.

Read the rest of the story at the Tallahassee Democrat.

State integrity news for Florida, from the Miami Herald:

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam saved his toughest criticism for the 2006 gift ban that prohibits lawmakers and state officials, including himself, from taking anything of value from lobbyists or their clients. His remarks came as Putnam was asked to describe how Tallahassee has changed since he left in the mid-1990s to go to Congress.

Calling the gift ban "dumb," he said: "A lot of the camaraderie that allowed solutions to take place ... has been removed from the process."

Read the rest of the story at the Miami Herald.