Florida Public Corruption Study Commission Page 1 of 59 Florida Public Corruption Study Commission I. INTRODUCTION To assure that the People of the State of Florida are served by elected and appointed officials and public employees who abide by the highest standards of behavior and official conduct, Governor Jeb Bush signed Executive Order 99-237 on September 15, 1999, establishing the Public Corruption Study Commission. The fifteen-member commission was tasked to complete a comprehensive review of current laws, policies and procedures related to Florida's response to. public corruption, and prepare specific recommendations on how Florida might better prevent and respond to acts of public corruption, The Commission was specifically tasked to review Florida and Federal current statutes and laws concerning public corruption; violation of ethical standards; conflicts of interest; malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance in office: bribery; and other forms of official misconduct. ‘The powers of the Governor, Chief Inspector General, Statewide Prosecutor, State Attorneys, Ethics Commission, Comptroller, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were also included for review. Governor Bush appointed Chief Inspector General Marcia Cooke to chair the Commission and FDLE to provide staff support. The Commission was comprised of the following members or their designees: Honorable Toni Jennings, President of the Senate Honorable Jim Sebesta, Senator, 20" District (Designee) Honorable John Thrasher, Speaker of the House of Representatives Honorable Randy Ball, Representative, District 29 (Designee) Ms. Trina Kramer, Staff Attorney (Co-designee) Honorable Robert F. Milligan, Comptroller Mr. Bill Huffeut, Assistant Comptroller (Designee) Honorable Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General ‘Mr. Marty Moore, Deputy General Counsel (Designee) Ms. Virlindia Doss, Assistant Attorney General (Designee) Ms. Carol Licko, General Counsel, Office of the Governor Mr. Greg Munson, Assistant General Counsel (Designee) Mr. James T. Moore, Commissioner, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Honorable Brad King, President, Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association Honorable Bernie McCabe, State Attorney, 6" Judicial Circuit http:/Awww.fdle.state.fl.us/publications/corruption_study/corruption_report.htm, 02/03/2000Florida Public Corruption Study Commission Page 2 of 59 Ms. Melanie Hines, Statewide Prosecutor Mr. Pete Dunbar, Chairman, Commission on Ethics Mr. Philip Claypool, Deputy Executive Director, Commission on Ethics Mr. Charles Stampelos, Commission on Ethics (Designee) Mr. Peter Prieto, Commission on Ethics (Designee) Ms. Mary Cagle, Deputy Chief for Special Prosecution Mr. Ken Plante, Director, Legislative Affairs, Office of the Governor Mr. Roberto Martinez, Esq., Colson Hicks Edison, et al, P.A In fulfilling its mission, the Public Corruption Study Commission held four meetings: October 5-6, 1999, Tallahassee October 26-27, 1999, St. Petersburg November 30 — December 1, 1999, Miami December 14-15, 1999, Tallahassee Il, SUMMARY OF MEETING RESULTS A. Initial Meeting: October 5-6, 1999 (Tallahassee) ‘The purpose of this meeting was to organize and task the Commission and to provide Commission members with pertinent testimony and information about public corruption in this State. In this initial meeting, Governor Bush compared Florida government to a very large, $50 billion company in which its stockholders should be able to trust its leadership. Unfortunately, because of a very few corrupt and unethical officials, the public believes that government is not sound. Among the Governor's priorities are to restore public confidence in government. Chairperson Marcia Cooke outlined the study plan and turned the meeting over for testimony from Commission members and other knowledgeable experts focusing on defining the problems related to the investigation and prosecution of public corruption offenses and their suggested solutions, Commission members http://www. fale state.fl.us/publications/corruption_study/corruption_report.htm, 02/03/2000Florida Public Corruption Study Commi heard testimony from: Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner James T. Moore: FDLE General Counsel Michael Ramage; FDLE Special Agent Supervisor Mark Zadra; Harry Hooper, Department of Banking and Finance; Reginald Brown, Executive Office of the Governor; Philip Claypool, Florida Commission on Ethics; State Attomey Brad King; Assistant State Attorney Mary Cagle; Statewide Prosecutor Melanie Hines; and Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Jim Schneider. ion Page 3 of 59 On day two of the initial meeting, Commission members divided into three work groups to discuss in depth the testimony and information provided during the first day. Each group developed recommendations that were then presented to, the entire Commission, Based upon the group presentations, the Commission identified several recommendations for further development and consideration at the next meeting. At the conclusion of this meeting, the Commission requested the following to be presented at the next meeting: 1. Testimony from current Federal Prosecutors about the provisions of the “Hobbs Act”; Drafi proposed statutory language for an Anti-Corruption Statute, Ethics Law Reforms, and Educational Initiatives: 3. Full briefing about the state’s current contracting procedures and practices, and specific ideas to address the concerns in this area. B. Second Meeting: October 26-27, 1999 (Clearwater) ‘The purpose of this meeting was to hear additional testimony and collect more information about several issues that were raised during the first meeting, ‘Testimony from Mr. Richard Scruggs, Chief of the Public Corruption Section, Office of the United States Attorney, Southern District of Florida, provided an overview of Federal legislation used in the area of public corruption. Mr. Scruggs spoke at length about the significant tools and resources available to Federal law enforcement and prosecutors—items that he indicated were missing from the state system that allow the federal government to be proactive regarding public corruption cases, and are at least partially responsible for recent federal successes in this area, * Greg Munson provided an overview of comments received from the public regarding the Commission’s duties and responsibilities. Input was solicited and received via written correspondence and the FDLE Web site. Copies of the comments were made available to Commission members for their consideration, * Greg Munson and Mike Ramage presented five draft Public Misconduct Statutes for consideration by the Commission, and received input for revisions prior to the next meeting, * Director Doug Darling from the Department of Banking and Finance presented an overview of past, present, and future contract management and audit efforts underway Philip Claypoo! provided an overview of recommendations regarding the Florida Ethics Commission. © Mary Cagle provided an overview of suggestions related to training public servants regarding ethics and public http://www fdle.state.fl.us/publications/corruption_study/corruption_report.htm 02/03/2000