Commissioner Souto's proposed ordinance states that all communications between any Miami-Dade Commissioner or his or her staff and County Administration "regarding any matter which could foreseeably come before the County Commission including, but not limited to, communications regarding the terms and conditions upon which a commissioner will support an item placed on the agenda of the Board of County Commissioners ('covered communication')" should comply with the following requirements:

1. All covered communications shall occur at a meeting open to the public;
2. All such meetings shall be publicly noticed no later than twenty-four hours before the scheduled meeting; and
3. Minutes of all such publicly noticed meetings shall be taken.   

The only exemptions would include the transmission of constituent inquiries by any Commissioner or a member of his or her staff to County Administration, and covered communications in writing.  A copy of all covered communications in writing shall be filed with the Clerk of the Board, which would then be considered public documents available to all citizens, as well as the media.

Should the ordinance pass, anyone who violates the ordinance is subject to a fine not to exceed $500 and/or imprisonment in County jail for no more than 60 days.

In addition to this ordinance, Commissioner Souto is also sponsoring legislation to amend the County's Code of Ethics. The legislation would require the Mayor and every County Commissioner receive a copy of the latest version of Miami-Dade County's Code of Ethics prior to his or her swearing in ceremony.  As part of the ceremony, each Commissioner would then sign a sworn affidavit attesting under oath that he or she has read the Code of Ethics and agrees to abide by the Code at all times in carrying out his or her duties.  Commissioner Souto supports that this oath should be taken at every swearing in ceremony, whether it be the elected official's first term or subsequent re-election.    According to Commissioner Souto, this is an extremely high standard of ethics and a Commissioner who later breached any provision of the Code of Ethics would place himself or herself in a precarious position of claiming ignorance to or lack of knowledge as to the Standard of Ethics, with a signed affidavit attesting to the contrary on file as part of the oath of office.

For more information regarding this ordinance, please contact Commissioner Souto's office at 305-222-2116.

See ordinance below:

ORDINANCE RELATING TO COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN MAYOR, COUNTY MANAGER OR COUNTY'S ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF AND ANY MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OR HIS OR HER STAFF; AMENDING CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, TO REQUIRE THAT CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN ANY COUNTY COMMISSIONER OR A MEMBER OF HIS OR HER STAFF AND MAYOR, COUNTY MANAGER OR COUNTY'S ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF OCCUR AT DULY NOTICED MEETING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC; REQUIRING THAT MINUTES OF PUBLICLY NOTICED MEETINGS BE TAKEN; PROVIDING FOR EXCEPTIONS, PENALTIES, SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE

            BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA:
            Section 1.         Section 2-11.31 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is hereby created to read as follows:[1]

CHAPTER 2
ADMINISTRATION
ARTICLE I.     IN GENERAL
*                                  *                                  *
>>Sec. 2-11.31.           Communications Between Members of Board of County Commissioners and Mayor and/or County Manager. 

 (a)        All communications between any member of the Board of County Commissioners or his or her staff and the Mayor, County Manager or any member of the County's administrative staff regarding any matter which could foreseeably come before the County Commission including, but not limited to, communications regarding the terms and conditions upon which a commissioner will support an item placed on the agenda of the Board of County Commissioners ("covered communication") shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) All covered communications shall occur at a meeting open to the public;
(2) All such meetings shall be publicly noticed no later than twenty-four hours before the scheduled meeting; and
(3) Minutes of all such publicly noticed meetings shall be taken.   

(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the requirements of subsection (a) (1)-(3) shall not be applicable to: (i) the transmission of constituent inquiries by any County Commissioner or a member of his or her staff to the Mayor, County Manager or any member of the County's administrative staff; and (ii) covered communications in writing.  A copy of all covered communications in writing shall be filed with the Clerk of the Board.

(c) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section shall be published by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed sixty (60) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

            Section 3.         If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this ordinance is held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected by such invalidity.
            Section 4.         It is the intention of the Board of County Commissioners, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance, including any sunset provision, shall become and be made a part of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida.  The sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section," "article," or other appropriate word.
            Section 5.         This ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of enactment unless vetoed by the Mayor, and if vetoed, shall become effective only upon an override by this Board.

PASSED AND ADOPTED:

Approved by County Attorney as
to form and legal sufficiency:                          ________

Prepared by:                                                    ________

Gerald K. Sanchez

Prime Sponsor:            Senator Javier D. Souto