FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR A SPECIFIED STATE EMPLOYEE ON A LONG-TERM LEAVE FROM EMPLOYMENT TO PURSUE MILITARY SERVICE

To: Name Withheld (Boca Raton)

SUMMARY:

A specified state employee who was ordered to active-duty military service for a term of four years, must complete an annual CE Form 1 filing for the years in which he performed public duties to the State of Florida before 90 days after the date of his return from military orders. For those years during the employee's military leave where he performed no public duties to the State of Florida, he will not have to submit an annual CE Form 1.

QUESTION:

When a specified state employee is on a four-year leave from public employment due to active-duty military orders, what financial disclosure obligations does he have?

This question is answered as follows.

In your inquiry, you indicate you are a specified state employee (an Assistant State Attorney) as defined in Section 112.3145(1)(b) and thereby file an annual CE Form 1, "Statement of Financial Interests." You note that, effective January 26, 2026, you will be ordered to active-duty military service for an expected term of four years, during which you will be granted a leave of absence from your public employment in Florida.¹ At the conclusion of those four years, you intend to return to your current public role pursuant to 38 U.S. Code § 4312(a) and Section 115.14, Florida Statutes. Against this backdrop, you ask how your active-duty military service and leave from your public employment will affect your annual CE Form 1 filing obligation.

The first provision that is relevant to your inquiry is Section 112.3145(2)(b), Florida Statutes. This provision, in relevant part, states:

Each state or local officer, except local officers specified in s. 112.3144(1)(d), and each specified state employee shall file a statement of financial interests no later than July 1 of each year.

Accordingly, it must be determined whether, while you are on active-duty military leave, you are still subject to the annual CE Form 1 disclosure requirement.

One of the underpinnings of financial disclosure requirements is found in Section 112.311(5), Florida Statutes, which states in part:

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state that no officer or employee of a state agency or of a county, city, or other political subdivision of the state, and no member of the Legislature or legislative employee, shall have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect; engage in any business transaction or professional activity; or incur any obligation of any nature which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his or her duties in the public interest.

In keeping with Section 112.311(5), financial disclosure requirements, in part, allow the public to identify potential financial interests, business transactions, or obligations of public officers and employees that are in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of their duties in the public interest. Here, where you will be performing no State-related public duties during your active-duty military leave from your position with the State of Florida, and where you have provided no information indicating you will be pursuing private business ventures during this time that could create a conflict between your private interests and your public duties to the State of Florida upon your return, none of the concerns noted in Section 112.311(5) are present.² In this very specific circumstance, it does not appear the purposes behind financial disclosure will be served while you are on active-duty military service.

To be clear, you will still be responsible for completing a CE Form 1 for the years in which you performed public duties to the State of Florida prior to your active-duty military leave. However, under the particular facts here, during your active-duty military leave from your public position in Florida, we find that you will not have to complete these filings until 90 days from the date of your return from military orders, consistent with the spirit of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).³ You note your first military assignment began on January 26, 2026. You will be responsible for completing a 2025 CE Form 1 within 90 days of your return from military orders, and, if you performed public duties to the State of Florida in 2026, then you will also be responsible for completing a 2026 CE Form 1 within 90 days of your return from military orders.

In short, for the years in which you perform no public duties to the State during your military leave, you will not have an annual filing requirement. However, within 90 days of returning from military orders, you must file a disclosure form for each year in which you served (performed public duties) in your position prior to your military leave, and it will be your responsibility to either contact your agency's financial disclosure coordinator or the Commission on Ethics to ensure you are put back on the list of active filers for any future forms that will be due.

Your question is answered accordingly.

ORDERED by the State of Florida Commission on Ethics meeting in public session on March 6, 2026, and RENDERED this 11th day of March 2026.

____________________________________

Jon M. Philipson, Chair

^[1]Pursuant to 38 U.S. Code § 4316(b)(1)(A), a person who is absent from a position of employment by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be "deemed to be on furlough or leave of absence while performing such service. . ." Similarly, Section 115.14, Florida Statutes, provides that all employees of the state must be granted a leave of absence from public employment for federal military service.