CEO 75-2 -- January 6, 1975

NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS

APPLICABILITY OF PART III, CH. 112, F. S., TO BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF A NONPROFIT CORPORATION

To: Fredrick J. Catalano, Board of Trustees, Lake-Sumter Community Health Center, Eustis

Prepared by: Gene L. "Hal" Johnson

SUMMARY:

Notwithstanding the exclusion of public officers acting solely in an advisory capacity from the public officer disclosure provisions, members of the Board of Trustees, Lake-Sumter Community Health Center, are subject to the disclosure provisions of the Code of Ethics as they apply to public officers, s. 112.312(7)(b), F. S., as amended by Ch. 74-177. In accordance with part IV, Ch. 394, F. S., and s. 6, By- laws of Lake-Sumter Mental Health Center, Inc., the trustees constitute Mental Health District Board 10 and as such are empowered to receive and disperse both private and public funds and to contract with other agencies to furnish necessary services. By virtue of this status, said trustees are not solely advisory but are within the meaning of the term "public officer."

QUESTION:

Are the members of the Board of Trustees of the Lake-Sumter Community Health Center public officers within the meaning of that term as found in part III, Ch. 112, F. S., as amended by Ch. 74-177, Laws of Florida, and therefore subject to the disclosure provisions applicable to public officers?

Your question is answered in the affirmative.

The members of the Board of Trustees of the Lake-Sumter Community Health Center are in a unique position. Not only are they trustees for the Mental Health Center, but they also constitute the Mental Health District Board 10 established in accordance with part IV, Ch. 394, F. S. See s. 6, By-laws of Lake-Sumter Mental Health Center, Inc.

As members of the Mental Health District Board, they can receive and disperse both private and public funds. They may also contract with other agencies to furnish necessary services. These powers, along with other powers enumerated in s. 6 of the By-laws of the Lake-Sumter Mental Health Center, Inc., establish that the trustees function as the Mental Health District Board is not solely advisory.

Based upon these functions, we must conclude that the trustees, by virtue of their status as the Mental Health District Board, are within the meaning of the term "public officer" as defined in s. 112.312(7)(b), F. S., as amended by Ch. 74-177, Laws of Florida, and are subject therefore to the disclosure provisions of the Code of Ethics as they apply to public officers.