CEO 80-40 -- May 21, 1980

HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD EMPLOYEES

APPLICABILITY OF FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE LAW

To: Nancy Dobson, Director, Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board, Tallahassee

Prepared by: Phil Claypool

SUMMARY:

For purposes of the annual filing of financial disclosure, the term "specified employee" is defined in s. 112.3145(1)(b), F. S., to include purchasing agents and grants coordinators for any state agency. When employees of an historic preservation board have no purchasing authority and no authority to award grants, they are not deemed to constitute either purchasing agents or grant coordinators. Unless one or more of the employees has received more than $250 for consultations during the past year, under terms of s. 112.3145(1)(b)8., none of these employees are "specified employees" subject to the requirement of filing financial disclosure annually.

QUESTION:

Are the employees of the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board, other than the director of the board, "specified employees" subject to the requirement of filing financial disclosure annually?

Your question is answered in the negative, subject to a possible exception noted below.

In your letter of inquiry you advise that, other than yourself as director, the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board employs three persons, a senior museum curator, a secretary III, and a maintenance- repairman. You also advise that the senior museum curator directs research, plans exhibits and brochures, and works with the public on grant requests and preservation projects. The secretary III does all typing and filing, serves as a receptionist at the board's headquarters, and takes care of the board's records and purchasing requests. The maintenance-repairman, you advise, does all custodial and repair work at the board's headquarters and does other, miscellaneous work for the board.

In a telephone conversation with our staff, you advised that only the director of the board has the authority to sign purchase orders and that the other three workers are state employees with career service system status. In addition, you advise that the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board does not award grants and does not have any funding which would enable it to give any grants; rather, the senior museum curator works with local persons and organizations to help them prepare grant requests from other agencies.

The Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees requires each "specified employee" to file a statement of financial interests annually. Section 112.3145(2)(b), F. S. The term "specified employee," defined in s. 112.3145(1)(b), includes purchasing agents and grants coordinators for any state agency. However, as none of the three career service employees of the board have any purchasing authority, they would not constitute purchasing agents. Nor are we of the opinion that the senior museum curator could be considered a "grants coordinator." The curator has no authority to determine who will receive a grant or how much that grant will amount to; his duties merely include assisting interested persons to obtain grants from agencies other than the board.

Finally, we note that the definition of "specified employee" also includes

[a]ny full-time state employee who, in addition to his regular duties, accepts compensation which in the aggregate exceeds $250 for consultations with other state agencies or with other government or business entities. [Section 112.3145(1)(b)8., F. S.]

Accordingly, we find that, unless one or more of the employees of the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board have received more than $250 for consultations during the past year, none of these employees would be "specified employees" subject to the requirement of filing financial disclosure annually.