Text of FL S 1566 (2026)

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1566 By Senator DiCeglie 18-00756B-26 20261566__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to local government spending; 3 providing a short title; amending s. 129.03, F.S.; 4 revising the timeframe during which tentative budgets, 5 and the length of time for which final budgets, must 6 be posted on county websites; requiring the posting of 7 such budgets to allow members of the public to view, 8 review, and download certain information and data in 9 specified formats; requiring the county budget officer 10 to perform a certain exercise within a specified 11 timeframe before final adoption of a budget; requiring 12 the county budget officer to post such exercise on the 13 county’s website; amending s. 129.06, F.S.; revising 14 the timeframe during which a public hearing for an 15 amendment to a county budget must be advertised; 16 revising the timeframe during which an adopted 17 amendment must remain posted on the county’s website; 18 requiring that the posting of such adopted amendment 19 meet certain requirements; creating s. 163.212, F.S.; 20 prohibiting a local government from expending public 21 funds for the purpose of diversity, equity, and 22 inclusion; prohibiting a local government from 23 contracting with a private vendor for the provision of 24 services promoting, advocating for, or providing 25 training or education on diversity, equity, and 26 inclusion; providing that the inclusion of specified 27 language in certain contracts constitutes grounds for 28 termination of such contracts; requiring a local 29 government to provide written notice of termination of 30 a contract under certain circumstances; requiring 31 local governments to annually make a specified 32 certification to the Chief Financial Officer, 33 beginning on a specified date; authorizing the Chief 34 Financial Officer to adopt rules; authorizing a person 35 to call the governmental efficiency hotline under 36 certain circumstances; requiring the Chief Financial 37 Officer to conduct a specified evaluation; authorizing 38 the Chief Financial Officer to impose administrative 39 fines under certain circumstances; requiring that such 40 fines be deposited in the Insurance Regulatory Trust 41 Fund; providing construction; defining the term 42 “diversity, equity, and inclusion”; amending s. 43 166.241, F.S.; revising the timeframe during which 44 tentative budgets, and the length of time for which 45 final budgets, must be posted on municipal or county 46 websites, as applicable; requiring the posting of such 47 budgets to allow members of the public to view, 48 review, and download certain information and data in 49 specified formats; requiring the municipal budget 50 officer to perform a certain exercise within a 51 specified timeframe before final adoption of a budget; 52 requiring that such exercise be posted on the 53 municipality’s or county’s website, as applicable; 54 revising the timeframe during which, and the length of 55 time for which, an adopted amendment must be posted on 56 such website; requiring that the posting of such 57 adopted amendment meet certain requirements; providing 58 an effective date. 59 60 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 61 62 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Local Government 63 Financial Transparency and Accountability Act.” 64 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section 65 129.03, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 66 129.03 Preparation and adoption of budget.— 67 (3) The county budget officer, after tentatively 68 ascertaining the proposed fiscal policies of the board for the 69 next fiscal year, shall prepare and present to the board a 70 tentative budget for the next fiscal year for each of the funds 71 provided in this chapter, including all estimated receipts, 72 taxes to be levied, and balances expected to be brought forward 73 and all estimated expenditures, reserves, and balances to be 74 carried over at the end of the year. 75 (c)1. The board shall hold public hearings to adopt 76 tentative and final budgets pursuant to s. 200.065. The hearings 77 shall be primarily for the purpose of hearing requests and 78 complaints from the public regarding the budgets and the 79 proposed tax levies and for explaining the budget and any 80 proposed or adopted amendments. The tentative budget must be 81 posted on the county’s official website at least 14 2 days 82 before the public hearing to consider such budget and must 83 remain on the website for at least 45 days. The final budget 84 must be posted on the website within 30 days after adoption and 85 must remain on the website for at least 5 2 years. 86 2. Any tentative budget or final budget posted on the 87 county’s official website must allow members of the public to do 88 all of the following: 89 a. View budget data in a searchable format. 90 b. Review historical spending trends and filter data 91 according to categories in the county’s chart of accounts, 92 including, but not limited to, fund, department, division, 93 program, or activity. 94 c. Download financial data and graphs. 95 d. View data in different graphical formats, including, but 96 not limited to, stacked line, trend line, bar graph, and pie 97 chart. 98 e. View information for multiple county departments, 99 divisions, funds, or financial categories simultaneously. 100 f. View and compare revenue and expense trends 101 simultaneously on the same graph for any level of financial 102 data. 103 g. View all county employee salaries in a searchable 104 format. 105 h. View all travel expenses for all county employees in a 106 searchable format. 107 3. At least 14 days before final adoption of the budget by 108 the board of county commissioners, the county budget officer 109 must perform a budget-cutting exercise, identifying specific 110 reductions to the tentative budget for the ensuing fiscal year 111 which total 10 percent of the tentative budget, without 112 compromising essential public services, such as law enforcement 113 or fire services, or legal obligations. The county budget 114 officer must post such exercise on the county’s official website 115 in accordance with subparagraph 2. 116 4. The tentative budgets, adopted tentative budgets, and 117 final budgets shall be filed in the office of the county auditor 118 as a public record. Sufficient reference in words and figures to 119 identify the particular transactions must be made in the minutes 120 of the board to record its actions with reference to the 121 budgets. 122 Section 3. Paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of section 123 129.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 124 129.06 Execution and amendment of budget.— 125 (2) The board at any time within a fiscal year may amend a 126 budget for that year, and may within the first 60 days of a 127 fiscal year amend the budget for the prior fiscal year, as 128 follows: 129 (f) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, if an amendment to 130 a budget is required for a purpose not specifically authorized 131 in paragraphs (a)-(e), the amendment may be authorized by 132 resolution or ordinance of the board of county commissioners 133 adopted following a public hearing. 134 1. The public hearing must be advertised at least 7 2 days, 135 but not more than 5 days, before the date of the hearing. The 136 advertisement must appear in a newspaper of paid general 137 circulation and must identify the name of the taxing authority, 138 the date, place, and time of the hearing, and the purpose of the 139 hearing. The advertisement must also identify each budgetary 140 fund to be amended, the source of the funds, the use of the 141 funds, and the total amount of each fund’s appropriations. 142 2. If the board amends the budget pursuant to this 143 paragraph, the adopted amendment must be posted on the county’s 144 official website within 7 5 days before after adoption and must 145 remain on the website for at least 5 2 years. The adopted 146 amendment must be posted in accordance with s. 129.03(3)(c)2. 147 Section 4. Section 163.212, Florida Statutes, is created to 148 read: 149 163.212 Prohibiting local government expenditure of public 150 funds for diversity, equity, and inclusion.— 151 (1) A local government may not expend public funds, or 152 otherwise expend any funds derived from bequests, charges, 153 deposits, donations, grants, gifts, income, receipts, or any 154 other source of funds, for the purpose of diversity, equity, and 155 inclusion. 156 (2)(a) A local government may not contract with a private 157 vendor for the provision of services promoting, advocating for, 158 or providing training or education on diversity, equity, and 159 inclusion. 160 (b) If a contract between a local government and a private 161 vendor includes language promoting, advocating for, or providing 162 training or education on diversity, equity, and inclusion, such 163 language constitutes grounds for immediate termination of the 164 contract, in which case the local government shall provide a 165 written notice of termination to the representative of the 166 private vendor. 167 (3) By September 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, each 168 local government must certify to the Chief Financial Officer 169 that it is in compliance with this section. The Chief Financial 170 Officer may adopt rules to implement this subsection. 171 (4)(a) A person may call the governmental efficiency 172 hotline established pursuant to s. 17.325 if he or she believes 173 that a local government has violated this section. Upon receipt 174 of such information, the Chief Financial Officer shall conduct 175 an evaluation pursuant to s. 17.325. 176 (b)1. If the Chief Financial Officer determines that a 177 local government has violated this section, the Chief Financial 178 Officer may impose the following administrative fines: 179 a. For a first violation, $1,000 per day. 180 b. For a second or subsequent violation, $5,000 per day. 181 2. The proceeds of the fines shall be deposited in the 182 Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund. 183 (5) This section does not prohibit the expenditure of 184 public funds through local government contracting which is 185 reasonably necessary for the normal operation of government 186 functions. 187 (6) For purposes of this section, the term “diversity, 188 equity, and inclusion” means any effort by a local government 189 to: 190 (a) Affect the composition of its employees as it relates 191 to race, sex, color, or ethnicity, other than to ensure 192 compliance with relevant state and federal antidiscrimination 193 laws; 194 (b) Promote differential treatment of or provide special 195 benefits to a person based on his or her race, sex, color, or 196 ethnicity; 197 (c) Promote or adopt policies or procedures designed or 198 implemented with reference to race, sex, color, or ethnicity, 199 other than policies or procedures approved in writing by the 200 Attorney General for the sole purpose of ensuring compliance 201 with any applicable court order or state or federal law; 202 (d) Promote or adopt training, programming, or activities 203 designed or implemented with reference to race, color, 204 ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, other than 205 training, programming, or activities developed by an attorney 206 licensed in this state and approved in writing by the Attorney 207 General for the sole purpose of ensuring compliance with any 208 applicable court order or state or federal law; 209 (e) Promote, as the official position of a local government 210 agency, a particular opinion referencing unconscious or implicit 211 bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, 212 microaggressions, group marginalization, antiracism, systemic 213 oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neopronouns, 214 heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, racial or 215 sexual privilege, or any related formulation of such concepts; 216 or 217 (f) Advance, promote, entertain, or support fundamental 218 considerations of social justice, including, but not limited to, 219 critical race theory, or otherwise defend the concept that 220 mankind is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether 221 consciously or unconsciously, solely by virtue of his or her 222 race or sex. This also includes the concept that mankind is 223 responsible for the past actions of other members of the same 224 race or sex. 225 226 The term does not include equal opportunity or equal employment 227 opportunity materials designed to inform the public about the 228 prohibition on discrimination based on protected status under 229 state or federal law. 230 Section 5. Subsections (3) and (9) of section 166.241, 231 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 232 166.241 Fiscal years, budgets, appeal of municipal law 233 enforcement agency budget, and budget amendments.— 234 (3)(a) The tentative budget must be posted on the 235 municipality’s official website at least 14 2 days before the 236 budget hearing, held pursuant to s. 200.065 or other law, to 237 consider such budget and must remain on the website for at least 238 45 days. The final adopted budget must be posted on the 239 municipality’s official website within 30 days after adoption 240 and must remain on the website for at least 5 2 years. If the 241 municipality does not operate an official website, the 242 municipality must, within a reasonable period of time as 243 established by the county or counties in which the municipality 244 is located, transmit the tentative budget and final budget to 245 the manager or administrator of such county or counties who 246 shall post the budgets on the county’s website. 247 (b) Any tentative budget or final budget posted on the 248 municipality’s official website or the county’s official 249 website, as applicable, must allow members of the public to do 250 all of the following: 251 1. View budget data in a searchable format. 252 2. Review historical spending trends and filter data 253 according to categories in the municipality’s chart of accounts, 254 including, but not limited to, fund, department, division, 255 program, or activity. 256 3. Download financial data and graphs. 257 4. View data in different graphical formats, including, but 258 not limited to, stacked line, trend line, bar graph, and pie 259 chart. 260 5. View information for multiple municipal departments, 261 divisions, funds, or financial categories simultaneously. 262 6. View and compare revenue and expense trends 263 simultaneously on the same graph for any level of financial 264 data. 265 7. View all municipal employee salaries in a searchable 266 format. 267 8. View all travel expenses for all municipal employees in 268 a searchable format. 269 (c) At least 14 days before final adoption of the budget by 270 the governing body of a municipality, the municipal budget 271 officer must perform a budget-cutting exercise, identifying 272 specific reductions to the tentative budget for the ensuing 273 fiscal year which total 10 percent of the tentative budget, 274 without compromising essential public services, such as law 275 enforcement or fire services, or legal obligations. The 276 municipal budget officer must post this exercise on the 277 municipality’s official website or the county’s official 278 website, as applicable, in accordance with paragraph (b). 279 (9) If the governing body of a municipality amends the 280 budget pursuant to paragraph (8)(c), the adopted amendment must 281 be posted on the official website of the municipality within 7 5 282 days before after adoption and must remain on the website for at 283 least 5 2 years. If the municipality does not operate an 284 official website, the municipality must, within a reasonable 285 period of time as established by the county or counties in which 286 the municipality is located, transmit the adopted amendment to 287 the manager or administrator of such county or counties who 288 shall post the adopted amendment on the county’s website. The 289 adopted amendment must be posted in accordance with paragraph 290 (3)(b). 291 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.