LTC 090-2024 CITY OF SWEETWATER RESOLUTION NO. 5061MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
No.
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk -~
March 12, 2024
CITY OF SWEETWATER RESOLUTION NO. 5061
Attached for your information is Resolution No. 5061, adopted by the Mayor and City Commission
of City of Sweetwater on March 4, 2024.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF CITY OF SWEETWATER,
FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING PARTICIPATION IN A LAWSUIT SEEKING A
DECLARATION THAT THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 112.144(1)(d), FLORIDA
STATUTES, THAT REQUIRE MUNICIPAL ELECTED OFFICIALS TO FILE FORM
6 FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORMS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND INVALID;
PROVIDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORIZATION;
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
The City of Sweetwater Clerk has requested that a copy of this Resolution be provided to the
Miami Beach Mayor and Commissioners.
If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the City Clerk at 305.673. 7 411.
REG/le
Attachment
F:\CLER\$ALL\LILIA\L TC's - Transmittal's\Sweetwater\Resolution 5061 City of Sweetwater.docx
090-2024
Resolution 50o l
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF
CITY OF SWEETWATER, FLORIDA AUTHORIZING
PARTICIPATION IN A LAWSUIT SEEKING A
DECLARATION THAT THE PROVISIONS OF
SECTION 112.144(1)(d), FLORIDA STATUTES, THAT
REQUIRE MUNICIPAL ELECTED OFFICIALS TO
FILE FORM 6 FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORMS IS
UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND INVALID; PROVIDING
FOR IMPLEMENTATION; PROVIDING FOR
AUTHORIZATION; PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, since 1976, Article II, Section 8 of the Florida Constitution has required
that all elected State constitutional officers file a full and public disclosure of their
financial interests, which is done through a state-adopted form ("Form 6") that requires,
among other things, the disclosure of the specific amounts of an official's net worth,
income, and asset values; and,
WHEREAS, historically, municipal elected officials have been required to make a more
limited financial disclosure that is done through a different state-adopted form ("Form I")
that requires, among other things, the disclosure of information related to sources of
income, real property, intangible personal property liabilities and interests in specified
businesses, but does not include the specific amounts of an official's net worth, income,
and asset values; and,
WHEREAS, the Mayor and all current elected members of the City of Sweetwater City
Commission (the "City Elected Officials") were elected by the voters of the City subject
to and in reliance upon Florida law that required the Mayor and City Commission
Members to annually file Form 1 (not Form 6) financial disclosures forms; and,
WHEREAS, although the State Legislature has the power in the Florida Constitution to
require that additional public officers file a full and public disclosure of their financial
interests, it must do so consistent with other constitutional limitations; and,
WHEREAS, in 1980, the voters of Florida amended the Florida Constitution by adopting
Article 1, Section 23, the "Right to Privacy," which states that "[e]very natural person has
the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person's private life
except as otherwise provided herein"; and,
Resolution re Form 6 Litigation
Page I of4
Resolution re Fonn 6 Litigation
Page 2 of4
WHEREAS, because the right of privacy is a fundamental right within Florida's
Constitution, the Florida Supreme Court has consistently required that any law intruding
on the right is presumptively unconstitutional and must be justified by a "compelling state
interest" which the law serves or protects through the "least restrictive means;" and,
WHEREAS, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Article 1,
Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, protects the freedom of speech, which includes the
right to choose what to say and what not to say, any impairment of which must be
justified by a "compelling state interest" which the law serves or protects through the
"least restrictive means;" and,
WHEREAS, during the 2023 legislative session, Senate Bill 774 was passed and
codified at Law of Florida 2023-09, amending Fla. Stat. $ 112.3144, to change the
financial disclosure requirements and now require that all elected municipal mayors and
elected members of the governing board file a Form 6 financial disclosure, which is
substantially more burdensome and personally intrusive than the Form 1; and,
WHEREAS, the imposition of the Form 6 disclosure requirements at the municipal level
(a) represents an unwarranted intrusion into the privacy rights of municipal elected
officials, most of which receive little or no compensation for their service, (b)
unnecessarily risks the safety of such officials (making them targets of, among other
things, burglary, identity theft and extortion), and (c) will deter many otherwise qualified
and interested citizens from running for office; and,
WHEREAS, in fact, many municipal officials resigned from office prior to December
31, 2023, as a result of the new disclosure requirements, disrupting the ability of some
local governments to operate for lack of a quorum; and,
WHEREAS, the imposition of the intrusive Form 6 disclosure requirements at the
municipal level is not the least restrictive means of serving the governmental interests of
preventing abuse of the public trust, as demonstrated by, among other things, the lack of
such requirements at the municipal level in other states and at the federal level ( even the
President of the United States and members of the U.S. Congress are not required to
make such extensive disclosures); and,
WHEREAS, requiring that unpaid ( or low paid) municipal elected officials disclose their
precise net worth, income and assets does not serve (let alone constitute the least
restrictive means of serving) any compelling interest - Form 1 disclosure constitutes
sufficient transparency to inform the public of potential conflicts; and,
Ka, #soot
Resolution re Form 6 Litigation
Page 3 of 4
WHEREAS, the imposition of new financial disclosure requirements upon municipal
elected officials who were elected without such requirements violates due process, is
fundamentally unfair and violates fundamental constitutional rights; and,
WHEREAS, the City desires to participate in a lawsuit seeking a declaration that the
provisions of Section 112.3144( 1 )(d), Florida Statutes, that require municipal elected
officials to file Form 6 financial disclosure forms are unconstitutional and invalid and
should be enjoined (the "Lawsuit"); and,
WHEREAS, the City Commission believes it is in the best interest of the citizens and
residents of the City to participate in the Lawsuit and urges other municipalities and their
elected officials to also participate as plaintiffs;
NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by the City Commission of the City of Sweetwater:
l. The foregoing preamble is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in full.
2. That the City Commission hereby authorizes the participation of the City, and any
of the individual Members of the City Commission who choose to participate as
plaintiffs, in a lawsuit seeking declaratory, injunctive and other appropriate relief
challenging the provisions of Section 112.3144(1 )(d), Florida Statutes, that
require municipal elected officials to file Form 6 financial disclosure forms, based
upon any appropriate legal theories, including those set forth above, subject to the
participation of at least ten municipalities.
3. That Weiss Serota Helfman Cole+ Bierman, PL (the "Firm") is hereby retained to
represent the City in this litigation. The Firm will charge the City a flat fee,
inclusive of attorneys' fees and costs, of $10,000 to represent the City and the
individual elected officials who choose to participate as plaintiffs, for the
litigation in the trial court. The City and elected officials recognize that such flat
fee may be less than the actual attorneys' fees and costs incurred, and that if the
City and elected officials prevail in the Lawsuit, the Firm may apply with the
Court for its actual reasonable attorneys' and costs from the defendants. The filing
of any appeals will be authorized by separate resolution under the terms thereof.
The City and its elected officials also acknowledge that the Firm will be
representing other local governments and officials in this lawsuit and waives any
conflicts related to such representation.
4. That the City Commission invites and urges other local governments and elected
officials to join the City as plaintiffs in the Lawsuit and to coordinate their efforts
Resolution re Form 6 Litigation
Page4 of4
with the City.
5. The City Clerk is directed to distribute this Resolution to all local governments in
Miami-Dade County.
6. That the Mayor is hereby directed and authorized to take any action necessary to
implement the purposes of this Resolution.
7. This resolution shall become effective upon its adoption by the City Commission
and approval by the Mayor or if vetoed, upon its reenactment by the City
Commission as provided by the Charter of the City of Sweetwater.
Passed and adopted on Marcl A, a0a4£.
Reinaldo Rey,
City Commission President
Reinaldo Re , President of the Ci Commission
Ian Vallecillo, Vice President of the Ci Commission
Saul Diaz, Ci Commissioner
Idania Llanio, Ci Commissioner
Jose Marti, Ci Commissioner
Isidro Ruiz, Cit Commissioner
Marcos Villanueva, Cit Commissioner