Melbourne joining challenge to new financial disclosure requirements for public officials

The Melbourne City Council is joining a legal challenge to a new state law requiring municipal mayors and council members to file extensive financial disclosure reports.

The law went into effect on Jan. 1, with the first "Form 6" disclosure report due on July 1. More than 100 municipal elected officials statewide resigned because of the law, including two each in Grant-Valkaria and Melbourne Village.

Many other elected officials in Florida — from the governor down to county commissioners — already are required to file Form 6 financial disclosures. But some municipal officials thought the requirement was too much for their positions, which are part time and typically offer only small stipends or are done on a volunteer basis.

The completed forms are available for public viewing on the Florida Commission on Ethics website.

The form details an elected official's total net worth, sources of income, ownership in businesses, real estate holdings, stock and bond investments, and bank accounts. It also requires listing the total value of all household goods and personal effects, such as jewelry; collections of stamps, coins and guns; art objects; household equipment and furnishings; clothing; and vehicles. Filers also must disclose their liabilities, such as mortgages, car loans and student loans.

Officials say requirement is too much: Form 6 fallout: New financial disclosure requirements lead elected officials to resign

"I find this to be an invasion of privacy," Melbourne City Council Member Mark LaRusso said during a recent City Council meeting, at which he urged his fellow council members to support joining the lawsuit. "I'm sorry. My life is not that open of a book, and I don't believe any of yours are, either. I think you can see I'm pretty revved up about this."

Other Melbourne City Council members agreed, and plan to vote next week to allocate $10,000 toward the legal action, to have Melbourne named as a municipal plaintiff and to have LaRusso named as an individual plaintiff in the case.

So far, 20 other Florida municipalities and 47 elected officials from those municipalities have committed to being plaintiffs in the lawsuit, according to Fort Lauderdale-based attorney Jamie Cole, who is spearheading the legal action.

Each municipality that becomes a plaintiff is committing $10,000 toward the case.

Cole said he expects to file the case next week, challenging the state law approved by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year. Cole said the suit will allege that the law violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment free-speech right to not compel someone to say something, as well as the Florida Constitution's right to privacy.

Cole said he is still determining whether to file the case in U.S. District Court, state Circuit Court or both, because the case has both federal and state issues to adjudicate. The suit will be filed against members of the Florida Commission on Ethics, which is the state agency designated to enforce the law.

Cole said he will ask the court for an injunction against the law's enforcement and a declaration that the law is invalid.

He contends that the less-detailed "Form 1" financial disclosure report that municipal elected officials previously were required to file should be sufficient in helping guard against corruption and conflicts of interest by those officials.

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Melbourne City Council members didn't appear hesitant to join the suit during their recent City Council meeting — an action which will be formalized in a vote next Tuesday.

They said the new disclose requirements open them up to robberies if people know what valuables they have at their residence, and could force them to betray the confidence of their business customers, because the disclosure form asks that customers providing more than 10% of their income be listed. It also could cost them many hours of time to fill out the disclosure form or require them to hire an accountant to compile the information.

LaRusso said the requirement also could "weaponize" a political opponent, who may want to challenge the accuracy of a mayor or council member's Form 6, forcing a hearing before the Commission on Ethics.

Under the law, if a municipal official required to file a Form 6 does not do so after a grace period that ends Sept. 1, that official faces a fine of $25 a day. In addition, willful violation can subject the official to more severe penalties, including removal from office.

Some officials also fear the Form 6 requirement will discourage people from running for municipal office, because the candidates would have to file the form when qualifying for a spot on the ballot.

According to Florida Commission on Ethics Chair Ashley Lukis, the new law increased the number of officials required to file a Form 6 from about 2,600 to about 5,200.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Suit will seek to overturn new financial disclosure requirements