CEO 84-45 -- June 7, 1984

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

APPLICABILITY OF DISCLOSURE LAW TO PERSONNEL MANAGER AND BUDGET DIRECTOR FOR DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

To: (Name withheld at the person's request.)

SUMMARY:

The Personnel Manager for District VI of the Department of Transportation is a "specified state employee" subject to the requirement of filing a statement of financial interests under Section 112.3145, Florida Statutes, as his responsibilities are those of a personnel officer for a state agency. The Budget Director within the Bureau of Programming and Budget, Department of Transportation, is not a "specified state employee" subject to the requirement of filing a statement of financial interests, as he does not have the responsibilities of a finance and accounting director. CEO's 77-87 and 78-45 are referenced.

QUESTION 1:

Is the Personnel Manager for District VI of the Department of Transportation a "specified employee" subject to the requirement of filing a statement of financial interests annually?

This question is answered in the affirmative.

In your letter of inquiry you advise that Mr. Stanley L. James is the Personnel Manager for District VI of the Department of Transportation. His position description indicates duties and responsibilities in the areas of recruitment and employment, classification of positions, compensation of employees, manpower planning, personnel records, disciplinary matters, and training programs for a district which includes approximately 750 positions. You also advise that he is not the personnel officer for the Department, whose position in Tallahassee is of a bureau chief level.

Each "specified state employee" is required to file a statement of financial interests within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter by July 1. Section 112.3145(2)(b), Florida Statutes (1983). The term "specified state employee" is defined to include "personnel officers . . . for any state agency." Section 112.3145(1)(b)5, Florida Statutes (1983). In our opinion, the language used by the Legislature indicates that the financial disclosure law is intended to apply to all state employees with substantial personnel responsibilities for any unit of a state department, rather than only the single individual who ultimately is responsible for personnel matters for the entire department. We base this conclusion on the use of the plural term "personnel officers" and on the definition of "agency," which is defined to include divisions and bureaus as well as departments. See Section 112.312(2), Florida Statutes.

Accordingly, we find that the subject Personnel Manager is a "specified state employee" required to file a statement of financial interests annually under Section 112.3145, Florida Statutes.

QUESTION 2:

Is the Budget Director within the Bureau of Programming and Budget, Department of Transportation, a "specified state employee" subject to the requirement of filing a statement of financial interests annually?

This question is answered in the negative.

In your letter of inquiry and in a telephone conversation with our staff you advise that Mr. Jerome B. Karp serves as Budget Director at the section level within the Bureau of Programming and Budget, Department of Transportation. His responsibilities in that position relate strictly to internal budgeting matters, and do not involve approving, disbursing, and accounting for Department funds, which are matters within the authority of the Department's comptroller.

The "specified state employees" subject to the financial disclosure law include "finance and accounting directors . . . for any state agency." Section 112.3145(1)(b)5, Florida Statutes (1983). We previously have distinguished between auditing functions and finance and accounting functions involving the handling of state funds. See CEO 77-87 and CEO 78-45, in which we indicated that state university comptrollers perform the functions of finance and accounting directors for those state agencies. Similarly, we find that the responsibilities of the subject employee are not those of a finance and accounting director, as his authority relates strictly to budget matters and does not include the disbursement of and accounting for state funds.

Accordingly, we find that the subject Budget Director is not a "specified state employee" subject to the requirement of filing a statement of financial interests annually.