As we enter another year at the Broward MPO, staff wish to address some confusion that has been noted among board and committee members when it comes to abstentions. According to Section 112.3143, Florida Statutes, "a person holding an elective or appointive county, municipal, or other local public office MUST ABSTAIN from voting on a measure which inures to his or her special private gain or loss. Each elected or appointed local officer also is prohibited from knowingly voting on a measure which inures to the special gain or loss of a principal (other than a government agency) by whom he or she is retained (including the parent organization or subsidiary of a corporate principal by which he or she is retained); to the special private gain or loss of a relative; or to the special private gain or loss of a business associate." Further, while it may be acceptable to participate in a discussion on an item where a member may have a conflict, there are certain requirements which must be met for this to be allowable (for details, please refer to Form 8B Memorandum of Voting Conflict for County, Municipal, and Other Local Public Officers in the Attachment). Finally, members must vote on items as they are presented unless a conflict exists as discussed above, whereupon you must complete the Form 8B and submit it to MPO staff no later than 15 days after a vote occurs. While the MPO can remind members of these obligations, responsibility ultimately falls upon the member to comply with the statutory requirements.

When abstaining from an item, board/committee members are required to fill out and submit Form 8B to MPO staff. Staff will typically provide this Form in person or via email after a meeting takes place, but if you have not received it, please let us know as soon as possible so that it can be provided. This Form is then filed away with the minutes for the meeting in the event a vote gets challenged for reasons of a potential conflict.

Thanks in advance for helping to keep our meeting bodies in compliance with the Florida Statutes. Should you have any questions concerning this process or Form 8B, please don't hesitate to reach out to MPO staff.

If you have any questions about this item, please contact Carl Ema at (954) 876-0052 or emac@browardmpo.org.