Federal judge blocks state financial disclosure law for local officials

Senate Bill 774 took effect on Jan. 1 and led to a mass resignation of local officials throughout the state. In Marion County, resignations included the entire town council and mayor of the city of Reddick, four town council members in McIntosh, and two city council members in Dunnellon.
Months after a law took effect that required mayors and city council members in Florida to divulge sensitive financial information, a federal judge has blocked the law, claiming it violates the First Amendment.
The law, Senate Bill 774, took effect on Jan. 1 and led to a mass resignation of local officials throughout the state. In Marion County, resignations included the entire town council and mayor of the city of Reddick, four town council members in McIntosh, and two city council members in Dunnellon.
The law required mayors and city council members to file Form 6, which required individuals to disclose their net worth, value of household goods, and all assets and liabilities over $1,000 in value. Before the law, these officials were only required to file Form 1, detailing sources of income and assets over $10,000 in value.
U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian issued a temporary injunction against the law after 26 cities and 74 public officials challenged its legality.
“(The state has) not demonstrated a relationship between the interest of protecting against the abuse of the public trust and SB 774’s fulsome financial disclosure requirements, and history does not support or justify the need for requiring municipal elected officials and candidates to comply with the Form 6 requirements when Form 1, a less–intrusive method, is available and has not been shown to be ineffective or inadequate,” Damian wrote.
The lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit was Jamie A. Cole of Weiss Serota HelfmanCole + Bierman.
“The imposition of the Form 6 disclosure requirements at the municipal level represents an unwarranted intrusion into the privacy rights of municipal elected officials, most of which receive little or no compensation for their service, unnecessarily risks the safety of such officials…and will deter many otherwise qualified and interested citizens from running for office,” said Cole in the lawsuit.
To fill the vacancies left by former councilmembers Mark Naworensky, Melinda Jones, Suzanne Sindledecker and Scott Mullikin on the McIntosh Town Council, Gov. Ron DeSantis in April appointed Eva Callahan, William “Lee” Deadrick, Donald Medeiros and Richard Talbert.
In Dunnellon, city council members appointed Walter Green to serve as the new mayor in January after former Mayor Wally Dunn resigned in December, citing concerns with Form 6. Green formerly served in Seat 5 of the Dunnellon City Council, so the council appointed Valerie Porter Hanchar to fill his vacancy as a council member.
Former councilmember Julianne Mendonca also resigned with Dunn over Form 6 and was replaced by Chuck Dillon. Dillon has since resigned from the council, and his seat remains vacant.
The town of Reddick is still left without a town council or mayor after the resignations of John Vetter, Steven Rodgers, Martha Cromwell, Shirley Youmans, Nadine Stokes and Myra Sherman.
Vetter has expressed interest in being reinstated as mayor. If the town of Reddick fails to find members for its government, the charter of the town could be dissolved, and the town would be absorbed into the county.