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Attorney briefs board on new Florida rules: vendor affidavits for foreign ties and anti‑coercion required
Summary
Board counsel told trustees that recent Florida statutory amendments require vendor affidavits attesting to (1) absence of ownership/control by specified foreign countries of concern when contracts would grant access to personal identifying information, and (2) absence of coercion or human‑trafficking practices.
Board counsel informed trustees that the Florida Legislature enacted statutory changes with vendor-attestation implications for local governments.
Counsel and a firm associate told trustees the first amendment (referenced in the presentation as Florida statute 287.138, effective Jan. 1, 2024) addresses contracts that would give vendors access to individuals’ personal identifying information. The statute identifies certain “foreign countries of concern” in the presentation—listed as the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, and the Syrian Arab Republic—and prohibits Florida governmental entities from knowingly entering into contracts that grant such entities access to personal identifying information unless the vendor provides a signed affidavit attesting it is not owned, controlled by, or organized in one of those jurisdictions. Counsel said renewals or extensions of existing contracts that grant access to personal identifying information will be restricted beginning July 1, 2025 unless vendors provide the required affidavit.
A second amendment that took effect July 1, 2024, requires nongovernmental vendors that contract with a governmental entity to provide an affidavit under penalty of perjury that the vendor does not use coercion for labor or services. Counsel summarized the statutory definition of coercion as used in the amendment (examples include use or threat of physical force, restraint, confiscation of identity documents, debt-bondage practices, fraud or deception, or supplying controlled substances to induce exploitation). Counsel said sample affidavit language was included in the meeting materials and that the plan will ask current and future service providers to sign the attestations as a best-practice compliance step.
Counsel recommended adding the required affidavit language to new agreements and, in practice, obtaining attestations from existing contractors; no formal board action was required at the meeting, though counsel said the firm would circulate sample affidavits to trustees and staff.
