Ethics commission says planned Miami‑Dade county‑owned housing entity can avoid prohibited conflicts if structured as described

The Florida Commission on Ethics on a voice vote adopted an advisory opinion in response to a request from an assistant county attorney for Miami‑Dade County about a proposal to create a county‑owned business entity to assist with public and affordable housing. The draft opinion, identified as advisory opinion file 28‑18, concludes that the ethics code’s conflict provisions likely would not bar county commissioners or county employees from participating in the entity if it is structured as described to the commission. The motion to adopt the draft passed; Commissioner Bush registered the lone opposition.

The opinion analyzes whether county commissioners serving as unpaid members of a county‑owned entity’s board and county employees performing the entity’s work under a shared‑use agreement would trigger the ethics code’s prohibitions. Staff attorney Stephen Schaffer told the commission that the inquiry focuses on the ethics statutes and not on whether state or federal housing law would permit the entity to be formed or to apply for federal housing funds. "Our piece of the puzzle is purely whether if this entity is set up and the mayor that described, whether it would trigger a violation of any of our ethics prohibitions for the county officers and county employees that would be affiliated with it," Schaffer…