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Senate committee updates ethics definition to explicitly include foster parents and children
Summary
The committee unanimously passed SB 572 to amend ethics statutes’ definition of "relative" to include foster parents and foster children, a change supported by the Florida Commission on Ethics as a modernization step.
Senators on the committee unanimously approved SB 572, a bill that updates Florida’s ethics statutes to explicitly treat foster parents and foster children as relatives for purposes of ethics rules. Sponsor Senator Harrell said the change reflects that "A foster child is part of the family" and that foster parents often love foster children "as much as their own child."
The bill’s backers say the amendment is intended to modernize statutory language across state ethics codes. Carrie Stillman, executive director of the Florida Commission on Ethics, told the committee the change was one of the Commission’s recommendations and would put foster families "on equal footing with biological and adoptive families in the definition of relatives."
There was no opposition testimony and no amendments offered. Senator Harrell closed by urging "favorable support" and the clerk recorded a roll call in which all present Senators voted yes. The chair announced the bill had passed and it will be reported to the Senate.
