St. Pete City Council member Darden Rice is requesting a revote in the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority motion Wednesday that elected her chair of the board for 2016. PSTA Brad Miller confirmed he will honor that request.
“In an abundance of caution, I am requesting PSTA CEO Brad Miller take corrective action about a probable Sunshine Law violation and call for a revote of our officers,” Rice wrote. “2016 is an exciting year for PSTA and I want to be sure we start off right by taking the proper and corrective action regarding this issue.”
Rice and fellow board member Pat Johnson potentially breached Florida’s Sunshine Laws after Johnson admitted she asked Rice if she would be interested in chairing the board outside of a public forum.
Under Florida’s Sunshine Laws, two members of the same board may not discuss items likely to come before the board for a vote unless it is in a public forum.
While the correspondence does appear to be a violation of the open government law, it is still a minor one. Some violations of Sunshine Laws carry civil penalties for those who break them while other more egregious examples can lead to that person’s removal from office. According to Richard Harrison, an adjunct professor at Stetson Law and Certified Local Government attorney, this particular violation isn’t likely to draw either consequence.
While Harrison agreed the conversation at issue was indeed a violation of Sunshine, he called it the “most harmless sunshine violation I could think of.”
Harrison said the best way to remedy the violation would be to “cure” it through a new vote. Simply put, he said, the involved members should explain what happened and then put the matter up for another vote.
If PSTA were to not do that, Rice’s nomination as chair could be void. If she continued to serve in that capacity during any period in 2016 in would call into question any official board action.
That’s why Rice said she is taking steps to be as careful as possible.
“I remain confident that doing this will be the best way to go forward,” Rice wrote in an email to the rest of the board and Miller.
She also requested that Alan Zimmet, an attorney working on this issue, give the board further guidance on “corrective action.”
The revote will likely occur at PSTA’s next board meeting on January 27. There, members will vote for a second time for either Rice or Dunedin Mayor Julie Ward Bujalski. The original vote was a close one. Rice won by just one vote — 7-6.
