Welcome to

An ethics law loophole has allowed high ranking executives at state run Citizens Property Insurance to quickly work for the companies months after awarding them million dollar contracts. As Matt Galka tells us, critics are demanding the loophole be closed.

It’s a scene that’s played out far too often for Citizens Property Insurance: a high ranking-executive bolts to work for a company that was just awarded a multimillion dollar contract.

“The state ethics code had too many loopholes,” said Integrity Florida Executive Director Dan Krassner.

Krassner says one of those loopholes allows for senior executives to do this. The law bans other state employees from working for a company they’ve done business with for two years.

“The inspector general should launch a full investigation into these cozy relationships, the revolving door that these executives have with the companies they regulate,” he said.

Citizens spokesman Michael Peleier says that senior executives that have left – some as recent as January of this year – didn’t have a direct relationship with the contracts being handled.

“Those contracts were awarded through our normal procedures, a team of evaluators, a team of negotiators, the employees in question were not involved in those groups,” said Peltier.

The revolving door has prompted State Senator David Simmons (R- Altamonte Springs) – the head of the Senate Banking and Insurance committee – to call for a tightening up of ethics laws.

“We’re trying to make sure there’s a full and complete application of Florida’s ethics laws in Citizens,” he said.

Citizens says they’re not sure yet whether their inspector general will be looking into the claims. Integrity Florida sent an official letter today to Citizens Inspector General Bruce Meeks calling for an official review.