Ethics + Civility
Florida has very broad laws related to ethics, public meetings and public records, and many cities have adopted additional standards for their officials and employees. Many local governments have also adopted civility pledges to ensure that the public, elected officials and staff follow reasonable rules for public conduct.
This page contains information on ethics and civility publications, training, government agency resources and other tools to assist elected and appointed officials, employees and volunteers.

Click here to learn more about the state-required Continuing Education in Ethics (state law requiring all elected municipal officers to receive four (4) hours of ethics-specific training annually).
Manuals + Articles
- Florida Municipal Officials’ Manual
- Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual
- Laws and Constitution of the State of Florida
- The Ethical GPS: Navigating Everyday Dilemmas (A Local Government Guide)
- Ethics & Compliance Initiative
- Ethical Behavior in the State of Florida (John Hubbard)
- Ethically Speaking (Bonnie Williams)
- Honest Services Fraud Paper (County Attorney Herbert Thiele)
- CityEthics.org
Government Agency Resources
- John Scott Dailey Florida Institute of Government Online Ethics Course
- Florida City and County Management Association Online Ethics Course
- Institute for Elected Municipal Officials
- Florida Commission on Ethics
- Office of the Attorney General of Florida
- The Florida Center for Citizenship
- Sample Ethics Pledge
Civility Resources
- George Washington’s Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior
- Former Florida Legislators for Good Government Sample Civility Pledge
- Sample Ordinance: Dunedin Civility Code of Core Values for Civility and Ethics
- Additional Ordinances: MuniCode
- A Plea for Public Civility: An Example from One Florida Community (Ron Barnette)