Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause in 2023 that then-state Rep. Randy Fine violated state ethics law in a West Melbourne funding dispute, over its Advocate's no-probable-cause recommendation; no hearing has been held

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On April 21, 2023 (order filed April 26) the Florida Commission on Ethics, departing from its Advocate's March 2023 recommendation of no probable cause, found probable cause to believe Randy Fine, then a member of the Florida House, violated Article II, Section 8(h)(2) of the Florida Constitution (using his position to obtain a disproportionate benefit) and s. 112.313(6), Florida Statutes (using his position to secure a privilege, benefit or exemption), and ordered a public hearing. Probable cause is a preliminary step, not a finding that a violation occurred. The complaint (No. 22-079) was filed by then-Brevard School Board member Jennifer Jenkins, with whom Fine had prior acrimonious dealings. The Advocate's recommendation, which concluded the evidence did not show an abuse of position, describes text messages in which Fine told West Melbourne Councilman John Dittmore that Jenkins 'just put your project and Special Olympics funding on the veto list' after Jenkins joined a police department fundraiser, and says Fine made disparaging comments about Jenkins. Fine told investigators the comments were made in jest and were not a serious threat, denied ever indicating he would veto the city's funding because of Jenkins's participation, and acknowledged making disparaging comments about her. According to The Space Coast Rocket, whose publisher is a complainant in a separate Fine case, at its Aug. 28, 2026 public session the Commission dismissed three of the complaint's six allegations under s. 112.324(12) after a 2024 change in state law, on the ground that the complaint did not show they rested on personal knowledge or non-hearsay information, not because they were found false. The dismissed allegations include one that Fine urged the firing of the West Melbourne city attorney over public-records advice. The three remaining allegations, per that account, are that Fine posted disparaging comments about Jenkins, told Dittmore and the mayor he would veto or reduce funding because of her participation, and did not respond to her public-records request. According to Florida Bulldog (May 9, 2024), an administrative law judge who was to hear the case in May 2024 instead returned it to the Commission at the request of Fine's attorney, who cited potential disparate treatment. The Florida Ethics Institute's summary of the Commission's August 2026 meeting likewise lists the three dismissed allegations and the three that proceed to a public hearing. The probable-cause finding has not been tested at a public hearing, and no hearing outcome has been reported.

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