Florida Commission on Ethics finds probable cause that Randy Fine, as a state representative, accepted prohibited gifts when his political committee paid $20,000 in legal fees; no probable cause on a financial disclosure allegation, Sept. 2026

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On Sept. 2, 2026 the Florida Commission on Ethics filed an order finding probable cause to believe Randy Fine, while a Florida state representative, violated s. 112.3148(4), Florida Statutes (accepting a gift over $100 from a prohibited donor) and s. 112.31485(2)(a) (accepting a gift from a political committee), and ordered a public hearing; the order was entered in executive session on Aug. 28, 2026. Probable cause is a preliminary step, not a finding that a violation occurred, and no hearing outcome has been reported. The order says it rests on the Commission Advocate's Jan. 6, 2025 recommendation. That recommendation says Fine's political committee, Friends of Randy Fine, paid $10,000 on Nov. 28, 2023 and $10,000 on Jan. 8, 2024, both reported as 'Legal Services,' to the Law Firm of Alan Landman; that the attorney said the payments were for motions he filed for Fine in two Brevard County court matters in which Fine had been subpoenaed as a third-party witness (a civil public-records suit brought by Jenkins and a criminal case in which Burns was the defendant); that the payments were for legal services to Fine in his personal capacity and were not disclosed as gifts; and that Fine did not participate in the investigation. The Commission found no probable cause on a separate allegation that Fine's 2023 financial disclosure form (Form 6) was inaccurate, and that allegation will not be at issue in any hearing. Complaints 24-037, 24-134 and 24-135 were filed by Jennifer Jenkins and Robert Burns, each a party to one of the two underlying matters. Neither the order nor the Advocate's recommendation states a penalty; under s. 112.31485 the Commission can recommend a civil penalty only after a hearing finds a violation. According to The Space Coast Rocket, whose publisher is a complainant, the Commission voted 3-2 with one abstention. In an April 8, 2025 letter to the Commission, Fine's attorney argued that Fine was subpoenaed in his official capacity as a legislator, was not a party to either case, that the committee lawfully paid for his defense in politically charged proceedings, and that the payments were not gifts to him in his individual capacity; he also said the Florida Elections Commission had found an identical complaint legally insufficient. Per the Rocket's account of the Commission's records, that Elections Commission case was closed at the legal-sufficiency stage after no amended complaint was filed, not on the merits.

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