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Florida Statute 838.22 - Full Text and Legal Analysis Florida Statute 838.22 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
Fla. Stat. § 838.22 (2026) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Amendments
838.22 Bid tampering.—
(1) It is unlawful for a public servant or a public contractor who has contracted with a governmental entity to assist in a competitive procurement to knowingly and intentionally influence or attempt to influence the competitive solicitation undertaken by any governmental entity for the procurement of commodities or services, by:
(a) Disclosing, except as authorized by law, material information concerning a vendor’s response, any evaluation results, or other aspects of the competitive solicitation when such information is not publicly disclosed.
(b) Altering or amending a submitted response, documents or other materials supporting a submitted response, or any evaluation results relating to the competitive solicitation for the purpose of intentionally providing a competitive advantage to any person who submits a response.
(2) It is unlawful for a public servant or a public contractor who has contracted with a governmental entity to assist in a competitive procurement to knowingly and intentionally obtain a benefit for any person or to cause unlawful harm to another by circumventing a competitive solicitation process required by law or rule through the use of a sole-source contract for commodities or services.
(3) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly agree, conspire, combine, or confederate, directly or indirectly, with a public servant or a public contractor who has contracted with a governmental entity to assist in a competitive procurement to violate subsection (1) or subsection (2).
(4) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly enter into a contract for commodities or services which was secured by a public servant or a public contractor who has contracted with a governmental entity to assist in a competitive procurement acting in violation of subsection (1) or subsection (2).
(5) Any person who violates this section commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
History.—s. 5, ch. 2003-158; s. 5, ch. 2016-151.

Arrestable Offenses under F.S. 838.22

M = misdemeanor · F = felony · degree: F=1st S=2nd T=3rd
§838.22(1)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 9920F · 2nd
§838.22(1)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 7924F · 2nd
§838.22(2)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 7925F · 2nd
§838.22(2)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESPUB SER CONTR USE SOLE SRCE CIRCUMVENT SOLITF · 2nd
§838.22(3)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 7926F · 2nd
§838.22(3)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESCONSPIRE W PUB SERV CONTR VIOL COMPET PROCUREMF · 2nd
§838.22(4)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESENTER CONTRACT SECURED BY VIOL COMPETIT PROCURF · 2nd
§838.22(4)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 7927F · 2nd
§838.22(5)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 8960F · 2nd
§838.22(5)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 8959F · 2nd
§838.22(5)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 8962F · 2nd
§838.22(5)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESRENUMBERED. SEE REC # 8961F · 2nd
§838.22(1a)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESDISCLOSING BID INFORMATION W/O AUTHORIZATIONF · 2nd
§838.22(1b)PUBLIC ORDER CRIMESALTER/AMEND BID MATERIALS TO PROVIDE ADVANTAGEF · 2nd

Cases Citing F.S. 838.22

Fla. Stat. § 838.22 (2026) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Amendments
15 resultsSort: Relevance · Newest · Treatment
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·Omar Paez v. Claudia Mulvey, 915 F.3d 1276 (11th Cir. 2019).

Cited 187 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Official Misconduct in violation of Florida Statute § 838.022, one count of Grand Theft in violation of Florida
1 red1 yellow130 green1 procedural
OverruledFoster (2024)
phrase: "overruling"
Distinguished(citing case) (2020)
phrase: "distinguishing"
Cited as authorityDormeus (2026)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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·Hames v. City of Miami Firefighters', 980 So. 2d 1112 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008).

Cited 9 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2008 WL 583672

pled guilty were punishable in Florida under section 838.022, Florida Statutes (2003), which describes the
0 red0 yellow5 green0 procedural
Cited as authority(citing case) (2019)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authorityCuenca (2018)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authorityHipsher (2018)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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·Simcox v. City of Hollywood Police Officers'ret. Sys., 988 So. 2d 731 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 12687, 2008 WL 3914892

unlawful compensation for official behavior, and section 838.022, official misconduct. Alternatively, the Board
0 red0 yellow3 green0 procedural
Cited as authority(citing case) (2024)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authorityCuenca (2018)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authorityRivera (2016)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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State v. Dominguez, 27 So. 3d 782 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010).

Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 1636, 2010 WL 532870

charged one count of official misconduct under section 838.022, and eight counts of grand theft under section
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Sharp v. City of Palatka, 529 F. Supp. 2d 1342 (M.D. Fla. 2007).

Cited 2 times | Published | District Court, M.D. Florida | 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93624, 2007 WL 4557225

official misconduct in violation of Florida Statutes § 838.022(1)(a).[6] The charging *1349 affidavit and the
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·In re Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases, 123 So. 3d 54 (Fla. 2013).

Cited 1 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 38 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 680, 2013 WL 5381712, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 2067

instruction, to in-*55elude a citation to section 838.022(2)(a), Florida Statutes, for the proposition
0 red0 yellow1 green0 procedural
Adopted(citing case) (2018)
phrase: "adopted in"
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·State v. Flansbaum-Talabisco, 121 So. 3d 568 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 11602, 2013 WL 3811759

or public entity served by the public servant. § 838.022, Fla. Stat. (2010). The state’s information accused
0 red0 yellow2 green0 procedural
Cited as authority(citing case) (2016)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authority(citing case) (2015)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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Wasserstrom v. State, 21 So. 3d 55 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 14517, 2009 WL 3103855

convicted of official misconduct in violation of section 838.022(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2004), which makes
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Gonot v. State, 112 So. 3d 679 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 1810623, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 6926

acquittal on the count of official misconduct. Section 838.022(l)(a), Florida Statutes (2007), makes it “unlawful
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Omar Paez v. Claudia Mulvey (11th Cir. 2019).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Official Misconduct in violation of Florida Statute § 838.022, one count of Grand Theft in violation of Florida
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Clement v. State, 895 So. 2d 446 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 860, 2005 WL 231207

2d 1112, 1116-17 (Fla.1998)). Renumbered as section 838.022, the new statute expressly excludes a candidate
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Garcia v. State, 939 So. 2d 1082 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 13260, 2006 WL 2270347

October 1, 2003, the statute was rewritten as section 838.022, Florida Statutes, and section 839.25, Florida
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McCray v. State, 121 So. 3d 603 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 4007202, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 12335

counts of official misconduct in violation of section 838.022, Florida Statutes (2006). These convictions
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Manny Lazaro Melendez v. The State of Florida (Fla. 3d DCA 2023).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

“benefit” element in the current version of section 838.022, Florida Statutes, though we have previously
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In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases—report 2016-10, 214 So. 3d 1290 (Fla. 2017).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida

and 2017. 19.7 OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT § 838.022, Fla. Stat. To prove the crime of Official

This Florida statute resource is curated by this site's author, a Jacksonville, Florida criminal defense attorney (Florida Bar No. 39104). Attorney Syfert regularly handles Chapter 838 matters in the context of public corruption and white collar defense and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.