The Florida Senate

106.143  Political advertisements circulated prior to election; requirements.--

(1)  Any political advertisement and any campaign literature published, displayed, or circulated prior to, or on the day of, any election shall:

(a)  Be marked "paid political advertisement" or with the abbreviation "pd. pol. adv."

(b)  Identify the persons or organizations sponsoring the advertisement.

(c)1.a.  State whether the advertisement and the cost of production is paid for or provided in kind by or at the expense of the entity publishing, displaying, broadcasting, or circulating the political advertisement; or

b.  State who provided or paid for the advertisement and cost of production, if different from the source of sponsorship.

2.  This paragraph shall not apply if the source of the sponsorship is patently clear from the content or format of the political advertisement or campaign literature.

This subsection does not apply to campaign messages used by a candidate and the candidate's supporters if those messages are designed to be worn by a person.

(2)  Any political advertisement of a candidate running for partisan office shall express the name of the political party of which the candidate is seeking nomination or is the nominee. If the candidate for partisan office is running as a candidate with no party affiliation, any political advertisement of the candidate must state that the candidate has no party affiliation.

(3)  It is unlawful for any candidate or person on behalf of a candidate to represent that any person or organization supports such candidate, unless the person or organization so represented has given specific approval in writing to the candidate to make such representation. However, this subsection does not apply to:

(a)  Editorial endorsement by any newspaper, radio or television station, or other recognized news medium.

(b)  Publication by a party committee advocating the candidacy of its nominees.

(4)(a)  Any political advertisement, including those paid for by a political party, other than an independent expenditure, offered by or on behalf of a candidate must be approved in advance by the candidate. Such political advertisement must expressly state that the content of the advertisement was approved by the candidate and must state who paid for the advertisement. The candidate shall provide a written statement of authorization to the newspaper, radio station, television station, or other medium for each such advertisement submitted for publication, display, broadcast, or other distribution.

(b)  Any person who makes an independent expenditure for a political advertisement shall provide a written statement that no candidate has approved the advertisement to the newspaper, radio station, television station, or other medium for each such advertisement submitted for publication, display, broadcast, or other distribution. The advertisement must also contain a statement that no candidate has approved the advertisement.

(c)  This subsection does not apply to campaign messages used by a candidate and his or her supporters if those messages are designed to be worn by a person.

(5)  No political advertisement of a candidate who is not an incumbent of the office for which the candidate is running shall use the word "re-elect." Additionally, such advertisement must include the word "for" between the candidate's name and the office for which the candidate is running, in order that incumbency is not implied. This subsection does not apply to bumper stickers or items designed to be worn by a person.

(6)  This section does not apply to novelty items having a retail value of $10 or less which support, but do not oppose, a candidate or issue.

(7)  Any political advertisement which is published, displayed, or produced in a language other than English may provide the information required by this section in the language used in the advertisement.

(8)  Any person who willfully violates any provision of this section is subject to the civil penalties prescribed in s. 106.265

History.--s. 8, ch. 26870, 1951; s. 1, ch. 61-145; s. 21, ch. 65-379; s. 57, ch. 71-136; s. 30, ch. 73-128; s. 52, ch. 77-175; s. 30, ch. 81-304; s. 16, ch. 89-256; s. 35, ch. 90-315; s. 16, ch. 91-107; s. 646, ch. 95-147; s. 17, ch. 97-13; s. 18, ch. 99-318.

Note.--Former s. 104.37.