CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 0463c1
Florida House of Representatives - 1997 CS/HB 463
By the Committee on Election Reform and Representative
Miller
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to elections; amending s.
3 106.011, F.S.; redefining the term "independent
4 expenditure"; amending s. 106.08, F.S.,
5 relating to limitations on campaign
6 contributions; revising a provision relating to
7 the limit on contributions a candidate may
8 receive from a political party; revising
9 provisions relating to the return of
10 contributions by unopposed candidates; amending
11 s. 106.085, F.S.; revising notice requirements
12 for certain independent expenditures; applying
13 such requirements to political parties;
14 providing penalties; creating s. 106.087, F.S.;
15 prohibiting political parties that accept
16 filing fees from making independent
17 expenditures; providing penalties; amending s.
18 106.29, F.S.; prohibiting a political party
19 from contributing to a candidate more than the
20 candidate is authorized to accept from the
21 party; providing penalties; providing
22 severability; providing an effective date.
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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26 Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 106.011, Florida
27 Statutes, is amended to read:
28 106.011 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the
29 following terms have the following meanings unless the context
30 clearly indicates otherwise:
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1 (5)(a) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure
2 by a person for the purpose of advocating the election or
3 defeat of a candidate or the approval or rejection of an
4 issue, which expenditure is not controlled by, coordinated
5 with, or made upon consultation with, any candidate, political
6 committee, or agent of such candidate or committee.
7 (b) An expenditure for the such purpose of advocating
8 the election or defeat of a candidate or the approval or
9 rejection of an issue by a person having a contract with the
10 candidate, political committee, or agent of such candidate or
11 committee in a given election period shall not be deemed an
12 independent expenditure.
13 (c)1. An expenditure for the purpose of advocating the
14 election or defeat of a candidate which is made by an
15 executive committee of a political party shall not be
16 considered an independent expenditure if the committee
17 participates in joint fundraising activities with the
18 candidate; participates in the solicitation or receipt of any
19 contribution on behalf of the candidate; or communicates with
20 the candidate or an agent of the candidate, including any
21 pollster, media consultant, vendor, advisor, or staff member,
22 concerning advertising, message, allocation of resources,
23 fundraising, or other campaign matters related to the
24 candidate's campaign, including campaign operations, staffing,
25 tactics, or strategy.
26 2. For purposes of this paragraph, the executive
27 committee and all other subordinate committees of a national
28 political party, the state executive committee of that
29 political party, and the county executive committees of that
30 political party shall be considered a single entity.
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1 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and
2 subsection (3) of section 106.08, Florida Statutes, are
3 amended to read:
4 106.08 Contributions; limitations on.--
5 (2)(a) A candidate may not accept contributions from
6 national, state, and county executive committees of a
7 political party, including any subordinate committee of a
8 national or state committee or executive committee of a
9 political party and any legal entity affiliated therewith,
10 which contributions in the aggregate exceed $50,000, no more
11 than $25,000 of which may be accepted prior to the 28-day
12 period immediately preceding the date of the general election.
13 (3)(a) Any contribution received by a candidate with
14 opposition in an election or the campaign treasurer or a
15 deputy treasurer of such a candidate on the day of that
16 election or less than 5 days prior to the day of that election
17 shall be returned by him or her to the person or committee
18 contributing it and shall not be used or expended by or on
19 behalf of the candidate.
20 (b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c), any
21 contribution received by a candidate or the campaign treasurer
22 or a deputy treasurer of a candidate after the date at which
23 the candidate withdraws his or her candidacy, or after the
24 date the candidate is defeated, becomes unopposed, or is
25 elected to office shall be returned to the person or political
26 committee contributing it and shall not be used or expended by
27 or on behalf of the candidate.
28 (c) With respect to any campaign for an office in
29 which an independent candidate has filed as required in s.
30 99.0955, but whose qualification is pending a determination by
31 the Department of State or supervisor of elections as to
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1 whether or not the required number of petition signatures was
2 obtained:
3 1. The department or supervisor shall, no later than 3
4 days after that determination has been made, notify in writing
5 all other candidates for that office of that determination;
6 and
7 2. Any contribution received by a candidate or the
8 campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer of a candidate
9 after the candidate has been notified in writing by the
10 department or supervisor that the candidate has become
11 unopposed as a result of an independent candidate failing to
12 obtain the required number of petition signatures must be
13 returned to the person, political committee, or committee of
14 continuous existence contributing it and may not be used or
15 expended by or on behalf of the candidate.
16 Section 3. Section 106.085, Florida Statutes, is
17 amended to read:
18 106.085 Independent expenditures; unfair surprise
19 prohibited; notice requirements; penalty.--
20 (1) Any individual, group, organization, political
21 party, including any subordinate committee of a national or
22 state committee or executive committee of a political party or
23 any legal entity affiliated therewith, or committee making an
24 independent expenditure in excess of $1,000 on behalf of or in
25 opposition to a candidate shall deliver notice in writing of
26 such independent expenditure, as well as the amount of such
27 expenditure and a detailed description of the media type or
28 use of such expenditure, within 24 hours after obligating any
29 funds for such expenditure. However, the notice of the
30 obligation of the expenditure must be made at least 14 days
31 prior to an election. An expenditure is obligated upon the
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1 purchase of any political advertising or the entering into any
2 agreement, either oral or written, to purchase any political
3 advertising. Such notice shall be delivered to all of the
4 candidates in the affected race and to the qualifying officer
5 of such candidates. The notice shall specifically state the
6 name of the candidate whom the independent expenditure is
7 designed to support or oppose. For purposes of this
8 subsection, notice shall include, but is not limited to,
9 personal hand delivery or overnight mail. Each new expenditure
10 shall require the delivery or filing of an additional new
11 notice. This subsection does not apply to a primary election
12 if the candidate is unopposed in the primary election.
13 (2)(a) If the political advertisement required to be
14 noticed under subsection (1) is to be broadcast over any
15 television, including cable television, or radio station, a
16 copy of the actual advertisement must be provided with the
17 notification, along with a listing of the stations airing the
18 advertisement.
19 (b) If the political advertisement required to be
20 noticed under subsection (1) is to be communicated through
21 means other than the spoken word, a duplicate reproduced from
22 the original advertisement to be used must be provided with
23 the notification. The duplicate must clearly depict a copy of
24 the pictures, artwork, and text used in the advertisement.
25 (c) If the political advertisement required to be
26 noticed under subsection (1) is to be a telephone
27 solicitation, a copy of the script of the telephone
28 solicitation must be provided with the notification, along
29 with the number of intended recipients.
30 (3)(2) A person who violates any provision of this
31 section shall be liable for a civil fine of up to $5,000 to be
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1 determined by the Florida Elections Commission or the entire
2 an amount equal to 10 percent of the expenditure not noticed,
3 whichever is greater.
4 (4) This section does not prohibit a person from
5 making an independent expenditure in support of or in
6 opposition to any candidate or issue, unless otherwise
7 prohibited by law; expressing his or her opinion on any issue;
8 or purchasing any political advertisement or campaign
9 material.
10 Section 4. Section 106.087, Florida Statutes, is
11 created to read:
12 106.087 Independent expenditures; restrictions on
13 political parties.--Notwithstanding any provision of s.
14 99.061(2), s. 99.092(1), or s. 99.103 to the contrary, any
15 political party that accepts the return of any candidate
16 filing fees from any supervisor of elections or the Department
17 of State after the close of qualifying for an election cycle
18 is prohibited from making any independent expenditure on
19 behalf of or in opposition to any candidate during the
20 remainder of the election cycle for which those filing fees
21 were collected. Any national or state political party, or
22 state or county executive committee, including any subordinate
23 committee or legal entity affiliated therewith, or any
24 political party or executive committee that violates the
25 provisions of this section shall, in addition to any other
26 penalty prescribed by this chapter, pay to the state a sum
27 equal to three times the amount involved in the illegal
28 expenditure. The treasurer of the applicable committee or
29 legal entity shall pay all amounts contributed in violation of
30 this section to the state for deposit in the General Revenue
31 Fund.
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1 Section 5. Section 106.29, Florida Statutes is amended
2 to read:
3 106.29 Reports by political parties; restrictions
4 assessment on contributions and expenditures.--
5 (1) The state executive committee and each county
6 executive committee of each political party regulated by
7 chapter 103 shall file regular reports of all contributions
8 received and all expenditures made by such committee. Such
9 reports shall contain the same information as do reports
10 required of candidates by s. 106.07 and shall be filed on the
11 10th day following the end of each calendar quarter, except
12 that, during the period from the last day for candidate
13 qualifying until the general election, such reports shall be
14 filed on the Friday immediately preceding the first primary
15 election, the second primary election, and the general
16 election. Each state executive committee shall file the
17 original and one copy of its reports with the Division of
18 Elections. Each county executive committee shall file its
19 reports with the supervisor of elections in the county in
20 which such committee exists. Any political party failing to
21 file a report on the designated due date shall be subject to a
22 fine as provided in s. 106.07 for submitting late reports. No
23 separate fine shall be assessed for failure to file a copy of
24 any report required by this section.
25 (2) The chair and treasurer of each committee shall
26 certify as to the correctness of each report filed by them on
27 behalf of such committee. Any committee chair or treasurer who
28 certifies the correctness of any report while knowing that
29 such report is incorrect, false, or incomplete commits is
30 guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided
31 in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
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1 (3) Any contribution received by a state or county
2 committee less than 5 days before an election shall not be
3 used or expended in behalf of any candidate, issue, or
4 political party participating in such election.
5 (4) No state or county executive committee, in the
6 furtherance of any candidate or political party, directly or
7 indirectly, shall give, pay, or expend any money, give or pay
8 anything of value, authorize any expenditure, or become
9 pecuniarily liable for any expenditure prohibited by this
10 chapter. However, the contribution of funds by one executive
11 committee to another, or to established party organizations
12 for legitimate party or campaign purposes, or to individual
13 candidates of that party in general elections in amounts
14 exceeding those set forth in s. 106.08 is not prohibited, but
15 all such contributions shall be recorded and accounted for in
16 the reports of the contributor and recipient.
17 (5) The national, state, and county executive
18 committees of a political party, including any subordinate
19 committee of a national or state committee or executive
20 committee of a political party and any legal entity affiliated
21 therewith, may not make contributions to any candidate which,
22 in the aggregate, are in excess of the limits the candidate is
23 authorized to accept in s. 106.08(2).
24 Section 6. If any provision of this act or the
25 application thereof to any person or circumstance is held
26 invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
27 applications of the act which can be given effect without the
28 invalid provision or application, and to this end the
29 provisions of this act are declared severable.
30 Section 7. This act shall take effect January 1, 1998.
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