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House Bill 0993

Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 993 By Representative Andrews 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to political advertisements; 3 amending s. 106.143, F.S.; requiring candidate 4 review of certain political advertisements; 5 providing requirements therefor, including 6 notice to the applicable communications medium; 7 providing applicability to independent 8 expenditures and to advertisements paid for by 9 political parties; providing civil penalties; 10 providing an effective date. 11 12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13 14 Section 1. Section 106.143, Florida Statutes, is 15 amended to read: 16 106.143 Political advertisements circulated prior to 17 election; requirements.-- 18 (1) Any political advertisement and any campaign 19 literature published, displayed, or circulated prior to, or on 20 the day of, any election shall: 21 (a) Be marked "paid political advertisement" or with 22 the abbreviation "pd. pol. adv." 23 (b) Identify the persons or organizations sponsoring 24 the advertisement. 25 (c)1.a. State whether the advertisement and the cost 26 of production is paid for or provided in kind by or at the 27 expense of the entity publishing, displaying, broadcasting, or 28 circulating the political advertisement; or 29 b. State who provided or paid for the advertisement 30 and cost of production, if different from the source of 31 sponsorship. 1 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 993 571-129-97 1 2. This paragraph shall not apply if the source of the 2 sponsorship is patently clear from the content or format of 3 the political advertisement or campaign literature. 4 5 This subsection does not apply to campaign messages used by a 6 candidate and the candidate's his or her supporters if those 7 which messages are designed to be worn by a person. 8 (2) Any political advertisement of a candidate running 9 for partisan office in any election shall express the name of 10 the political party of which the candidate is seeking 11 nomination or is the nominee. If the candidate for partisan 12 office is running as an independent candidate, any political 13 advertisement of the candidate must state that the candidate 14 is an independent candidate. Any political advertisement 15 endorsing the candidate shall expressly state whether the 16 permission of the candidate has been obtained to advertise 17 such endorsement. 18 (3) It is unlawful for any candidate or person on 19 behalf of a candidate to represent that any person or 20 organization supports such candidate, unless the person or 21 organization so represented has given specific approval in 22 writing to the candidate to make such representation. 23 However, this subsection section does not apply to: 24 (a) Editorial endorsement by any newspaper, radio or 25 television station, or other recognized news medium. 26 (b) Publication by a party committee advocating the 27 candidacy of its nominees. 28 (4)(a) Any political advertisement, other than an 29 independent expenditure, offered by or in behalf of a 30 candidate must be reviewed in advance by the candidate. Such 31 political advertisement must expressly state that the content 2 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 993 571-129-97 1 of the advertisement was reviewed by the candidate and must 2 state who paid for the advertisement. The candidate shall 3 provide a written statement of review to the newspaper, radio 4 station, television station, or other medium for each such 5 advertisement submitted for publication, display, broadcast, 6 or other distribution. 7 (b) Any person who makes an independent expenditure 8 for a political advertisement in support of or opposition to a 9 candidate shall provide a written statement that no candidate 10 has reviewed the advertisement to the newspaper, radio 11 station, television station, or other medium for each such 12 advertisement submitted for publication, display, broadcast, 13 or other distribution. The advertisement must also contain a 14 statement that no candidate has reviewed the advertisement. 15 (c) Any political advertisement that supports or 16 opposes a candidate and is paid for by a political party must 17 expressly state that the content of the advertisement was or 18 was not reviewed by the candidate that it was intended to 19 benefit. In any proceeding before the elections commission 20 between a candidate and the candidate's political party 21 concerning a candidate's review of a political advertisement, 22 the political party bears the burden of proof regarding the 23 review. 24 (5)(4) No political advertisement of a candidate who 25 is not an incumbent of the office for which the candidate he 26 or she is running shall use the word "re-elect." Additionally, 27 such advertisement must include the word "for" between the 28 candidate's name and the office for which the candidate he or 29 she is running, in order that incumbency is not implied. This 30 subsection does not apply to bumper stickers or items designed 31 to be worn by a person. 3 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 993 571-129-97 1 (6)(5) This section does shall not apply to novelty 2 items having a retail of nominal value of $10 or less which 3 support, but do not oppose, a candidate or issue. 4 (7)(6) Any political advertisement which is published, 5 displayed, or produced in a language other than English may 6 provide the information required by this section in the 7 language used in the advertisement. 8 (8)(7) Any person who willfully violates any provision 9 the provisions of this section is subject to the civil 10 penalties prescribed in s. 106.265. 11 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 1997. 12 13 ***************************************** 14 HOUSE SUMMARY 15 Requires any political advertisement, other than an 16 independent expenditure, for a candidate to be reviewed in advance by the candidate. Requires the candidate to 17 provide a written statement of review to the newspaper, radio station, television station, or other medium for 18 each political advertisement submitted for publication or broadcast. Provides requirements for any person who 19 makes an independent expenditure for a political advertisement in support of or opposition to a candidate, 20 including a written statement to the applicable medium that no candidate has reviewed the advertisement. 21 Provides requirements for political advertisements in support of or opposition to a candidate that are paid for 22 by a political party, including a statement of whether the advertisement was or was not reviewed. Provides 23 civil penalties. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 4