House Bill hb0707

    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                 HB 707

        By Representative Byrd






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to reporting requirements of

  3         committees of continuous existence; amending s.

  4         106.04, F.S.; requiring membership dues of

  5         committees of continuous existence to be

  6         reported in the same manner as regular

  7         contributions; removing a requirement for

  8         committees of continuous existence to provide

  9         their membership lists, upon request, to the

10         Division of Elections of the Department of

11         State for its inspection; providing penalties;

12         providing an effective date.

13

14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

15

16         Section 1.  Subsection (2) and paragraph (c) of

17  subsection (4) of section 106.04, Florida Statutes, are

18  amended to read:

19         106.04  Committees of continuous existence.--

20         (2)  Any group, organization, association, or other

21  entity may seek certification from the Department of State as

22  a committee of continuous existence by filing an application

23  with the Division of Elections on a form provided by the

24  division. Such application shall provide the information

25  required of political committees by s. 106.03(2).  Each

26  application shall be accompanied by the name and street

27  address of the principal officer of the applying entity as of

28  the date of the application; a copy of the charter or bylaws

29  of the organization; a copy of the dues or assessment schedule

30  of the organization, or formula by which dues or assessments

31  are levied; and a complete financial statement or annual audit

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                 HB 707

    577-191-02






  1  summarizing all income received, and all expenses incurred, by

  2  the organization during the 12 months preceding the date of

  3  application.  A membership list shall be made available for

  4  inspection if deemed necessary by the division.

  5         (4)

  6         (c)  All committees of continuous existence shall file

  7  the original and one copy of their reports with the Division

  8  of Elections.  In addition, a duplicate copy of each report

  9  shall be filed with the supervisor of elections in the county

10  in which the committee maintains its books and records, except

11  that if the filing officer to whom the committee is required

12  to report is located in the same county as the supervisor no

13  such duplicate report is required to be filed with the

14  supervisor.  Reports shall be on forms provided by the

15  division and shall contain the following information:

16         1.  The full name, address, and occupation of each

17  person who has made one or more contributions, including

18  contributions which represent the payment of membership dues,

19  to the committee during the reporting period, together with

20  the amounts and dates of such contributions.  For

21  corporations, the report must provide as clear a description

22  as practicable of the principal type of business conducted by

23  the corporation.  However, if the contribution is $100 or

24  less, the occupation of the contributor or principal type of

25  business need not be listed.  However, for any contributions

26  which represent the payment of dues by members in a fixed

27  amount pursuant to the schedule on file with the Division of

28  Elections, only the aggregate amount of such contributions

29  need be listed, together with the number of members paying

30  such dues and the amount of the membership dues.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                 HB 707

    577-191-02






  1         2.  The name and address of each political committee or

  2  committee of continuous existence from which the reporting

  3  committee received, or the name and address of each political

  4  committee, committee of continuous existence, or political

  5  party to which it made, any transfer of funds, together with

  6  the amounts and dates of all transfers.

  7         3.  Any other receipt of funds not listed pursuant to

  8  subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2., including the sources and

  9  amounts of all such funds.

10         4.  The name and address of, and office sought by, each

11  candidate to whom the committee has made a contribution during

12  the reporting period, together with the amount and date of

13  each contribution.

14         (d)  The treasurer of each committee shall certify as

15  to the correctness of each report and shall bear the

16  responsibility for its accuracy and veracity.  Any treasurer

17  who willfully certifies to the correctness of a report while

18  knowing that such report is incorrect, false, or incomplete

19  commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as

20  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

21         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

22  law.

23

24            *****************************************

25                          HOUSE SUMMARY

26
      Requires the membership dues of committees of continuous
27    existence to be reported in the same manner as regular
      contributions.  Removes a requirement for committees of
28    continuous existence to provide their membership lists,
      upon request, to the Division of Elections of the
29    Department of State for its inspection.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.