| 1 | Representative Gannon offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove lines 367-439, and insert: |
| 5 | Section 3. Section 106.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 6 | read: |
| 7 | 106.04 Committees of continuous existence.-- |
| 8 | (1)(a) In order to qualify as a committee of continuous |
| 9 | existence for the purposes of this chapter, a group, |
| 10 | organization, association, or other such entity which is formed |
| 11 | solely for the purpose of involved in making contributions to |
| 12 | candidates, political committees, committees of continuous |
| 13 | existence, or political parties, shall meet the following |
| 14 | criteria: |
| 15 | 1.(a) It shall be organized and operated in accordance |
| 16 | with a written charter or set of bylaws which contains |
| 17 | procedures for the election of officers and directors and which |
| 18 | clearly defines membership in the organization; and |
| 19 | 2.(b) At least 25 percent of the income of such |
| 20 | organization, excluding interest, must be derived from dues or |
| 21 | assessments payable on a regular basis by its membership |
| 22 | pursuant to provisions contained in the charter or bylaws. |
| 23 | (b) In addition to making contributions to candidates, |
| 24 | political committees, committees of continuous existence, or |
| 25 | political parties, a committee of continuous existence may only |
| 26 | make expenditures for its own legal, accounting, and |
| 27 | administrative expenses. |
| 28 | (2) Any group, organization, association, or other entity |
| 29 | may seek certification from the Department of State as a |
| 30 | committee of continuous existence by filing an application with |
| 31 | the Division of Elections on a form provided by the division. |
| 32 | Such application shall provide the information required of |
| 33 | political committees by s. 106.03(2), as applicable. Each |
| 34 | application shall be accompanied by the name and street address |
| 35 | of the principal officer of the applying entity as of the date |
| 36 | of the application; a copy of the charter or bylaws of the |
| 37 | organization; a copy of the dues or assessment schedule of the |
| 38 | organization, or formula by which dues or assessments are |
| 39 | levied; and a complete financial statement or annual audit |
| 40 | summarizing all income received, and all expenses incurred, by |
| 41 | the organization during the 12 months preceding the date of |
| 42 | application. A membership list shall be made available for |
| 43 | inspection if deemed necessary by the division. |
| 44 | (3) If the Division of Elections finds that an applying |
| 45 | organization meets the criteria for a committee of continuous |
| 46 | existence as provided by subsection (1), it shall certify such |
| 47 | findings and notify the applying organization of such |
| 48 | certification. If it finds that an applying organization does |
| 49 | not meet the criteria for certification, it shall notify the |
| 50 | organization of such findings and shall state the reasons why |
| 51 | such criteria are not met. |
| 52 | (4)(a) Each committee of continuous existence shall file |
| 53 | an annual report with the Division of Elections during the month |
| 54 | of January. Such annual reports shall contain the same |
| 55 | information and shall be accompanied by the same materials as |
| 56 | original applications filed pursuant to subsection (2). However, |
| 57 | the charter or bylaws need not be filed if the annual report is |
| 58 | accompanied by a sworn statement by the chair that no changes |
| 59 | have been made to such charter or bylaws since the last filing. |
| 60 | (b)1. Each committee of continuous existence shall file |
| 61 | regular reports with the Division of Elections at the same times |
| 62 | and subject to the same filing conditions as are established by |
| 63 | s. 106.07(1) and (2) for candidates' reports. |
| 64 | 2. Any committee of continuous existence failing to so |
| 65 | file a report with the Division of Elections pursuant to this |
| 66 | paragraph on the designated due date shall be subject to a fine |
| 67 | for late filing as provided by this section. |
| 68 | (c) All committees of continuous existence shall file the |
| 69 | original and one copy of their reports with the Division of |
| 70 | Elections. In addition, a duplicate copy of each report shall be |
| 71 | filed with the supervisor of elections in the county in which |
| 72 | the committee maintains its books and records, except that if |
| 73 | the filing officer to whom the committee is required to report |
| 74 | is located in the same county as the supervisor no such |
| 75 | duplicate report is required to be filed with the supervisor. |
| 76 | Reports shall be on forms provided by the division and shall |
| 77 | contain the following information: |
| 78 | 1. The full name, address, and occupation of each person |
| 79 | who has made one or more contributions, including contributions |
| 80 | that represent the payment of membership dues, to the committee |
| 81 | during the reporting period, together with the amounts and dates |
| 82 | of such contributions. For corporations, the report must provide |
| 83 | as clear a description as practicable of the principal type of |
| 84 | business conducted by the corporation. However, if the |
| 85 | contribution is $100 or less, the occupation of the contributor |
| 86 | or principal type of business need not be listed. However, for |
| 87 | any contributions that which represent the regular payment of |
| 88 | dues by members in a fixed amount not exceeding $50 per payment |
| 89 | and $250 in the aggregate of such payments per calendar year |
| 90 | pursuant to the schedule on file with the Division of Elections, |
| 91 | only the aggregate amount of such contributions need be listed, |
| 92 | together with the number of members paying such dues and the |
| 93 | amount of the membership dues. |
| 94 | 2. The name and address of each political committee or |
| 95 | committee of continuous existence from which the reporting |
| 96 | committee received, or the name and address of each political |
| 97 | committee, committee of continuous existence, or political party |
| 98 | to which it made, any transfer of funds, together with the |
| 99 | amounts and dates of all transfers. |
| 100 | 3. Any other receipt of funds not listed pursuant to |
| 101 | subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2., including the sources and |
| 102 | amounts of all such funds. |
| 103 | 4. The name and address of, and office sought by, each |
| 104 | candidate to whom the committee has made a contribution during |
| 105 | the reporting period, together with the amount and date of each |
| 106 | contribution. |
| 107 | 5. The date, amount, and description of all expenditures |
| 108 | made by the committee, including the full name and address of |
| 109 | each person to whom an expenditure for personal services or |
| 110 | salary was made. |
| 111 | (d) The treasurer of each committee shall certify as to |
| 112 | the correctness of each report and shall bear the responsibility |
| 113 | for its accuracy and veracity. Any treasurer who willfully |
| 114 | certifies to the correctness of a report while knowing that such |
| 115 | report is incorrect, false, or incomplete commits a misdemeanor |
| 116 | of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. |
| 117 | 775.083. |
| 118 | (5) No committee of continuous existence shall contribute |
| 119 | to any candidate or political committee an amount in excess of |
| 120 | the limits contained in s. 106.08(1) or participate in any other |
| 121 | activity which is prohibited by this chapter. If any violation |
| 122 | occurs, it shall be punishable as provided in this chapter for |
| 123 | the given offense. No funds of a committee of continuous |
| 124 | existence shall be expended on behalf of a candidate, except by |
| 125 | means of a contribution made through the duly appointed campaign |
| 126 | treasurer of a candidate. No such committee shall make |
| 127 | expenditures for the purpose of publicly disseminating |
| 128 | electioneering advertisements or in support of, or in opposition |
| 129 | to, an issue unless such committee first registers as a |
| 130 | political committee pursuant to this chapter and undertakes all |
| 131 | the practices and procedures required thereof; provided such |
| 132 | committee may make contributions in a total amount not to exceed |
| 133 | 25 percent of its aggregate income, as reflected in the annual |
| 134 | report filed for the previous year, to one or more political |
| 135 | committees registered pursuant to s. 106.03 and formed to |
| 136 | support or oppose issues. |
| 137 | (6) All accounts and records of a committee of continuous |
| 138 | existence may be inspected under reasonable circumstances by any |
| 139 | authorized representative of the Division of Elections or the |
| 140 | Florida Elections Commission. The right of inspection may be |
| 141 | enforced by appropriate writ issued by any court of competent |
| 142 | jurisdiction. |
| 143 | (7) If a committee of continuous existence ceases to meet |
| 144 | the criteria prescribed by subsection (1), the Division of |
| 145 | Elections shall revoke its certification until such time as the |
| 146 | criteria are again met. The Division of Elections shall |
| 147 | promulgate rules to prescribe the manner in which such |
| 148 | certification shall be revoked. Such rules shall, at a minimum, |
| 149 | provide for: |
| 150 | (a) Notice, which shall contain the facts and conduct that |
| 151 | warrant the intended action. |
| 152 | (b) Adequate opportunity to respond. |
| 153 | (c) Appeal of the decision to the Florida Elections |
| 154 | Commission. Such appeals shall be exempt from the |
| 155 | confidentiality provisions of s. 106.25. |
| 156 | (8)(a) Any committee of continuous existence failing to |
| 157 | file a report on the designated due date shall be subject to a |
| 158 | fine. The fine shall be $500 per day for each late day, not to |
| 159 | exceed 25 percent of the total receipts or expenditures, |
| 160 | whichever is greater, for the period covered by the late report. |
| 161 | The fine shall be assessed by the filing officer, and the moneys |
| 162 | collected shall be deposited in the Elections Commission Trust |
| 163 | Fund. No separate fine shall be assessed for failure to file a |
| 164 | copy of any report required by this section. |
| 165 | (b) Upon determining that a report is late, the filing |
| 166 | officer shall immediately notify the treasurer of the committee |
| 167 | as to the failure to file a report by the designated due date |
| 168 | and that a fine is being assessed for each late day. Upon |
| 169 | receipt of the report, the filing officer shall determine the |
| 170 | amount of fine which is due and shall notify the treasurer of |
| 171 | the committee. The filing officer shall determine the amount of |
| 172 | the fine due based upon the earliest of the following: |
| 173 | 1. When the report is actually received by such officer. |
| 174 | 2. When the report is postmarked. |
| 175 | 3. When the certificate of mailing is dated. |
| 176 | 4. When the receipt from an established courier company is |
| 177 | dated. |
| 178 |
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| 179 | Such fine shall be paid to the filing officer within 20 days |
| 180 | after receipt of the notice of payment due, unless appeal is |
| 181 | made to the Florida Elections Commission pursuant to paragraph |
| 182 | (c). An officer or member of a committee shall not be personally |
| 183 | liable for such fine. |
| 184 | (c) Any treasurer of a committee may appeal or dispute the |
| 185 | fine, based upon unusual circumstances surrounding the failure |
| 186 | to file on the designated due date, and may request and shall be |
| 187 | entitled to a hearing before the Florida Elections Commission, |
| 188 | which shall have the authority to waive the fine in whole or in |
| 189 | part. Any such request shall be made within 20 days after |
| 190 | receipt of the notice of payment due. In such case, the |
| 191 | treasurer of the committee shall, within the 20-day period, |
| 192 | notify the filing officer in writing of his or her intention to |
| 193 | bring the matter before the commission. |
| 194 | (d) The filing officer shall notify the Florida Elections |
| 195 | Commission of the repeated late filing by a committee of |
| 196 | continuous existence, the failure of a committee of continuous |
| 197 | existence to file a report after notice, or the failure to pay |
| 198 | the fine imposed. |
| 199 |
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| 200 | ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ============= |
| 201 | Remove lines 15-20, and insert: |
| 202 | 106.04, F.S.; revising qualifications of committees of |
| 203 | continuous existence; restricting the expenditures committees of |
| 204 | continuous existence may make; requiring membership dues of |
| 205 | committees of continuous existence to be reported in the same |
| 206 | manner as regular contributions, with specified exemptions; |
| 207 | revising expenditure reporting requirements; providing |