| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to elections; amending s. 99.012, F.S.; |
| 3 | requiring the name of any person who does not comply with |
| 4 | certain candidate qualifying requirements to be removed |
| 5 | from the ballot; amending s. 99.061, F.S.; revising the |
| 6 | deadline by which persons seeking election to certain |
| 7 | offices must qualify; adding a requirement for |
| 8 | qualification as a candidate for office relating to |
| 9 | residency; providing for challenges to qualifications; |
| 10 | amending s. 106.021, F.S.; providing a penalty for |
| 11 | violating a provision relating to campaign contributions |
| 12 | or expenditures through campaign treasurers; providing an |
| 13 | effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) and subsection |
| 18 | (6) of section 99.012, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 19 | 99.012 Restrictions on individuals qualifying for public |
| 20 | office.-- |
| 21 | (3)(a) An No officer may not qualify as a candidate for |
| 22 | another public office, whether state, district, county, or |
| 23 | municipal, if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently |
| 24 | with each other, without resigning from the office he or she |
| 25 | presently holds. |
| 26 | (6) The name of any person who does not comply with this |
| 27 | section shall may be removed from every ballot on which it |
| 28 | appears when ordered by a circuit court upon the petition of an |
| 29 | elector or the Department of State. |
| 30 | Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 99.061, Florida |
| 31 | Statutes, is amended, present subsection (10) is renumbered as |
| 32 | subsection (14), and new subsections (10), (11), (12), and (13) |
| 33 | are added to said section, to read: |
| 34 | 99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to |
| 35 | federal, state, county, or district office.-- |
| 36 | (1) The provisions of any special act to the contrary |
| 37 | notwithstanding, each person seeking to qualify for nomination |
| 38 | or election to a federal, state, or multicounty district office, |
| 39 | other than election to a judicial office as defined in chapter |
| 40 | 105 or the office of school board member, shall file his or her |
| 41 | qualification papers with, and pay the qualifying fee, which |
| 42 | shall consist of the filing fee and election assessment, and |
| 43 | party assessment, if any has been levied, to, the Department of |
| 44 | State, or qualify by the petition process pursuant to s. 99.095 |
| 45 | with the Department of State, at any time after noon of the 1st |
| 46 | day for qualifying, which shall be as follows: the 120th day |
| 47 | prior to the primary election, but not later than noon of the |
| 48 | 116th day prior to the date of the primary election, for persons |
| 49 | seeking to qualify for nomination or election to federal office, |
| 50 | or to the office of the state attorney or the public defender, |
| 51 | or; and noon of the 50th day prior to the primary election, but |
| 52 | not later than noon of the 46th day prior to the date of the |
| 53 | primary election, for persons seeking to qualify for nomination |
| 54 | or election to a state or multicounty district office, other |
| 55 | than the office of the state attorney or the public defender. |
| 56 | (10) Each candidate shall, at the time he or she |
| 57 | qualifies, be a resident of the area from which the candidate |
| 58 | seeks to represent if elected. |
| 59 | (11) Any challenge to qualifications shall be filed with |
| 60 | the Department of State no later than 10 days after a candidate |
| 61 | files qualification papers. |
| 62 | (12) The filing of qualification papers shall constitute |
| 63 | the appointment of the Department of State as an agent of the |
| 64 | candidate for service of process in any action or proceeding |
| 65 | against the candidate related to the candidate's qualifications. |
| 66 | (13) A court hearing on any challenge to qualifications |
| 67 | shall be set within 15 days after service of process on either |
| 68 | the candidate or the Department of State is perfected. |
| 69 | Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 106.021, Florida |
| 70 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 71 | 106.021 Campaign treasurers; deputies; primary and |
| 72 | secondary depositories.-- |
| 73 | (3) No contribution or expenditure, including |
| 74 | contributions or expenditures of a candidate or of the |
| 75 | candidate's family, shall be directly or indirectly made or |
| 76 | received in furtherance of the candidacy of any person for |
| 77 | nomination or election to political office in the state or on |
| 78 | behalf of any political committee except through the duly |
| 79 | appointed campaign treasurer of the candidate or political |
| 80 | committee, subject to the following exceptions: |
| 81 | (a) Independent expenditures; |
| 82 | (b) Reimbursements to a candidate or any other individual |
| 83 | for expenses incurred in connection with the campaign or |
| 84 | activities of the political committee by a check drawn upon the |
| 85 | campaign account and reported pursuant to s. 106.07(4). After |
| 86 | July 1, 2004, the full name and address of each person to whom |
| 87 | the candidate or other individual made payment for which |
| 88 | reimbursement was made by check drawn upon the campaign account |
| 89 | shall be reported pursuant to s. 106.07(4), together with the |
| 90 | purpose of such payment; |
| 91 | (c) Expenditures made indirectly through a treasurer for |
| 92 | goods or services, such as communications media placement or |
| 93 | procurement services, campaign signs, insurance, or other |
| 94 | expenditures that include multiple integral components as part |
| 95 | of the expenditure and reported pursuant to s. 106.07(4)(a)13.; |
| 96 | or |
| 97 | (d) Expenditures made directly by any political committee |
| 98 | or political party regulated by chapter 103 for obtaining time, |
| 99 | space, or services in or by any communications medium for the |
| 100 | purpose of jointly endorsing three or more candidates, and any |
| 101 | such expenditure shall not be considered a contribution or |
| 102 | expenditure to or on behalf of any such candidates for the |
| 103 | purposes of this chapter. |
| 104 |
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| 105 | Any person or candidate who accepts a contribution or makes an |
| 106 | expenditure in violation of this subsection is automatically |
| 107 | disqualified from the office sought and commits a misdemeanor of |
| 108 | the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. |
| 109 | 775.083. |
| 110 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |