Florida Senate - 2009                                     SB 230
       
       
       
       By Senator Wilson
       
       
       
       
       33-00051-09                                            2009230__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to elections; amending s. 99.092,
    3         F.S.; requiring a write-in candidate who seeks to
    4         qualify for nomination or election to any office to
    5         pay a qualifying fee equal to a specified percentage
    6         of the annual salary for the office sought; providing
    7         an effective date.
    8         
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10         
   11         Section 1. Section 99.092, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   12  read:
   13         99.092 Qualifying fee of candidate; notification of
   14  Department of State.—
   15         (1)(a) Each person seeking to qualify for nomination or
   16  election to any office, except a person seeking to qualify by
   17  the petition process pursuant to s. 99.095 and except a person
   18  seeking to qualify as a write-in candidate, shall pay a
   19  qualifying fee, which shall consist of a filing fee and election
   20  assessment, to the officer with whom the person qualifies, and
   21  any party assessment levied, and shall attach the original or
   22  signed duplicate of the receipt for his or her party assessment
   23  or pay the same, in accordance with the provisions of s.
   24  103.121, at the time of filing his or her other qualifying
   25  papers. The amount of the filing fee is 3 percent of the annual
   26  salary of the office. The amount of the election assessment is 1
   27  percent of the annual salary of the office sought. The election
   28  assessment shall be deposited into the Elections Commission
   29  Trust Fund. The amount of the party assessment is 2 percent of
   30  the annual salary. The annual salary of the office for purposes
   31  of computing the filing fee, election assessment, and party
   32  assessment shall be computed by multiplying 12 times the monthly
   33  salary, excluding any special qualification pay, authorized for
   34  such office as of July 1 immediately preceding the first day of
   35  qualifying.
   36         (b) Each person seeking to qualify for nomination or
   37  election to any office as a write-in candidate, except a person
   38  seeking to qualify by the petition process pursuant to s.
   39  99.095, shall pay a qualifying fee that is 3 percent of the
   40  annual salary for the office sought.
   41         (c) A No qualifying fee may not shall be returned to the
   42  candidate unless the candidate withdraws his or her candidacy
   43  before the last date to qualify. If a candidate dies before
   44  prior to an election and has not withdrawn his or her candidacy
   45  before the last date to qualify, the candidate's qualifying fee
   46  shall be returned to his or her designated beneficiary, and, if
   47  the filing fee or any portion thereof has been transferred to
   48  the political party of the candidate, the Secretary of State
   49  shall direct the party to return that portion to the designated
   50  beneficiary of the candidate.
   51         (2) The supervisor of elections shall, immediately after
   52  the last day for qualifying, submit to the Department of State a
   53  list containing the names, party affiliations, and addresses of
   54  all candidates and the offices for which they qualified.
   55         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.