| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to political advertisements; providing a |
| 3 | short title; amending s. 106.143, F.S.; providing an |
| 4 | alternative statement that may be used to identify a |
| 5 | candidate as the sponsor of a political advertisement |
| 6 | under certain circumstances; providing circumstances under |
| 7 | which certain campaign messages and political |
| 8 | advertisements are not required to state or display |
| 9 | specific information regarding the identity of the |
| 10 | candidate, his or her party affiliation, and the office |
| 11 | sought in the message or advertisement; providing an |
| 12 | effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Technology in |
| 17 | Elections Act." |
| 18 | Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 106.143, Florida |
| 19 | Statutes, is amended, subsection (8) is renumbered as subsection |
| 20 | (9), and a new subsection (8) is added to that section, to read: |
| 21 | 106.143 Political advertisements circulated prior to |
| 22 | election; requirements.- |
| 23 | (1)(a) Any political advertisement that is paid for by a |
| 24 | candidate and that is published, displayed, or circulated prior |
| 25 | to, or on the day of, any election must prominently state: |
| 26 | 1. "Political advertisement paid for and approved by |
| 27 | ...(name of candidate)..., ...(party affiliation)..., for |
| 28 | ...(office sought)...."; or |
| 29 | 2. "Paid by ...(name of candidate)..., ...(party |
| 30 | affiliation)..., for ...(office sought)...." |
| 31 | (b) Any other political advertisement published, |
| 32 | displayed, or circulated prior to, or on the day of, any |
| 33 | election must prominently: |
| 34 | 1. Be marked "paid political advertisement" or with the |
| 35 | abbreviation "pd. pol. adv." |
| 36 | 2. State the name and address of the persons sponsoring |
| 37 | the advertisement. |
| 38 | 3.a.(I) State whether the advertisement and the cost of |
| 39 | production is paid for or provided in kind by or at the expense |
| 40 | of the entity publishing, displaying, broadcasting, or |
| 41 | circulating the political advertisement; or |
| 42 | (II) State who provided or paid for the advertisement and |
| 43 | cost of production, if different from the source of sponsorship. |
| 44 | b. This subparagraph does not apply if the source of the |
| 45 | sponsorship is patently clear from the content or format of the |
| 46 | political advertisement. |
| 47 | (c) Any political advertisement made pursuant to s. |
| 48 | 106.021(3)(d) must be marked "paid political advertisement" or |
| 49 | with the abbreviation "pd. pol. adv." and must prominently |
| 50 | state, "Paid for and sponsored by ...(name of person paying for |
| 51 | political advertisement).... Approved by ...(names of persons, |
| 52 | party affiliation, and offices sought in the political |
| 53 | advertisement)...." |
| 54 |
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| 55 | This subsection does not apply to campaign messages used by a |
| 56 | candidate and the candidate's supporters if those messages are |
| 57 | designed to be worn by a person. |
| 58 | (8) This section does not apply to any campaign message or |
| 59 | political advertisement used by a candidate and the candidate's |
| 60 | supporters or by a political committee if the message or |
| 61 | advertisement is: |
| 62 | (a) Designed to be worn by a person. |
| 63 | (b) Placed as a paid link on an Internet website, provided |
| 64 | the message or advertisement is no more than 200 characters in |
| 65 | length and the link directs the user to another Internet website |
| 66 | that complies with subsection (1). |
| 67 | (c) Placed as a graphic or picture link on an Internet |
| 68 | website that directs the user to another Internet website that |
| 69 | complies with the requirements of this section; however, the |
| 70 | link must contain the language required in subsection (1), which |
| 71 | shall make up at least 5 percent of the total graphic or picture |
| 72 | and may not otherwise be illegible or concealed. |
| 73 | (d) Placed at no cost on an Internet website for which |
| 74 | there is no cost to post content for public users. |
| 75 | (e) Placed or distributed on an unpaid profile or account |
| 76 | which is available to the public without charge or on a social |
| 77 | networking Internet website, as long as the source of the |
| 78 | message or advertisement is patently clear from the content or |
| 79 | format of the message or advertisement. |
| 80 | (f) Distributed as a text message or other message via |
| 81 | Short Message Service, provided the message is no more than 200 |
| 82 | characters in length or requires the recipient to sign up or opt |
| 83 | in to receive it. |
| 84 | (g) Connected with or included in any software application |
| 85 | or accompanying function, provided that the user signs up, opts |
| 86 | in, downloads, or otherwise accesses the application from or |
| 87 | through a website that complies with subsection (1). |
| 88 | (h) Sent by a third-party user from or through a campaign |
| 89 | or committee's website, provided the website complies with |
| 90 | subsection (1). |
| 91 | (i) Contained in or distributed through any other |
| 92 | technology-related item, service, or device for which compliance |
| 93 | with subsection (1) is not reasonably practical due to the size |
| 94 | or nature of such item, service, or device as available, or the |
| 95 | means of displaying the message or advertisement makes |
| 96 | compliance with subsection (1) impracticable. |
| 97 | (9)(8) Any person who willfully violates any provision of |
| 98 | this section is subject to the civil penalties prescribed in s. |
| 99 | 106.265. |
| 100 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |