CS/CS/HB 869

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to political advertisements; providing a
3short title; amending s. 106.143, F.S.; providing an
4alternative statement that may be used to identify a
5candidate as the sponsor of a political advertisement
6under certain circumstances; providing circumstances under
7which certain campaign messages and political
8advertisements are not required to state or display
9specific information regarding the identity of the
10candidate, his or her party affiliation, and the office
11sought in the message or advertisement; authorizing a
12candidate or political committee to place a statement on a
13social networking website or account indicating that the
14site or account is an official site or account approved by
15the candidate or political committee; prohibiting an
16official designation without the prior approval by the
17candidate or political committee; providing an effective
18date.
19
20Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22     Section 1.  This act may be cited as the "Technology in
23Elections Act."
24     Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 106.143, Florida
25Statutes, is amended, subsection (8) is renumbered as subsection
26(9), and a new subsection (8) is added to that section, to read:
27     106.143  Political advertisements circulated prior to
28election; requirements.-
29     (1)(a)  Any political advertisement that is paid for by a
30candidate and that is published, displayed, or circulated prior
31to, or on the day of, any election must prominently state:
32     1.  "Political advertisement paid for and approved by
33...(name of candidate)..., ...(party affiliation)..., for
34...(office sought)...."; or
35     2.  "Paid by ...(name of candidate)..., ...(party
36affiliation)..., for ...(office sought)...."
37     (b)  Any other political advertisement published,
38displayed, or circulated prior to, or on the day of, any
39election must prominently:
40     1.  Be marked "paid political advertisement" or with the
41abbreviation "pd. pol. adv."
42     2.  State the name and address of the persons sponsoring
43the advertisement.
44     3.a.(I)  State whether the advertisement and the cost of
45production is paid for or provided in kind by or at the expense
46of the entity publishing, displaying, broadcasting, or
47circulating the political advertisement; or
48     (II)  State who provided or paid for the advertisement and
49cost of production, if different from the source of sponsorship.
50     b.  This subparagraph does not apply if the source of the
51sponsorship is patently clear from the content or format of the
52political advertisement.
53     (c)  Any political advertisement made pursuant to s.
54106.021(3)(d) must be marked "paid political advertisement" or
55with the abbreviation "pd. pol. adv." and must prominently
56state, "Paid for and sponsored by ...(name of person paying for
57political advertisement).... Approved by ...(names of persons,
58party affiliation, and offices sought in the political
59advertisement)...."
60
61This subsection does not apply to campaign messages used by a
62candidate and the candidate's supporters if those messages are
63designed to be worn by a person.
64     (8)  This section does not apply to any campaign message or
65political advertisement used by a candidate and the candidate's
66supporters or by a political committee if the message or
67advertisement is:
68     (a)  Designed to be worn by a person.
69     (b)  Placed as a paid link on an Internet website, provided
70the message or advertisement is no more than 200 characters in
71length and the link directs the user to another Internet website
72that complies with subsection (1).
73     (c)  Placed as a graphic or picture link on an Internet
74website that directs the user to another Internet website that
75complies with the requirements of this section; however, the
76link must contain the language required in subsection (1), which
77shall make up at least 5 percent of the total graphic or picture
78and may not otherwise be illegible or concealed.
79     (d)  Placed at no cost on an Internet website for which
80there is no cost to post content for public users.
81     (e)  Placed or distributed on an unpaid profile or account
82which is available to the public without charge or on a social
83networking Internet website, as long as the source of the
84message or advertisement is patently clear from the content or
85format of the message or advertisement. A candidate or political
86committee may prominently display a statement indicating that
87the website or account is an official website or account of the
88candidate or political committee and is approved by the
89candidate or political committee. A website or account may not
90be marked as official without prior approval by the candidate or
91political committee.
92     (f)  Distributed as a text message or other message via
93Short Message Service, provided the message is no more than 200
94characters in length or requires the recipient to sign up or opt
95in to receive it.
96     (g)  Connected with or included in any software application
97or accompanying function, provided that the user signs up, opts
98in, downloads, or otherwise accesses the application from or
99through a website that complies with subsection (1).
100     (h)  Sent by a third-party user from or through a campaign
101or committee's website, provided the website complies with
102subsection (1).
103     (i)  Contained in or distributed through any other
104technology-related item, service, or device for which compliance
105with subsection (1) is not reasonably practical due to the size
106or nature of such item, service, or device as available, or the
107means of displaying the message or advertisement makes
108compliance with subsection (1) impracticable.
109     (9)(8)  Any person who willfully violates any provision of
110this section is subject to the civil penalties prescribed in s.
111106.265.
112     Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


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