Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1416
By Senator Thurston
33-00767-21 20211416__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to no party affiliation candidates;
3 amending s. 99.0955, F.S.; requiring a person seeking
4 to qualify for office as a candidate with no party
5 affiliation to state that he or she is registered
6 without party affiliation and has not been a
7 registered member of a political party for a specified
8 period of time before qualifying, as a condition of
9 qualifying; amending ss. 99.061 and 99.063, F.S.;
10 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
11 providing an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Section 99.0955, Florida Statutes, is amended to
16 read:
17 99.0955 Candidates with no party affiliation; candidate
18 oath; name on general election ballot.—
19 (1)(a) Each person seeking to qualify for election as a
20 candidate with no party affiliation shall file his or her
21 qualifying papers and pay the qualifying fee or qualify by the
22 petition process pursuant to s. 99.095 with the officer and
23 during the times and under the circumstances prescribed in s.
24 99.061. Upon qualifying, the candidate is entitled to have his
25 or her name placed on the general election ballot.
26 (b) In addition, at the time of subscribing to the oath or
27 affirmation in s. 99.021, any person seeking to qualify for
28 election as a candidate with no party affiliation shall state in
29 writing that the person has not been a registered member of any
30 political party for 365 days before the beginning of qualifying
31 preceding the general election for which the person seeks to
32 qualify.
33 (2) The qualifying fee for candidates with no party
34 affiliation shall consist of a filing fee and an election
35 assessment as prescribed in s. 99.092. Filing fees paid to the
36 Department of State shall be deposited into the General Revenue
37 Fund of the state. Filing fees paid to the supervisor of
38 elections shall be deposited into the general revenue fund of
39 the county.
40 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
41 99.061, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
42 99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to
43 federal, state, county, or district office.—
44 (7)(a) In order for a candidate to be qualified, the
45 following items must be received by the filing officer by the
46 end of the qualifying period:
47 1. A properly executed check drawn upon the candidate’s
48 campaign account payable to the person or entity as prescribed
49 by the filing officer in an amount not less than the fee
50 required by s. 99.092, unless the candidate obtained the
51 required number of signatures on petitions pursuant to s.
52 99.095. The filing fee for a special district candidate is not
53 required to be drawn upon the candidate’s campaign account. If a
54 candidate’s check is returned by the bank for any reason, the
55 filing officer shall immediately notify the candidate and the
56 candidate shall have until the end of qualifying to pay the fee
57 with a cashier’s check purchased from funds of the campaign
58 account. Failure to pay the fee as provided in this subparagraph
59 shall disqualify the candidate.
60 2. The candidate’s oath required by s. 99.021, which must
61 contain the name of the candidate as it is to appear on the
62 ballot; the office sought, including the district or group
63 number if applicable; and the signature of the candidate, which
64 must be verified under oath or affirmation pursuant to s.
65 92.525(1)(a).
66 3. If the office sought is partisan, the written statement
67 of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b); or,
68 if the office sought is without party affiliation, the written
69 statement required by s. 99.0955(1)(b).
70 4. The completed form for the appointment of campaign
71 treasurer and designation of campaign depository, as required by
72 s. 106.021.
73 5. The full and public disclosure or statement of financial
74 interests required by subsection (5). A public officer who has
75 filed the full and public disclosure or statement of financial
76 interests with the Commission on Ethics or the supervisor of
77 elections prior to qualifying for office may file a copy of that
78 disclosure at the time of qualifying.
79 Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
80 99.063, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
81 99.063 Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.—
82 (2) No later than 5 p.m. of the 9th day following the
83 primary election, each designated candidate for Lieutenant
84 Governor shall file with the Department of State:
85 (b) If the office sought is partisan, the written statement
86 of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b); or,
87 if the office sought is without party affiliation, the written
88 statement required by s. 99.0955(1)(b).
89 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.