Florida Senate - 2021                                     SB 830
       
       
        
       By Senator Polsky
       
       
       
       
       
       29-00498-21                                            2021830__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to candidate qualifying; amending s.
    3         99.021, F.S.; requiring a person seeking to qualify
    4         for office as a candidate with no party affiliation to
    5         subscribe to an oath or affirmation that he or she is
    6         registered without party affiliation and has not been
    7         a registered member of a political party for a
    8         specified timeframe; amending ss. 99.061 and 99.063,
    9         F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
   10         act; providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Present paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of
   15  section 99.021, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
   16  (d), and a new paragraph (c) is added to that subsection, to
   17  read:
   18         99.021 Form of candidate oath.—
   19         (1)
   20         (c) In addition, any person seeking to qualify for office
   21  as a candidate with no party affiliation shall, at the time of
   22  subscribing to the oath or affirmation, state in writing that he
   23  or she is registered without any party affiliation and that he
   24  or she has not been a registered member of any political party
   25  for 365 days before the beginning of qualifying preceding the
   26  general election for which the person seeks to qualify.
   27         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
   28  99.061, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   29         99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to
   30  federal, state, county, or district office.—
   31         (7)(a) In order for a candidate to be qualified, the
   32  following items must be received by the filing officer by the
   33  end of the qualifying period:
   34         1. A properly executed check drawn upon the candidate’s
   35  campaign account payable to the person or entity as prescribed
   36  by the filing officer in an amount not less than the fee
   37  required by s. 99.092, unless the candidate obtained the
   38  required number of signatures on petitions pursuant to s.
   39  99.095. The filing fee for a special district candidate is not
   40  required to be drawn upon the candidate’s campaign account. If a
   41  candidate’s check is returned by the bank for any reason, the
   42  filing officer shall immediately notify the candidate and the
   43  candidate shall have until the end of qualifying to pay the fee
   44  with a cashier’s check purchased from funds of the campaign
   45  account. Failure to pay the fee as provided in this subparagraph
   46  shall disqualify the candidate.
   47         2. The candidate’s oath required by s. 99.021, which must
   48  contain the name of the candidate as it is to appear on the
   49  ballot; the office sought, including the district or group
   50  number if applicable; and the signature of the candidate, which
   51  must be verified under oath or affirmation pursuant to s.
   52  92.525(1)(a).
   53         3. If the office sought is partisan, the written statement
   54  of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b); or
   55  if the candidate is running without party affiliation for a
   56  partisan office, the written statement required by s.
   57  99.021(1)(c).
   58         4. The completed form for the appointment of campaign
   59  treasurer and designation of campaign depository, as required by
   60  s. 106.021.
   61         5. The full and public disclosure or statement of financial
   62  interests required by subsection (5). A public officer who has
   63  filed the full and public disclosure or statement of financial
   64  interests with the Commission on Ethics or the supervisor of
   65  elections prior to qualifying for office may file a copy of that
   66  disclosure at the time of qualifying.
   67         Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
   68  99.063, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   69         99.063 Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.—
   70         (2) No later than 5 p.m. of the 9th day following the
   71  primary election, each designated candidate for Lieutenant
   72  Governor shall file with the Department of State:
   73         (b) If the office sought is partisan, the written statement
   74  of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b); or
   75  if the office sought is without party affiliation, the written
   76  statement required by s. 99.021(1)(c).
   77         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.