Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1416
By Senator DiCeglie
18-01480-25 20251416__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to election dates for municipal
3 office; amending s. 100.3605, F.S.; requiring that
4 elections for municipal offices be held on the same
5 date as the general election; requiring a municipality
6 that requires a runoff format to hold its initial
7 election on the same date as the primary election and
8 the runoff election on the same date as the general
9 election; providing an exception; preempting to the
10 state the authority to establish election dates for
11 municipal elections; amending s. 100.361, F.S.;
12 requiring that municipal recall elections be held
13 concurrently with municipal elections under certain
14 conditions; repealing s. 101.75, F.S., relating to
15 change of dates for cause in municipal elections;
16 extending the terms of incumbent elected municipal
17 officers until the next municipal election; providing
18 an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Section 100.3605, Florida Statutes, is amended
23 to read:
24 100.3605 Conduct of municipal elections.—
25 (1) The Florida Election Code, chapters 97-106, shall
26 govern the conduct of a municipality’s election in the absence
27 of an applicable special act, charter, or ordinance provision.
28 No charter or ordinance provision may shall be adopted which
29 conflicts with or exempts a municipality from any provision in
30 the Florida Election Code that expressly applies to
31 municipalities.
32 (2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b):
33 1. Each election for municipal office within a county must
34 be held on the same date as the general election.
35 2. If a municipal charter or ordinance requires a runoff
36 format for the municipality’s elections for municipal office,
37 the municipality must hold its initial election on the same date
38 as the primary election on the Tuesday 11 weeks before the
39 general election, and the runoff must be held on the same date
40 as the general election.
41 (b) This section does not affect the manner in which
42 vacancies in municipal office are filled or recall elections for
43 municipal officers are conducted.
44 (c) Notwithstanding any general law, special law, local
45 law, municipal charter, or municipal ordinance, this subsection
46 provides the exclusive method for establishing the dates of
47 elections for municipal office in this state. Any general law,
48 special law, local law, municipal charter, or municipal
49 ordinance that conflicts with this subsection is superseded to
50 the extent of the conflict.
51 (3) The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance,
52 change the dates for qualifying and for the election of members
53 of the governing body of the municipality and provide for the
54 orderly transition of office resulting from election such date
55 changes.
56 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 100.361, Florida
57 Statutes, is amended to read:
58 100.361 Municipal recall.—
59 (4) RECALL ELECTION.—If the person designated in the
60 petition files with the clerk, within 5 days after the last
61 mentioned notice, his or her written resignation, the clerk must
62 immediately shall at once notify the governing body of that
63 fact, and the resignation is shall be irrevocable. The governing
64 body shall then proceed to fill the vacancy according to the
65 provisions of the appropriate law. In the absence of a
66 resignation, the chief judge of the judicial circuit in which
67 the municipality is located shall fix a day for holding a recall
68 election for the removal of those not resigning. Any such
69 election must shall be held not less than 30 days or more than
70 60 days after the expiration of the 5-day period last-mentioned
71 and at the same time as any other general, municipal, or special
72 election held within the period; but if no such election is to
73 be held within that period, the judge must shall call a special
74 recall election to be held within the period aforesaid.
75 Section 3. Section 101.75, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
76 Section 4. To provide for an orderly transition of office,
77 the terms of incumbent elected municipal officers are extended
78 until the next municipal election held in accordance with this
79 act.
80 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.