Florida Senate - 2025                                     SB 588
       
       
        
       By Senator Leek
       
       
       
       
       
       7-00541A-25                                            2025588__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to campaign communications; amending
    3         s. 106.147, F.S.; prohibiting campaign-related
    4         telephone calls and text messages to specified voters;
    5         requiring candidates and other persons or
    6         organizations to cease immediately all communications
    7         with certain voters; specifying how a voter indicates
    8         that he or she no longer consents to such
    9         communications; authorizing a voter to bring a certain
   10         action in a court of competent jurisdiction; providing
   11         that such voter is entitled to reasonable attorney
   12         fees and costs under a specified circumstance;
   13         specifying applicable penalties; providing an
   14         effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Present subsection (4) of section 106.147,
   19  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (5), a new
   20  subsection (4) is added to that section, and present subsection
   21  (4) of that section is amended, to read:
   22         106.147 Text message and telephone solicitation; disclosure
   23  requirements; prohibitions; exemptions; penalties.—
   24         (4)(a) A voter who indicates that he or she does not
   25  consent to receive communications, whether by telephone call or
   26  text message, may not be sent any communication pursuant to this
   27  section. The candidate, person, or organization responsible for
   28  such communications shall cease all communications with such
   29  voter immediately upon receipt of the voter’s indication that he
   30  or she does not consent to receive such communication. For the
   31  purposes of this subsection, a voter may indicate that he or she
   32  no longer consents to receive such communications, in the case
   33  of a telephone call, upon the voter indicating on the call that
   34  he or she no longer wishes to receive such calls, or, in the
   35  case of a text message, upon the voter responding to the text
   36  message with “Stop.”
   37         (b) If the candidate, person, or organization does not
   38  cease communicating with the voter after receiving his or her
   39  indication pursuant to paragraph (a), the voter may bring an
   40  action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin the
   41  violation. A voter who successfully enjoins the violation is
   42  entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs.
   43         (5)(a)(4)(a) A Any person who willfully violates this
   44  section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
   45  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   46         (b) For purposes of paragraph (a), the term “person”
   47  includes any individual or organization making an independent
   48  expenditure; any candidate; any officer of any political
   49  committee, affiliated party committee, or political party
   50  executive committee; any officer, partner, attorney, or other
   51  representative of a corporation, partnership, or other business
   52  entity; and any agent or other person acting on behalf of any
   53  candidate, political committee, affiliated party committee,
   54  political party executive committee, or corporation,
   55  partnership, or other business entity.
   56         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.