The Florida Senate

99.012  Restrictions on individuals qualifying for public office.--

(1)  As used in this section:

(a)  "Officer" means a person, whether elected or appointed, who has the authority to exercise the sovereign power of the state pertaining to an office recognized under the State Constitution or laws of the state. With respect to a municipality, the term "officer" means a person, whether elected or appointed, who has the authority to exercise municipal power as provided by the State Constitution, state laws, or municipal charter.

(b)  "Subordinate officer" means a person who has been delegated the authority to exercise the sovereign power of the state by an officer. With respect to a municipality, subordinate officer means a person who has been delegated the authority to exercise municipal power by an officer.

(2)  No person may qualify as a candidate for more than one public office, whether federal, state, district, county, or municipal, if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other.

(3)

(a)  No officer may qualify as a candidate for another public office, whether state, district, county, or municipal, if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other, without resigning from the office he or she presently holds.

(b)  The resignation is irrevocable.

(c)  The written resignation must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the first day of qualifying for the office he or she intends to seek.

(d)  The resignation must be effective no later than the earlier of the following dates:

1.  The date the officer would take office, if elected; or

2.  The date the officer's successor is required to take office.

(e)

1.  An elected district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her resignation to the officer before whom he or she qualified for the office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the Department of State.

2.  An appointed district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her resignation to the officer or authority which appointed him or her to the office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the Department of State.

3.  All other officers must submit their resignations to the Governor with a copy to the Department of State.

(f)

1.  With regard to an elective office, the resignation creates a vacancy in office to be filled by election. Persons may qualify as candidates for nomination and election as if the public officer's term were otherwise scheduled to expire.

2.  With regard to an elective charter county office or elective municipal office, the vacancy created by the officer's resignation may be filled for that portion of the officer's unexpired term in a manner provided by the respective charter. The office is deemed vacant upon the effective date of the resignation submitted by the official in his or her letter of resignation.

(g)  Any officer who submits his or her resignation, effective immediately or effective on a date prior to the date of his or her qualifying for office, may then qualify for office as a nonofficeholder, and the provisions of this subsection do not apply.

(4)

(a)  Any officer who qualifies for federal public office must resign from the office he or she presently holds if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other.

(b)  The resignation is irrevocable.

(c)  The resignation must be submitted no later than the date upon which the officer qualifies for office.

(d)  The written resignation must be effective no later than the earlier of the following dates:

1.  The date the officer would take office, if elected; or

2.  The date the officer's successor is required to take office.

(e)

1.  An elected district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her resignation to the officer before whom he or she qualified for the office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the Department of State.

2.  An appointed district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her resignation to the officer or authority which appointed him or her to the office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the Department of State.

3.  All other officers must submit their resignations to the Governor with a copy to the Department of State.

(f)

1.  The failure of an officer who qualifies for federal public office to submit a resignation pursuant to this subsection constitutes an automatic irrevocable resignation, effective immediately, from the office he or she presently holds.

2.  The Department of State shall send a notice of the automatic resignation to the Governor, and in the case of a district, county, or municipal officer, a copy to:

a.  The officer before whom he or she qualified if the officer held an elective office; or

b.  The person or authority who appointed the officer if the officer held an appointive office.

(g)  The provisions of any special act to the contrary notwithstanding, with regard to an elective office, the resignation creates a vacancy in office to be filled by election, thereby permitting persons to qualify as candidates for nomination and election as if the officer's term were otherwise scheduled to expire. With regard to an elective charter county office or elective municipal office, the vacancy created by the officer's resignation may be filled for that portion of the officer's unexpired term in a manner provided by the respective charter. The office is deemed vacant upon the effective date of the resignation submitted by the official in his or her letter of resignation.

(5)  A person who is a subordinate officer, deputy sheriff, or police officer need not resign pursuant to this section unless the person is seeking to qualify for a public office which is currently held by an officer who has authority to appoint, employ, promote, or otherwise supervise that person and who has qualified as a candidate for reelection to that office. However, upon qualifying, the subordinate officer, deputy sheriff, or police officer must take a leave of absence without pay during the period in which he or she is a candidate for office.

(6)  The name of any person who does not comply with this section may be removed from every ballot on which it appears when ordered by a circuit court upon the petition of an elector or the Department of State.

(7)  This section does not apply to:

(a)  Political party offices.

(b)  Persons serving without salary as members of an appointive board or authority.

(8)  Nothing contained in subsections (3) and (4) relates to persons holding any federal office.

History.--s. 1, ch. 63-269; s. 2, ch. 65-378; s. 1, ch. 70-80; s. 10, ch. 71-373; s. 1, ch. 74-76; s. 3, ch. 75-196; s. 1, ch. 79-391; s. 47, ch. 81-259; s. 1, ch. 83-15; s. 28, ch. 84-302; s. 31, ch. 91-107; s. 534, ch. 95-147.