F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 281 2024
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to candidate qualifying; creating s.
3 99.013, F.S.; providing eligibility requirements for
4 persons seeking to qualify for nomination as
5 candidates of a political party or as candidates with
6 no party affiliation; providing that certain entities
7 may bring an action for declaratory and injunctive
8 relief based on a certain claim; prohibiting a person
9 from qualifying as a candidate for election and
10 prohibiting his or her name from appearing on the
11 ballot under certain circumstances; providing an
12 effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Section 99.013, Florida Statutes, is created to
17 read:
18 99.013 Eligibility to qualify for nomination as a
19 candidate of a political party or candidate with no party
20 affiliation.—
21 (1)(a) A person seeking to qualify for nomination as a
22 candidate of a political party must have been a registered
23 member of the political party for which the person is seeking
24 nomination as a candidate for at least 365 days before the
25 beginning of qualifying preceding the general election for which
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 281 2024
26 the person seeks to qualify.
27 (b) A person seeking to qualify for nomination as a
28 candidate with no party affiliation must be registered without
29 any party affiliation and may not have been a registered member
30 of any political party for at least 365 days before the
31 beginning of qualifying preceding the general election for which
32 the person seeks to qualify.
33 (2) A political party, in addition to any other person or
34 entity with standing, may bring an action for declaratory and
35 injunctive relief based on a claim that a person seeking to
36 qualify for nomination as a candidate of such political party or
37 as a candidate with no party affiliation did not comply with
38 this section.
39 (3) If a final judgment of a circuit court determines that
40 a person did not comply with this section, the person may not be
41 qualified as a candidate for election and his or her name may
42 not appear on the ballot.
43 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
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