The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Rules
BILL: SB 1116
INTRODUCER: Senator Hutson
SUBJECT: Campaign Finance
DATE: February 13, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Cleary Roberts EE Favorable
2. Davis Cibula JU Favorable
3. Cleary Twogood RC Favorable
I. Summary:
SB 1116 repeals the statutes that comprise the Florida Election Campaign Financing Act. The
bill also makes the necessary conforming changes to totally repeal Florida’s public financing
program for statewide elections.
The repeal of the public financing program contained in this bill is contingent upon the passage
of SJR 1114, which proposes a repeal of the constitutional requirement in Article VI, section 7 of
the State Constitution that the state provide public financing for statewide campaigns. The
proposed repeal of the constitutional requirement will be voted on at the next general election or
at an earlier special election specifically authorized by law for that purpose.
The bill takes effect upon the approval of the repeal of the constitutional requirement as
proposed by SJR 1114 or a similar joint resolution by the voters at the next general election or at
an earlier special election specifically authorized by law.
The repeal of public campaign financing would eliminate an expenditure that routinely occurs
every four years from the General Revenue Fund typically ranging from $4 million to $13
million per election cycle. The first year of this anticipated cost avoidance would occur in the
2028-2029 fiscal year.
II. Present Situation:
Public Campaign Financing in Florida
Currently, the State Constitution requires that public campaign financing be made available for
candidates seeking election to the offices of Governor and Cabinet. The constitutional provision
is implemented by general law. The State Constitution provides:
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It is the policy of this state to provide for statewide elections in which all qualified
candidates may compete effectively. A method of public financing for campaigns
for state office shall be established by law. Spending limits shall be established for
such campaigns for candidates who use public funds in their campaigns. The
legislature shall provide funding for this provision. General law implementing this
paragraph shall be at least as protective of effective competition by a candidate who
uses public as the general law in effect on January 1, 1998.1
This constitutional provision has been in place since 1998 after being proposed by the
Constitution Revision Commission and approved by the voters in the 1998 general election. The
program itself, however, has been in place in statute since 1986.2
The Matching Funds Program
The matching funds program is provided by general law in ss. 106.30-106.36, F.S., and
administered by the Department of State’s Division of Elections (division). The program can be
summarized as follows:
 Statewide candidates must have opposition;
 Only personal contributions from state residents are eligible for matching from the General
Revenue Fund.3 Corporate and political committee contributions are not matched;
 Contributions received after September 1 of the calendar year preceding the election are
eligible for matching;
 Candidates choosing to participate in the public financing program must raise the following
initial amount of money in order to be eligible to receive public funds: $150,000 for
gubernatorial candidates or $100,000 for candidates for Cabinet offices This upfront money
is matched with public funds on a two-to-one basis.
 After that, eligible contributions are matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to $250 per
individual contribution. For example, if a Florida individual makes a $250 contribution, it is
matched with $250 from the state. If a person makes a $500 contribution, only $250 of that
contribution will be matched with state money.
 In exchange for receiving public money, candidates agree to abide by certain limits on their
overall campaign expenditures.
Participating candidates must complete a form declaring their intention to apply for public
campaign financing at the time of qualifying, and subsequently submit their contributions for
audit by the division to determine eligibility for the match. The division audits the submission
and makes payment to the candidate, beginning immediately on the 32nd day before the primary
election and every seven days thereafter.
The program was originally funded from the Election Campaign Financing Trust Fund, which
was established in 1986. The trust fund was funded with a portion of candidate qualifying fees
and civil penalties collected by the Florida Elections Commission. The trust fund expired by
operation of s. 19 (f), Article III, Fla. Constitution, on November 4, 1996. That section of the
1
FLA. CONST. art VI, s. 7
2
Ch. 86-276, s. 1, Laws of Fla.
3
In 2001, the Legislature enacted a law that excluded out-of-state contributions from eligibility for matching. Ch. 2001-40, s.
69, Laws of Fla.
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Constitution required state trust funds in existence prior to 1992 to terminate not more than four
years from November 4, 1992. Since the trust fund terminated, the program has been funded
from the General Revenue Fund.
Campaign Expenditure Limits
Statewide candidates participating in the public financing program must agree to abide by
campaign expenditure limits.4 In 2005, the Legislature increased these expenditures limits to the
following amounts for the general election:5
 Governor/Lt. Governor – Increased from $7.1 million;6 to $2.00 per each Florida-registered
voter;7 and
 Cabinet Offices – Increased from $2.82 million8 per race to $1.00 per each Florida-registered
voter.9
A Florida-registered voter is defined as a voter who is registered to vote in Florida as of June 30
of each odd-numbered year. The division must certify the total number of Florida-registered
voters no later than July 31 of each odd-numbered year. The total number must be calculated by
adding the number of registered voters in each county as of June 30 in the year of the
certification date.10 The 2022 election cycle campaign expenditure limits for statewide
candidates participating in the public financing program were approximately $ 30,286,714 for
the Governor’s and Lieutenant Governor’s races and $15,143,357 for the remaining cabinet
races.11
Previous Distributions
Total public financing expenditures in the last four general election cycles for the Governor’s
race and the three cabinet races are as follows:
2022 election cycle – $13,015,149.81
2018 election cycle – $9, 852,605.76
2014 election cycle – $4,336,040.04
2010 election cycle – $6,065,556.1112
4
Section 106.34, F.S.
5
Ch. 2005-278, s. 48, Laws of Fla. The changes became effective January 1, 2006. Primary expenditure limits for candidates
with primary opposition is 60 percent of the general election limits. S. 106.34(2), F.S.
6
Section 106.34(1)(a), F.S. (2004). Although Florida law in 2005 explicitly provided for a cap of $5 million for gubernatorial
candidates, the law also required that the limit be adjusted quadrennially for inflation; therefore, at the end of 2005, this $5
million expenditure limit, which was originally established in law in 1992, had risen to an inflation-adjusted figure of
$7,135,606.
7
Section 106.34(1)(a), F.S.
8
Ch. 2005-278, s. 48, at 2735, Laws of Fla. Although Florida law in 2005 explicitly provided for a cap of $2 million for
Cabinet office candidates, the law also required the limit to be adjudged quadrennially for inflation; therefore, at the end of
2005, this $2 million expenditures limit, which was originally established in 1992, had risen to an inflation-adjusted figure of
$2,854,242.
9
Section 106.34(1)(b), F.S.
10
Section 106.34(3), F.S.
11
The number of Florida voters registered as of June 30, 2021, was 15,143,357 See Florida Division of Elections, 2022
Public Campaign Financing Handbook, 3 at
https://files.floridados.gov/media/705135/public_campaign_financing_2022_final-1.pdf (last viewed on January 23, 2024).
12
See Florida Division of Elections, Candidates and Committees, Campaign Finance at
https://dos.fl.gov/elections/candidates-committees/campaign-finance/ (last viewed on January 23, 2024).
BILL: SB 1116 Page 4
Current Florida law provides that, in addition to the matching funds specifically authorized for
participating candidates for the general election and contested primaries, if a nonparticipating
statewide candidate exceeds the expenditure limit, all opposing candidates participating in the
public financing program receive a dollar-for-dollar match of public funds for the amount that a
nonparticipating candidate exceeds the limit, up to a maximum of twice the applicable
expenditure limit.13 The constitutionality of this provision has been challenged, however, in a
decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.14 (See discussion under “Other Constitutional
Issues”).
Past Efforts to Repeal the Public Campaign Financing Program
An identical resolution to repeal the public financing program for statewide elections was
adopted in the 2009 Legislative Session.15 The measure appeared on the ballot in November
2010, but only received 52.48 percent voter approval, not the necessary 60 percent required for
adoption.16
Campaign Public Financing in Other States
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Florida is one of a small number of
states that offer some form of full or partial public matching funds to political candidates:
Public financing of campaigns, in which the government provides financial support
to candidates running for office, remains the least-used method of regulating money
in elections, partly due to the result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Buckley v.
Valeo (1976). In that decision, the court struck down a provision of the Federal
Election Act of 1971 mandating public financing for presidential elections.
Based on that decision, state public financing programs must be optional for
candidates. The financial advantages of private fundraising frequently prompt
candidates to opt out of public financing programs, which often include campaign
spending limits. Candidates who opt not to use public funds can raise funds without
having to abide by state limits. For states that elect to provide a public financing
option, money is available for either individual candidates or political parties . . . .
Thirteen states provide some form of statewide public financing option for
candidates. Each of these plans require a candidate who accepts public money for
their campaign to promise to limit both how much the candidate spends on the
election and how much they receive in donations from any one group or individual.
These options are frequently limited, applying only to candidates running for
specified offices17 . . . .
13
Section 106.355, F.S. The candidates participating in public financing are also released from the expenditure limit to the
extent the nonparticipating candidate exceeds the limit.
14
Scott v. Roberts, 612 F.3d 1279 (11th Cir. 2010).
15
House Joint Resolution No. 81, filed with the Secretary of State on May 19, 2009.
16
See Florida Division of Elections, Constitutional Amendments at
https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/initiatives/initdetail.asp?account=10&seqnum=71 (last viewed January 23, 2024).
17
See National Conference of State Legislatures, Public Financing of Campaigns: Overview, available at
https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/public-financing-of-campaigns-overview (last viewed on January 23, 2024).
BILL: SB 1116 Page 5
The two main types of state programs for public financing are the clean elections
programs and programs that provide a candidate with matching funds for each
qualifying contribution they receive. The “clean election states” offer full funding
for the campaign; the matching funds programs provide a candidate with a portion
of the funds needed to run the campaign.18
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill completes the repeal of Florida’s public financing program for statewide elections
proposed in Senate Joint Resolution 1114, and makes other conforming statutory changes.
If SJR 1114, or a similar constitutional amendment repealing the constitutional mandate for
Florida’s public financing program is passed by the voters at the next general election or at an
earlier special election specifically authorized by law for that purpose, this bill will take effect
and completely repeal all statutory references to the public campaign financing program.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
In the landmark case of Buckley v. Valeo, The United States Supreme Court ruled that
laws imposing limitations on overall campaign expenditures by candidates violated the
free speech guarantees of the U.S. Constitution.19 The Buckley Court, however, upheld
the federal statute providing for public financing of presidential elections, funding that
(Public Financing Available for Specified Offices Per State: Governor/Lieutenant Governor: Arizona, Connecticut,
Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont; State
Legislative Offices: Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota; State Supreme Court/Other: New Mexico, West
Virginia.).
18
Id. (States with clean elections programs: Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, New Mexico, and Vermont; States with
matching funds programs: Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and West Virginia).
19
Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 54-58 (1976); see also, Randall v. Sorrell, 126 S. Ct. 2479, 2487-2491 (2006) (applying
Buckley to invalidate Vermont law limiting overall campaign expenditures).
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overall campaign expenditures may be limited if a candidate voluntarily waives his or her
right to make unlimited expenditures in exchange for receiving public campaign funds.20
In 2010, gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott brought an action for injunctive relief to
prevent the operation of the excess spending subsidy provision21 of the Florida Election
Campaign Financing Act in his primary campaign, alleging that it violated his First and
Fourteenth Amendment rights to spend unlimited sums of his personal funds and private
donations to his campaign in support of his candidacy. On his appeal from an adverse
district court decision, a panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that he was
entitled to the preliminary injunction and that there was a substantial likelihood that he
would succeed on the merits of his constitutional claim. The court ruled that the subsidy
provision was severable from the rest of the campaign financing act.22
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
If the public campaign financing program is abolished, statewide candidates would no
longer be able to depend on public funds for their campaigns and would likely turn to
private contributions to fill the gap. The precise fiscal impact is indeterminate.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The repeal of public campaign financing would eliminate an expenditure that routinely