Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1756



       By Senator Jones





       35-01718-21                                           20211756__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to candidate qualifying and campaign
       expenditures; amending s. 99.012, F.S.; prohibiting a
       person from qualifying as a candidate for state,
       district, county, or municipal office in certain
       circumstances; amending s. 99.061, F.S.; providing
       requirements for the check with which a candidateâs
       qualifying fee is paid; amending s. 106.07, F.S.;
       providing requirements for the notice a filing officer
       is required to provide to a candidate in certain
       circumstances; prohibiting a person who owes a certain
       fine from qualifying as a candidate for election to
       office until such fine is paid; requiring the filing
       officer to report certain information to an
       appropriate elections official, who shall prohibit
       such person from qualifying as a candidate for
       election for a certain period; amending s. 106.11,
       F.S.; providing that checks for a campaign account may
       not contain certain information; amending s. 112.324,
       F.S.; prohibiting a person under investigation by the
       Commission on Ethics from qualifying as a candidate
       for election in certain circumstances; requiring the
       commission to provide such person a written notice
       containing certain information; requiring the
       commission to report certain information to an
       appropriate elections official, who shall prohibit
       such person from qualifying as a candidate for
       election for a certain period; providing an effective
       date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1.âPresent subsections (6), (7), and (8) of section
99.012, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (8),
(9), and (10), respectively, and new subsections (6) and (7) are
added to that section, to read:
       99.012âRestrictions on individuals qualifying for public
office.â
       (6)âNo person may qualify as a candidate for state,
district, county, or municipal office during an investigation by
the Commission on Ethics in which the commission has determined
that there is probable cause to believe that the person has
violated the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees as
set forth in part III of chapter 112 or committed any other
breach of the public trust within the jurisdiction of the
commission.
       (7)âNo person who owes a fine imposed under s. 106.07(8)
for failure to file a campaign finance report during a previous
campaign may qualify as a candidate for state, district, county,
or municipal office until the fine is paid.
       Section 2.âParagraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
99.061, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
       99.061âMethod of qualifying for nomination or election to
federal, state, county, or district office.â
       (7)(a)âIn order for a candidate to be qualified, the
following items must be received by the filing officer by the
end of the qualifying period:
       1.âA properly executed check drawn upon the candidateâs
campaign account payable to the person or entity as prescribed
by the filing officer in an amount not less than the fee
required by s. 99.092, unless the candidate obtained the
required number of signatures on petitions pursuant to s.
99.095. The check may not contain information unrelated to the
candidateâs campaign, including, but not limited to, the name of
an unrelated entity or a previous campaign, and may not be
manually altered to remove prohibited information or to include
required information. The filing fee for a special district
candidate is not required to be drawn upon the candidateâs
campaign account. If a candidateâs check is returned by the bank
for any reason, the filing officer shall immediately notify the
candidate and the candidate shall have until the end of
qualifying to pay the fee with a cashierâs check purchased from
funds of the campaign account. Failure to pay the fee as
provided in this subparagraph shall disqualify the candidate.
       2.âThe candidateâs oath required by s. 99.021, which must
contain the name of the candidate as it is to appear on the
ballot; the office sought, including the district or group
number if applicable; and the signature of the candidate, which
must be verified under oath or affirmation pursuant to s.
92.525(1)(a).
       3.âIf the office sought is partisan, the written statement
of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b).
       4.âThe completed form for the appointment of campaign
treasurer and designation of campaign depository, as required by
s. 106.021.
       5.âThe full and public disclosure or statement of financial
interests required by subsection (5). A public officer who has
filed the full and public disclosure or statement of financial
interests with the Commission on Ethics or the supervisor of
elections prior to qualifying for office may file a copy of that
disclosure at the time of qualifying.
       Section 3.âParagraph (b) of subsection (8) of section
106.07, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (9) is
added to that section, to read:
       106.07âReports; certification and filing.â
       (8)(b)âUpon determining that a report is late, the filing
officer shall immediately notify the candidate or chair of the
political committee as to the failure to file a report by the
designated due date and that a fine is being assessed for each
late day. The notification must also inform the candidate that a
person who owes a fine imposed under this paragraph may not
qualify as a candidate for election to state, district, county,
or municipal office in any subsequent election until the fine is
paid. The fine is $50 per day for the first 3 days late and,
thereafter, $500 per day for each late day, not to exceed 25
percent of the total receipts or expenditures, whichever is
greater, for the period covered by the late report. However, for
the reports immediately preceding each special primary election,
special election, primary election, and general election, the
fine is $500 per day for each late day, not to exceed 25 percent
of the total receipts or expenditures, whichever is greater, for
the period covered by the late report. For reports required
under s. 106.141(8), the fine is $50 per day for each late day,
not to exceed 25 percent of the total receipts or expenditures,
whichever is greater, for the period covered by the late report.
Upon receipt of the report, the filing officer shall determine
the amount of the fine which is due and shall notify the
candidate or chair or registered agent of the political
committee. The filing officer shall determine the amount of the
fine due based upon the earliest of the following:
       1.âWhen the report is actually received by such officer.
       2.âWhen the report is postmarked.
       3.âWhen the certificate of mailing is dated.
       4.âWhen the receipt from an established courier company is
dated.
       5.âWhen the electronic receipt issued pursuant to s.
106.0705 or other electronic filing system authorized in this
section is dated.

Such fine shall be paid to the filing officer within 20 days
after receipt of the notice of payment due, unless appeal is
made to the Florida Elections Commission pursuant to paragraph
(c). Notice is deemed complete upon proof of delivery of written
notice to the mailing or street address on record with the
filing officer. In the case of a candidate, such fine is not an
allowable campaign expenditure and shall be paid only from
personal funds of the candidate. An officer or member of a
political committee is not personally liable for such fine.
       (9)âA person who owes a fine imposed under paragraph (8)
may not qualify as a candidate for election to state, district,
county, or municipal office in any subsequent election until the
fine is paid. The filing officer shall notify the appropriate
elections official of the unpaid fine, who shall prohibit the
person from qualifying as a candidate until the fine is paid.
The filing officer shall notify the elections official upon
payment of such fine.
       Section 4.âParagraph (c) is added to subsection (1) of
section 106.11, Florida Statutes, to read:
       106.11âExpenses of and expenditures by candidates and
political committees.âEach candidate and each political
committee which designates a primary campaign depository
pursuant to s. 106.021(1) shall make expenditures from funds on
deposit in such primary campaign depository only in the
following manner, with the exception of expenditures made from
petty cash funds provided by s. 106.12:
       (1)
       (c)âThe checks for such account may not contain the name of
an unrelated entity or a prior campaign.
       Section 5.âSubsection (3) of section 112.324, Florida
Statutes, is amended to read:
       112.324âProcedures on complaints of violations and
referrals; public records and meeting exemptions.â
       (3)(a)âA preliminary investigation shall be undertaken by
the commission of each legally sufficient complaint or referral
over which the commission has jurisdiction to determine whether
there is probable cause to believe that a violation has
occurred. If, upon completion of the preliminary investigation,
the commission finds no probable cause to believe that this part
has been violated or that any other breach of the public trust
has been committed, the commission shall dismiss the complaint
or referral with the issuance of a public report to the
complainant and the alleged violator, stating with particularity
its reasons for dismissal. At that time, the complaint or
referral and all materials relating to the complaint or referral
shall become a matter of public record. If the commission finds
from the preliminary investigation probable cause to believe
that this part has been violated or that any other breach of the
public trust has been committed, it shall so notify the
complainant and the alleged violator in writing. Such
notification and all documents made or received in the
disposition of the complaint or referral shall then become
public records.
       (b)âIf, upon completion of the preliminary investigation,
the commission determines that there is probable cause to
believe that this part has been violated or that any other
breach of the public trust has been committed, the alleged
violator may not qualify as a candidate for election to state,
district, county, or municipal office until completion of a full
and final investigation or dismissal of the complaint or
referral by the commission.
       (c)âThe commission shall notify the alleged violator in
writing that he or she may not qualify as a candidate for
election to state, district, county, or municipal office until
completion of a full and final investigation or dismissal of the
complaint or referral by the commission.
       (d)âThe commission shall report the determination of
probable cause to the appropriate elections official, who shall
prohibit the alleged violator from qualifying as a candidate for
election to state, district, county, or municipal office until
completion of a full and final investigation or dismissal of the
complaint or referral by the commission. The commission shall
notify the elections official upon such completion or dismissal.
       (e)âUpon request submitted to the commission in writing,
any person who the commission finds probable cause to believe
has violated any provision of this part or has committed any
other breach of the public trust shall be entitled to a public
hearing. Such person shall be deemed to have waived the right to
a public hearing if the request is not received within 14 days
following the mailing of the probable cause notification
required by this subsection. However, the commission may on its
own motion, require a public hearing, may conduct such further
investigation as it deems necessary, and may enter into such
stipulations and settlements as it finds to be just and in the
best interest of the state.
       (f)âThe commission is without jurisdiction to, and no
respondent may voluntarily or involuntarily, enter into a
stipulation or settlement which imposes any penalty, including,
but not limited to, a sanction or admonition or any other
penalty contained in s. 112.317. Penalties shall be imposed only
by the appropriate disciplinary authority as designated in this
section.
       Section 6.âThis act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
Statutes affected: 
S 1756 Filed: 99.061, 106.07, 112.324