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| 3 | 3 | | HB 201 2025 |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. |
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| 8 | 8 | | hb201-00 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Page 1 of 2 |
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| 10 | 10 | | 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 |
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| 14 | 14 | | A bill to be entitled 1 |
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| 15 | 15 | | An act relating to candidate qualification; creating 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | s. 99.013, F.S.; providing eligibility requirements 3 |
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| 17 | 17 | | for persons seeking to qualify for nomination as 4 |
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| 18 | 18 | | candidates of a political party or as candidates with 5 |
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| 19 | 19 | | no party affiliation; providing that certain entities 6 |
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| 20 | 20 | | may bring an action for declaratory and injunctive 7 |
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| 21 | 21 | | relief based on a certain claim; prohibiting a person 8 |
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| 22 | 22 | | from qualifying as a candidate for election and 9 |
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| 23 | 23 | | prohibiting his or her name from appearing on the 10 |
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| 24 | 24 | | ballot under certain circumstances; providing an 11 |
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| 25 | 25 | | effective date. 12 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 13 |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 |
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| 28 | 28 | | 15 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Section 1. Section 99.013, Florida Statutes, is created to 16 |
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| 30 | 30 | | read: 17 |
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| 31 | 31 | | 99.013 Eligibility to qualify for nomination as a 18 |
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| 32 | 32 | | candidate of a political party or candidate with no party 19 |
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| 33 | 33 | | affiliation.— 20 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (1)(a) A person seeking to qualify for nomination as a 21 |
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| 35 | 35 | | candidate of a political party must have been a registered 22 |
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| 36 | 36 | | member of the political party for which the person is seeking 23 |
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| 37 | 37 | | nomination as a candidate for at least 365 days before the 24 |
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| 38 | 38 | | beginning of the qualifying period preceding the general 25 |
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| 39 | 39 | | |
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| 40 | 40 | | HB 201 2025 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. |
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| 45 | 45 | | hb201-00 |
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| 46 | 46 | | Page 2 of 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | 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 |
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| 48 | 48 | | |
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| 50 | 50 | | |
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| 51 | 51 | | election for which the person seeks to qualify. 26 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (b) A person seeking to qualify for nominatio n as a 27 |
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| 53 | 53 | | candidate with no party affiliation must be registered without 28 |
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| 54 | 54 | | any party affiliation and may not have been a registered member 29 |
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| 55 | 55 | | of any political party for at least 365 days before the 30 |
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| 56 | 56 | | beginning of the qualifying period preceding the general 31 |
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| 57 | 57 | | election for which the person seeks to qualify. 32 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (2) A political party, in addition to any other person or 33 |
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| 59 | 59 | | entity with standing, may bring an action for declaratory and 34 |
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| 60 | 60 | | injunctive relief based on a claim that a person seeking to 35 |
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| 61 | 61 | | qualify for nomination as a candida te of such political party or 36 |
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| 62 | 62 | | as a candidate with no party affiliation did not comply with 37 |
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| 63 | 63 | | this section. 38 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (3) If a final judgment of a circuit court determines that 39 |
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| 65 | 65 | | a person did not comply with this section, the person may not be 40 |
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| 66 | 66 | | qualified as a candidate for election and his or her name may 41 |
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| 67 | 67 | | not appear on the ballot. 42 |
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| 68 | 68 | | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 43 |
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