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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to candidate filing fees; amending s. 2
99.061, F.S.; authorizing a candidate to pay the 3
filing fee by a specified debit card; revising the 4
timeframe in which a candidate shall pay the filing 5
fee if the candidate's check is returned by the bank; 6
authorizing certain candidates to challenge whether 7
another candidate has complied with specified 8
requirements; providing requirements for such 9
challenge; amending s. 106.11, F.S.; requiring certain 10
signatures only if there is a place for such 11
signatures on the receipt of payment by a debit card; 12
providing an effective date. 13
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
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Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 99.061, Florida 17
Statutes, is amended to read: 18
99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to 19
federal, state, county, or district office. — 20
(7)(a) In order for a candidate to be qualified, the 21
following items must be received by the filing officer by the 22
end of the qualifying period: 23
1. The filing fee payable to the person or entity as 24
prescribed by the filing officer in an amount not less than the 25
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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
fee required by s. 99.092, by a properly executed check drawn 26
upon the candidate's campaign account or by a debit card linked 27
to the candidate's campaign account as provided in s. 106.11(2) 28
payable to the person or entity as prescribed by the filing 29
officer in an amount not less than the fee required by s. 30
99.092, unless the candidate obtained the required number of 31
signatures on petitions pursuant to s. 99.095. The filing fee 32
for a special district candidate is not required to be drawn 33
upon the candidate's campaign account. If a candidate's check is 34
returned by the bank for any reason, the filing officer shall 35
immediately notify the candidate and the candidate shall , the 36
end of qualifying notwithstanding, have 48 hours from the time 37
such notification is received, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and 38
legal holidays, have until the end of qualifying to pay the fee 39
with a cashier's check purchased from funds of the campaign 40
account. Failure to pay the fee as provided in this subparagraph 41
shall disqualify the candidate. 42
2. The candidate's oath required by s. 99.021, which must 43
contain the name of the candidate as it is to appear on the 44
ballot; the office sought, including the district or group 45
number if applicable; and the signature of the candidate, which 46
must be verified under oath or affirmation pursuant to s. 47
92.525(1)(a). 48
3. If the office sought is partisan, the written statement 49
of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b); or 50
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if the candidate is running without party affiliation for a 51
partisan office, the written statement required by s. 52
99.021(1)(c). 53
4. The completed form for the appointment of campaign 54
treasurer and designation of campaign depository, as required by 55
s. 106.021. 56
5. The full and public disclosure or statement of 57
financial interests required by subsection (5). A public officer 58
who has filed the full and public disclosure or statement of 59
financial interests with the Commission on Ethics before 60
qualifying for office may file a copy of that disclosure or a 61
verification or receipt of electronic filing as provided in 62
subsection (5) at the time of qualifying. 63
(b) If the filing officer receives qualifying papers 64
during the qualifying period prescribed in this section which do 65
not include all items as required by paragraph (a) prior to the 66
last day of qualifying, the filing officer shall make a 67
reasonable effort to notify the candidate of the missing or 68
incomplete items and shall inform the candidate that all 69
required items must be received by the close of qualifying. A 70
candidate's name as it is to appear on the ballot may not be 71
changed after the en d of qualifying. 72
(c) The filing officer performs a ministerial function in 73
reviewing qualifying papers. In determining whether a candidate 74
is qualified, the filing officer shall review the qualifying 75
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papers to determine whether all items required by para graph (a) 76
have been properly filed and whether each item is complete on 77
its face, including whether items that must be verified have 78
been properly verified pursuant to s. 92.525(1)(a). The filing 79
officer may not determine whether the contents of the qualif ying 80
papers are accurate. 81
(d) Whether a candidate has complied with this subsection 82
may be challenged in the circuit court by any other candidate 83
for such office or nomination. 84
1. A complaint providing the grounds of the challenge 85
shall be filed with t he clerk of the circuit court within 10 86
days after midnight of the end of the qualifying period. 87
2. The filing officer and any supervisor of elections 88
responsible for conducting the election are indispensable party 89
defendants. 90
3. A copy of the complaint shall be served upon the 91
defendant and any other person named therein in the same manner 92
as in other civil cases under the laws of this state. Within 10 93
days after the complaint has been served, a defendant must file 94
an answer admitting or denyin g the allegations on which the 95
plaintiff relies or stating that the defendant has no knowledge 96
or information concerning the allegations, which shall be deemed 97
a denial of the allegations, and must state any other defenses, 98
in law or fact, on which the def endant relies. 99
4. A candidate presenting such a challenge to a circuit 100
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judge is entitled to an immediate hearing. However, the court in 101
its discretion may limit the time for taking testimony, with a 102
view therein to the circumstances of the matter and to the 103
proximity of the succeeding election. 104
5. If an order of a court which has become final 105
determines that a person did not comply with this subsection, 106
the person may not be qualified as a candidate for election and 107
his or her name may not appear on the ballot. 108
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 109
106.11, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 110
106.11 Expenses of and expenditures by candidates and 111
political committees. —Each candidate and each political 112
committee which designates a pr imary campaign depository 113
pursuant to s. 106.021(1) shall make expenditures from funds on 114
deposit in such primary campaign depository only in the 115
following manner, with the exception of expenditures made from 116
petty cash funds provided by s. 106.12: 117
(2)(a) For purposes of this section, debit cards are 118
considered bank checks , if: 119
1. Debit cards are obtained from the same bank that has 120
been designated as the candidate's or political committee's 121
primary campaign depository. 122
2. Debit cards are issued in th e name of the treasurer, 123
deputy treasurer, or authorized user and contain the name of the 124
campaign account of the candidate or political committee. 125
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3. No more than three debit cards are requested and 126
issued. 127
4. The person using the debit card does not receive cash 128
as part of, or independent of, any transaction for goods or 129
services. 130
5. All receipts for debit card transactions contain: 131
a. The last four digits of the debit card number. 132
b. The exact amount of the expenditure. 133
c. The name of the pay ee. 134
d. The signature of the campaign treasurer, deputy 135
treasurer, or authorized user if the receipt has a place for the 136
signature of the campaign treasurer, deputy treasurer, or 137
authorized user. 138
e. The exact purpose for which the expenditure is 139
authorized. 140
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Any information required by this subparagraph but not included 142
on the debit card transaction receipt may be handwritten on, or 143
attached to, the receipt by the authorized user before 144
submission to the treasurer. 145
Section 3. This act shall take effe ct July 1, 2025. 146