Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1416 By Senator Thurston 33-00767-21 20211416__ Page 1 of 4 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1

An act relating to no party affiliation candidates; 2 amending s. 99.0955, F.S.; requiring a person seeking 3 to qualify for office as a candidate with no party 4 affiliation to state that he or she is registered 5 without party affiliation and has not been a 6 registered member of a political party for a specified 7 period of time before qualifying, as a condition of 8 qualifying; amending ss. 99.061 and 99.063, F.S.; 9 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 10 providing an effective date. 11 12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13 14

Section

Section 99.0955, Florida Statutes, is amended to 15 read: 16 99.0955 Candidates with no party affiliation; candidate 17 oath; name on general election ballot.— 18 (1)(

a) Each person seeking to qualify for election as a 19 candidate with no party affiliation shall file his or her 20 qualifying papers and pay the qualifying fee or qualify by the 21 petition process pursuant to s. 99.095 with the officer and 22 during the times and under the circumstances prescribed in s. 23 99.061. Upon qualifying, the candidate is entitled to have his 24 or her name placed on the general election ballot. 25 (

b) In addition, at the time of subscribing to the oath or 26 affirmation in s. 99.021, any person seeking to qualify for 27 election as a candidate with no party affiliation shall state in 28 writing that the person has not been a registered member of any 29 Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1416 33-00767-21 20211416__ Page 2 of 4 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. political party for 365 days before the beginning of qualifying 30 preceding the general election for which the person seeks to 31 qualify. 32

(2) The qualifying fee for candidates with no party 33 affiliation shall consist of a filing fee and an election 34 assessment as prescribed in s. 99.092. Filing fees paid to the 35 Department of State shall be deposited into the General Revenue 36 Fund of the state. Filing fees paid to the supervisor of 37 elections shall be deposited into the general revenue fund of 38 the county. 39

Section 2. Paragraph (

a) of subsection (7) of

section 40 99.061, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 41 99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to 42 federal, state, county, or district office.— 43 (7)(

a) In order for a candidate to be qualified, the 44 following items must be received by the filing officer by the 45 end of the qualifying period: 46 1. A properly executed check drawn upon the candidate’s 47 campaign account payable to the person or entity as prescribed 48 by the filing officer in an amount not less than the fee 49 required by s. 99.092, unless the candidate obtained the 50 required number of signatures on petitions pursuant to s. 51 99.095. The filing fee for a special district candidate is not 52 required to be drawn upon the candidate’s campaign account.

If a 53 candidate’s check is returned by the bank for any reason, the 54 filing officer shall immediately notify the candidate and the 55 candidate shall have until the end of qualifying to pay the fee 56 with a cashier’s check purchased from funds of the campaign 57 account. Failure to pay the fee as provided in this subparagraph 58 Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1416 33-00767-21 20211416__ Page 3 of 4 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. shall disqualify the candidate. 59 2.

The candidate’s oath required by s. 99.021, which must 60 contain the name of the candidate as it is to appear on the 61 ballot; the office sought, including the district or group 62 number if applicable; and the signature of the candidate, which 63 must be verified under oath or affirmation pursuant to s. 64 92.525(1)(a). 65 3. If the office sought is partisan, the written statement 66 of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b); or, 67 if the office sought is without party affiliation, the written 68 statement required by s. 99.0955(1)(b). 69 4.

The completed form for the appointment of campaign 70 treasurer and designation of campaign depository, as required by 71 s. 106.021. 72 5. The full and public disclosure or statement of financial 73 interests required by subsection (5). A public officer who has 74 filed the full and public disclosure or statement of financial 75 interests with the Commission on Ethics or the supervisor of 76 elections prior to qualifying for office may file a copy of that 77 disclosure at the time of qualifying. 78

Section 3. Paragraph (

b) of subsection (2) of

section 79 99.063, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 80 99.063 Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.— 81

(2) No later than 5 p.m. of the 9th day following the 82 primary election, each designated candidate for Lieutenant 83 Governor shall file with the Department of State: 84 (

b) If the office sought is partisan, the written statement 85 of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b); or, 86 if the office sought is without party affiliation, the written 87 Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1416 33-00767-21 20211416__ Page 4 of 4 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. statement required by s. 99.0955(1)(b). 88

Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 89