| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to political advertisements; providing a |
| 3 | short title; amending s. 106.143, F.S.; providing an |
| 4 | alternative statement that may be used to identify a |
| 5 | candidate as the sponsor of a political advertisement |
| 6 | under certain circumstances; providing circumstances under |
| 7 | which certain campaign messages and political |
| 8 | advertisements are not required to state or display |
| 9 | specific information regarding the identity of the |
| 10 | candidate, his or her party affiliation, and the office |
| 11 | sought in the message or advertisement; providing an |
| 12 | effective date. |
| 13 |
|
| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
|
| 16 | Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Technology in |
| 17 | Elections Act." |
| 18 | Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 106.143, Florida |
| 19 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 20 | 106.143 Political advertisements circulated prior to |
| 21 | election; requirements.- |
| 22 | (1)(a) Any political advertisement that is paid for by a |
| 23 | candidate and that is published, displayed, or circulated prior |
| 24 | to, or on the day of, any election must prominently state: |
| 25 | 1. "Political advertisement paid for and approved by |
| 26 | ...(name of candidate)..., ...(party affiliation)..., for |
| 27 | ...(office sought)...."; or |
| 28 | 2. "Paid by ...(name of candidate)..., ...(party |
| 29 | affiliation)..., for ...(office sought)...." |
| 30 | (b) Any other political advertisement published, |
| 31 | displayed, or circulated prior to, or on the day of, any |
| 32 | election must prominently: |
| 33 | 1. Be marked "paid political advertisement" or with the |
| 34 | abbreviation "pd. pol. adv." |
| 35 | 2. State the name and address of the persons sponsoring |
| 36 | the advertisement. |
| 37 | 3.a.(I) State whether the advertisement and the cost of |
| 38 | production is paid for or provided in kind by or at the expense |
| 39 | of the entity publishing, displaying, broadcasting, or |
| 40 | circulating the political advertisement; or |
| 41 | (II) State who provided or paid for the advertisement and |
| 42 | cost of production, if different from the source of sponsorship. |
| 43 | b. This subparagraph does not apply if the source of the |
| 44 | sponsorship is patently clear from the content or format of the |
| 45 | political advertisement. |
| 46 | (c) Any political advertisement made pursuant to s. |
| 47 | 106.021(3)(d) must be marked "paid political advertisement" or |
| 48 | with the abbreviation "pd. pol. adv." and must prominently |
| 49 | state, "Paid for and sponsored by ...(name of person paying for |
| 50 | political advertisement).... Approved by ...(names of persons, |
| 51 | party affiliation, and offices sought in the political |
| 52 | advertisement)...." |
| 53 | (d) This subsection does not apply to any campaign message |
| 54 | or political advertisement messages used by a candidate and the |
| 55 | candidate's supporters or by a political committee if the |
| 56 | message or advertisement is those messages are: |
| 57 | 1. Designed to be worn by a person. |
| 58 | 2. Placed as a paid link on an Internet website, provided |
| 59 | the message or advertisement is no more than 200 characters in |
| 60 | length and the link directs the user to another Internet website |
| 61 | that complies with paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph |
| 62 | (c). |
| 63 | 3. Placed as a graphic or picture link on an Internet |
| 64 | website that directs the user to another Internet website that |
| 65 | complies with the requirements of this section; however, the |
| 66 | link must contain the language required in paragraph (a), |
| 67 | paragraph (b), or paragraph (c), which shall make up at least 5 |
| 68 | percent of the total graphic or picture and may not otherwise be |
| 69 | illegible or concealed. |
| 70 | 4. Placed at no cost on an Internet website for which |
| 71 | there is no cost to post content for public users. |
| 72 | 5. Placed or distributed on an unpaid profile or account |
| 73 | which is available to the public without charge or on a social |
| 74 | networking Internet website, as long as the source of the |
| 75 | message or advertisement is patently clear from the content or |
| 76 | format of the message or advertisement. |
| 77 | 6. Distributed as a text message or other message via |
| 78 | Short Message Service, provided the message is no more than 200 |
| 79 | characters in length or requires the recipient to sign up or opt |
| 80 | in to receive it. |
| 81 | 7. Connected with or included in any software application |
| 82 | or accompanying function, provided that the user signs up, opts |
| 83 | in, downloads, or otherwise accesses the application from or |
| 84 | through a website that complies with paragraph (a), paragraph |
| 85 | (b), or paragraph (c). |
| 86 | 8. Sent by a third-party user from or through a campaign |
| 87 | or committee's website, provided the website complies with |
| 88 | paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (c). |
| 89 | 9. Contained in or distributed through any other |
| 90 | technology-related item, service, or device for which compliance |
| 91 | with paragraph (a), paragraph (b), or paragraph (c) is not |
| 92 | reasonably practical due to the size or nature of such item, |
| 93 | service, or device as available, or the means of displaying the |
| 94 | message or advertisement makes compliance with paragraph (a), |
| 95 | paragraph (b), or paragraph (c) impracticable. |
| 96 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |