Florida Senate - 2021 CS for SB 1890
By the Committee on Ethics and Elections; and Senator Rodrigues
582-03591-21 20211890c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to campaign financing; amending s.
3 106.08, F.S.; providing a limitation on contributions
4 made to political committees sponsoring a
5 constitutional amendment proposed by initiative;
6 specifying conditions upon which the limitation no
7 longer applies; amending s. 106.141, F.S.; prohibiting
8 a candidate from donating surplus funds to a
9 charitable organization that employs the candidate;
10 providing that any candidate required to dispose
11 surplus funds may give certain surplus funds to the
12 state or a political subdivision, to be disbursed in a
13 specified manner; providing an effective date.
14
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
18 106.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
19 106.08 Contributions; limitations on.—
20 (1)(a) Except for political parties or affiliated party
21 committees, no person or political committee may, in any
22 election, make contributions in excess of the following amounts:
23 1. To a candidate for statewide office or for retention as
24 a justice of the Supreme Court or to a political committee that
25 is the sponsor of a constitutional amendment proposed by
26 initiative, $3,000. However, the limitation on contributions for
27 such a political committee no longer applies once the Secretary
28 of State has issued a certificate of ballot position and a
29 designating number for the proposed amendment that the political
30 committee is sponsoring. Candidates for the offices of Governor
31 and Lieutenant Governor on the same ticket are considered a
32 single candidate for the purpose of this section.
33 2. To a candidate for retention as a judge of a district
34 court of appeal; a candidate for legislative office; a candidate
35 for multicounty office; a candidate for countywide office or in
36 any election conducted on less than a countywide basis; or a
37 candidate for county court judge or circuit judge, $1,000.
38 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
39 106.141, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
40 106.141 Disposition of surplus funds by candidates.—
41 (4)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), any candidate
42 required to dispose of funds pursuant to this section shall, at
43 the option of the candidate, dispose of such funds by any of the
44 following means, or any combination thereof:
45 1. Return pro rata to each contributor the funds that have
46 not been spent or obligated.
47 2. Donate the funds that have not been spent or obligated
48 to a charitable organization or organizations that meet the
49 qualifications of s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
50 except that the candidate may not be employed by the charitable
51 organization to which he or she donates the funds.
52 3. Give not more than $25,000 of the funds that have not
53 been spent or obligated to the affiliated party committee or
54 political party of which such candidate is a member.
55 4. Give the funds that have not been spent or obligated:
56 a. In the case of a candidate for state office, To the
57 state, to be deposited in either the Election Campaign Financing
58 Trust Fund or the General Revenue Fund, as designated by the
59 candidate; or
60 b. In the case of a candidate for an office of a political
61 subdivision, To a such political subdivision, to be deposited in
62 the general fund thereof.
63 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.