Florida Senate - 2023                              CS for SB 666
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Ethics and Elections; and Senator Collins
       
       
       
       
       
       582-02345-23                                           2023666c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the form of candidate oath;
    3         amending s. 99.021, F.S.; revising the address that
    4         certain candidates must provide on the form of
    5         candidate oath; amending s. 105.031, F.S.; revising
    6         the address that judicial candidates must provide on
    7         the form of candidate oath; providing an effective
    8         date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   13  99.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   14         99.021 Form of candidate oath.—
   15         (1)(a)1. Each candidate, whether a party candidate, a
   16  candidate with no party affiliation, or a write-in candidate, in
   17  order to qualify for nomination or election to any office other
   18  than a judicial office as defined in chapter 105 or a federal
   19  office, shall take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation in
   20  writing. A copy of the oath or affirmation shall be made
   21  available to the candidate by the officer before whom such
   22  candidate seeks to qualify and shall be substantially in the
   23  following form:
   24  State of Florida
   25  County of....
   26         Before me, an officer authorized to administer oaths,
   27  personally appeared ...(please print name as you wish it to
   28  appear on the ballot)..., to me well known, who, being sworn,
   29  says that he or she is a candidate for the office of ....; that
   30  he or she is a qualified elector of .... County, Florida; that
   31  he or she is qualified under the Constitution and the laws of
   32  Florida to hold the office to which he or she desires to be
   33  nominated or elected; that he or she has qualified for no other
   34  public office in the state, the term of which office or any part
   35  thereof runs concurrent with that of the office he or she seeks;
   36  that he or she has resigned from any office from which he or she
   37  is required to resign pursuant to s. 99.012, Florida Statutes;
   38  and that he or she will support the Constitution of the United
   39  States and the Constitution of the State of Florida.
   40  ...(Signature of candidate)...
   41  ...(Address of legal residence)...
   42  Sworn to and subscribed before me this .... day of ....,
   43  ...(year)..., at .... County, Florida.
   44  ...(Signature and title of officer administering oath)...
   45         2. Each candidate for federal office, whether a party
   46  candidate, a candidate with no party affiliation, or a write-in
   47  candidate, in order to qualify for nomination or election to
   48  office shall take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation in
   49  writing. A copy of the oath or affirmation shall be made
   50  available to the candidate by the officer before whom such
   51  candidate seeks to qualify and shall be substantially in the
   52  following form:
   53  State of Florida
   54  County of ....
   55         Before me, an officer authorized to administer oaths,
   56  personally appeared ...(please print name as you wish it to
   57  appear on the ballot)..., to me well known, who, being sworn,
   58  says that he or she is a candidate for the office of ....; that
   59  he or she is qualified under the Constitution and laws of the
   60  United States to hold the office to which he or she desires to
   61  be nominated or elected; that he or she has qualified for no
   62  other public office in the state, the term of which office or
   63  any part thereof runs concurrent with that of the office he or
   64  she seeks; and that he or she will support the Constitution of
   65  the United States.
   66  ...(Signature of candidate)...
   67  ...(Address)...
   68  Sworn to and subscribed before me this .... day of ....,
   69  ...(year)..., at .... County, Florida.
   70  ...(Signature and title of officer administering oath)...
   71         Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
   72  105.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   73         105.031 Qualification; filing fee; candidate’s oath; items
   74  required to be filed.—
   75         (4) CANDIDATE’S OATH.—
   76         (b) All candidates for judicial office shall subscribe to
   77  an oath or affirmation in writing to be filed with the
   78  appropriate qualifying officer upon qualifying. A printed copy
   79  of the oath or affirmation shall be furnished to the candidate
   80  by the qualifying officer and shall be in substantially the
   81  following form:
   82  
   83  State of Florida
   84  County of ....
   85         Before me, an officer authorized to administer oaths,
   86  personally appeared ...(please print name as you wish it to
   87  appear on the ballot)..., to me well known, who, being sworn,
   88  says he or she: is a candidate for the judicial office of ....;
   89  that his or her legal residence is .... County, Florida; that he
   90  or she is a qualified elector of the state and of the
   91  territorial jurisdiction of the court to which he or she seeks
   92  election; that he or she is qualified under the constitution and
   93  laws of Florida to hold the judicial office to which he or she
   94  desires to be elected or in which he or she desires to be
   95  retained; that he or she has qualified for no other public
   96  office in the state, the term of which office or any part
   97  thereof runs concurrent to the office he or she seeks; that he
   98  or she has resigned from any office which he or she is required
   99  to resign pursuant to s. 99.012, Florida Statutes; and that he
  100  or she will support the Constitution of the United States and
  101  the Constitution of the State of Florida.
  102  
  103  	...(Signature of candidate)...
  104  	...(Address of legal residence)...
  105  
  106  Sworn to and subscribed before me this .... day of ....,
  107  ...(year)..., at .... County, Florida.
  108  
  109         ...(Signature and title of officer administering oath)...
  110         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.