Florida Senate - 2025                                     SB 280
       
       
        
       By Senator Arrington
       
       
       
       
       
       25-00445A-25                                           2025280__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to candidate qualification; creating
    3         s. 99.013, F.S.; providing eligibility requirements
    4         for persons seeking to qualify for nomination as
    5         candidates of a political party or as candidates with
    6         no party affiliation; providing that certain entities
    7         may bring an action for declaratory and injunctive
    8         relief based on a certain claim; prohibiting a person
    9         from qualifying as a candidate for election and
   10         prohibiting his or her name from appearing on the
   11         ballot under certain circumstances; providing an
   12         effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Section 99.013, Florida Statutes, is created to
   17  read:
   18         99.013 Eligibility to qualify for nomination as a candidate
   19  of a political party or candidate with no party affiliation.—
   20         (1)(a) A person seeking to qualify for nomination as a
   21  candidate of a political party must have been a registered
   22  member of the political party for which the person is seeking
   23  nomination as a candidate for at least 365 days before the
   24  beginning of the qualifying period preceding the general
   25  election for which the person seeks to qualify.
   26         (b) A person seeking to qualify for nomination as a
   27  candidate with no party affiliation must be registered without
   28  any party affiliation and may not have been a registered member
   29  of any political party for at least 365 days before the
   30  beginning of the qualifying period preceding the general
   31  election for which the person seeks to qualify.
   32         (2) A political party, in addition to any other person or
   33  entity with standing, may bring an action for declaratory and
   34  injunctive relief based on a claim that a person seeking to
   35  qualify for nomination as a candidate of such political party or
   36  as a candidate with no party affiliation did not comply with
   37  this section.
   38         (3) If a final judgment of a circuit court determines that
   39  a person did not comply with this section, the person may not be
   40  qualified as a candidate for election and his or her name may
   41  not appear on the ballot.
   42         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.