Campaign finance requirements in Florida

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Florida campaign finance requirements govern the following:

  • how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations,
  • how much and how often they must report those contributions, and
  • how much individuals, organizations and political parties may contribute to campaigns.

In addition to direct campaign contributions, campaign finance laws also apply to third-party organizations and nonprofit organizations that seek to influence elections through independent expenditures or issue advocacy.

As of May 2015, individuals, corporations, and unions could contribute no more than $3,000 to statewide candidates (including Governor) and no more than $1,000 to Senate or Assembly candidates. Individuals, corporations, and unions could make unlimited contributions to ballot measure campaigns.

Background

Seal of the United States Federal Election Commission

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign election laws. The FEC is responsible for disclosing campaign finance information, enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions and overseeing public funding of presidential elections.[1] According to the FEC, an individual becomes a federal candidate and must begin reporting campaign finances once he or she has either raised or spent $5,000 in his or her campaign. Within fifteen days of this benchmark, the candidate must register with the FEC and designate an official campaign committee, which is responsible for the funds and expenditures of the campaign. This committee must have an official treasurer and cannot support any candidate but the one who registered it. Detailed financial reports are then made to the FEC every financial quarter after the individual is registered. Reports are also made before primaries and before the general election.[2]

The rules governing federal election campaigns and contributions have evolved over the past generation as result of a number of Supreme Court decisions. In the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited. The court's decision also overturned the ban on for-profit and not-for-profit corporations and unions broadcasting electioneering communications in the 30 days before a presidential primary and in the 60 days before a general election.[3] In the SpeechNOW.org v. Federal Election Commission decision, the first application of the Citizens United decision, the court held that contribution limits on what individuals could give to independent expenditure-only groups, and the amount these organizations could receive, were unconstitutional. Contribution limits on donations directly to candidates, however, remained unchanged.[4][5] In 2014's McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court overturned biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits, and held that individuals may contribute to as many federal candidates as they want, but may only contribute up to the federal limit in each case.[6]

While the FEC governs federal election campaigns and contribution limits, individual states enforce their own regulation and reporting requirements. Regulations vary by state, as do limits on campaign contributions and third-party activities to influence elections.

Contribution limits

The table below details contribution limits as they applied to various types of individuals and groups in Florida as of May 2015. The uppermost row of the table indicates the contributor, while the leftmost column indicates the recipient..[7]

Florida contribution limits as of May 2015
Individuals Single candidates committees Political committee (PAC) Political Party Super PACs Corporations Unions
Statewide Candidate (incl. Governor) $3,000 0 $3,000 $250,000 $0 $3,000 $3,000
Senate $1,000 0 $1,000 $50,000 $0 $1,000 $1,000
Assembly $1,000 0 $1,000 $50,000 $0 $1,000 $1,000
Political committee unlimited 0 unlimited unlimited $0 unlimited unlimited
Party committees unlimited $25,000 (surplus funds only) unlimited unlimited $0 unlimited unlimited
Ballot measures unlimited 0 unlimited unlimited $0 unlimited unlimited
Sources: Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate & Campaign Treasurer Handbook," accessed May 21, 2015

Candidate requirements

Seal of Florida

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Chapter 106 of the Florida Statutes

The campaign finance reporting process for candidates seeking state office in Florida is outlined below. Candidates seeking federal office must file with the Federal Election Commission. Reporting details for federal candidates are not included in this section.

Getting started

Before a candidate can qualify for office, accept contributions or make expenditures, he or she must designate a campaign treasurer and campaign depository. To do this, the candidate must file an Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository form with the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections. On this form, the candidate must indicate which office he or she is seeking. However, the candidate may later change the office sought as long as he or she notifies the Division of Elections and offers to return pro rata any contributions received for the original office sought.[8]

Within 10 days of filing the Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository form, the candidate must file a statement with the Division of Elections indicating that he or she has read and understands the rules and requirements for campaign finance reporting.[9]

Campaign treasurers

No contributions or expenditures, including personal funds used by the candidate, may be accepted or made for the campaign unless those funds have been processed by the candidate's appointed campaign treasurer. A candidate may appoint himself or herself as treasurer and may also appoint a number of deputy treasurers to help with the reporting process. Deputy treasurers are permitted to do everything a campaign treasurer can, as long as they have been authorized to do so by the campaign treasurer and the candidate. A candidate for statewide office may have as many as 15 deputy treasurers. Any other candidate may have no more than three. The names and addresses of all deputy treasurers must be filed with the Division of Elections.[8][10]

The campaign treasurer is responsible for receiving and reporting all contributions, but before doing so, he or she must file a written letter of acceptance of the position with the Division of Elections. Any appointed deputy treasurer must also file a letter of acceptance.[8][10][11]

In case of the death, resignation, or removal of a campaign treasurer, the candidate must appoint and certify a successor with the Division of Elections. No resignation of a campaign treasurer will be considered effective until written notice has been given to the candidate and a copy has been filed with the Division of Elections. The same is true for the removal of a campaign treasurer. Such removal will not be considered effective until written notice has been given to the campaign treasurer and a copy filed with the Division of Elections.[8]

Campaign depositories

In addition to the campaign depository named in the Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository form, a candidate may also designate one secondary depository in each county in which an election is held involving the office sought by the candidate. A secondary depository must be used for the sole purpose of forwarding funds to the primary depository. Any bank, savings and loan association or credit union authorized to transact business in Florida may be designated as a campaign depository. The candidate must file the name and address of all depositories with the Division of Elections.[8]

The campaign treasurer may deposit any funds in the primary depository that are not currently being used into a separate interest-bearing account or certificate of deposit in any bank, savings and loan association or credit union authorized to transact business in the state. Such an account must be kept separate from any personal accounts, and any withdrawal of the funds in the account, whether principal or interest, must be deposited back into the primary depository for the campaign and must be reported as a contribution.[8]

Reporting

All campaign finance reports must be filed through the Division of Elections Electronic Filing System (EFS), which can be accessed here.[12]

Funds received by the campaign treasurer must be deposited in one of the designated campaign depositories within five business days of receipt. The treasurer must keep recorded accounts of all contributions and expenditures related to the campaign current within two days of any changes. All campaign accounts may be inspected under reasonable circumstances before, during or after the election by any authorized representative of the Division of Elections. Accounts kept by the campaign treasurer must be kept for a number of years equal to the term of the office sought by the candidate.[11][13]

In addition to keeping current accounts of campaign finances, campaign treasurers must file regular reports with the Division of Elections. For details on these reports, see the table below.[14]

Report Filed by Covers Due date
Monthly Reports All candidates All financial transactions related to the campaign during each calendar month starting from the time the campaign treasurer is appointed 10th day of the month following the month covered in the report, unless that day falls on a weekend or holiday, then the next business day
Biweekly Reports Non-statewide candidates All financial transactions related to the campaign starting on the 60th day before the primary and continuing until the Friday before the general election Every other Friday
Weekly Reports Statewide candidates All financial transactions related to the campaign starting on the 60th day before the primary and continuing until the Friday before the general election Every Friday
25th Day Reports Non-statewide candidates Any financial transactions related to the campaign between the last filed report and the 25th day before a primary or general election 25th day before a primary or general election
11th Day Reports Non-statewide candidates Any financial transactions related to the campaign between the last filed report and the 11th day before a primary or general election 11th day before a primary or general election
Daily Reports Statewide candidates Any financial transactions related to the campaign occurring each day, starting the 10th day preceding the general election through the 5th day preceding it The 10th, 9th, 8th, 7th, 6th and 5th days before the general election

All reports are due by midnight of the due date.[12]

The following must be included for each reporting period:[14]

  • the name, address and occupation of each person who has made one or more contributions, with the amount and date of each contribution; if the person is a corporation, a description of the principal type of business conducted by the corporation must also be reported
  • the name and address of any political committee that transferred funds to or from the candidate, with the amounts and dates of all transfers
  • the name, address, occupation and principal place of business of any lenders or endorsers of loans to the campaign, with the date and amount of such loans
  • a statement of each contribution, rebate, refund, or other receipt not otherwise listed
  • sum of all loans, in-kind contributions and other receipts for the campaign
  • the name and address of each person to whom expenditures were made, including personal services, salaries and reimbursements, with the amount, date and purpose of each expenditure; expenditures made from the petty cash fund do not need to be reported individually
  • total amount withdrawn and spent for petty cash purposes
  • sum of all expenditures made
  • amount and nature of any debts and obligations owed
  • transaction information for each credit card purchase
  • amount and nature of any separate interest-bearing accounts or certificates of deposit and identification of the financial institution in which such accounts or certificates of deposit are located

The candidate and campaign treasurer are responsible for the correctness of each report and must together attest to the correctness of the report upon filing.[14]

If no funds have been received or spent during a reporting period, the report for that period does not have to be filed. The campaign treasurer must notify the Division of Elections in writing that no report will be filed and must indicate on the next filed report that it covers the entire period between the last filed report and the one being filed.[14]

Fines

Reports not filed by the due date are subject to fines, as detailed in the table below.[10]

Number of days late Amount of fine
One to three $50 per day late
Four or more $500 per day late, not to exceed 25 percent of the total receipts or expenditures covered by that report, whichever is greater
Any number of days late for reports due immediately preceding a primary or general election $500 per day late, not to exceed 25 percent of the total receipts or expenditures covered by that report, whichever is greater

Fines must be paid to the Division of Elections within 20 days of receiving notice of the payment due.[14]

Disposing of funds

A candidate who withdraws his or her candidacy, becomes unopposed, is eliminated in an election or elected to office can no longer accept contributions and must dispose of all campaign funds within 90 days. If the candidate filed an Undue Burden Oath to waive the signature verification fee for filing petitions, that fee must be paid first from excess funds. Remaining funds can be disposed of in any of the following ways:[15]

  • The candidate may be reimbursed for personal funds added to the campaign fund.
  • Funds may be returned to contributors, pro rata.
  • Funds may be donated to charitable or tax-exempt organizations.
  • Up to $25,000 may be given to the political party of which the candidate is a member.
  • Funds may be given to the state to be deposited in either the Election Campaign Financing Trust Fund or the General Revenue Fund, as designated by the candidate.

Candidates elected to office may also dispense campaign funds by transferring a certain amount of the funds to an office fund. The amount of funds allowed to be transferred depends on the office sought.[15]

  • Statewide candidates may transfer up to $50,000 (governor and lieutenant governor are considered separate offices in this case).
  • Multi-county offices may transfer up to $10,000.
  • State legislative office may transfer up to $10,000 multiplied by the number of years of the term of office.

A candidate elected to office may also maintain up to $20,000 in his or her campaign account for the purpose of re-election. However, if he or she does not qualify to run for re-election, those funds must be disposed of within 90 days.[15]

Once funds have been disposed of, the candidate must file a report, signed by both the candidate and campaign treasurer, detailing the following:[15]

  • the name and address of any person or unit of government to whom funds were distributed, as well as the amount of funds distributed
  • the name and address of each person to whom an expenditure was made, with the amount and purpose of the expenditure
  • the name and address of the bank, savings and loan association or credit union in which funds were transferred to an office account, as well as the amount transferred
  • the name and address of the bank, savings and loan association or credit union in which funds were retained for future campaigns for the same office, as well as the amount retained.

Campaign finance legislation

The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Florida state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.


Election and campaign ballot measures

See also: Elections and campaigns on the ballot and List of Florida ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked 21 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.

  1. Florida Amendment 2, Economic Impact Statements for Initiatives Amendment (2002)
  2. Florida Amendment 2, Requirements for Citizens' Initiatives Amendment (2004)
  3. Florida Amendment 1, Ethic Requirements and Procedures of Public Officials and Candidates Initiative (1976)
  4. Florida Amendment 11, Nonpartisan School Board Elections, Ballot Access Requirements, Public Campaign Financing, and Election Processes Amendment (1998)
  5. Florida Amendment 5, County Commissioners Amendment (1984)
  6. Florida Amendment 1, Suspension or Delay of Elections for Emergencies Amendment (1992)
  7. Florida Amendment 2, Supreme and Appellate Court Judges Amendment (1976)
  8. Florida Amendment 11, Judge of the Court of Record of Escambia County Amendment (1948)
  9. Florida Amendment 6, Judge of the Court of Record and County Solicitor for Escambia County Amendment (1946)
  10. Florida Amendment 4, Election of Circuit Judges Amendment (1942)
  11. Florida State and Local Bonds Amendment (1930)
  12. Florida School Districts and Tax Levy Amendment (1928)
  13. Florida County Commissioner Districts Amendment (1900)
  14. Florida November General Elections Amendment (October 1896)
  15. Florida Amendment 1, Election of Executive Officials Amendment (1963)
  16. Florida Amendment 1, Partisan School Board Elections Amendment (2024)
  17. Florida Amendment 3, Top-Two Open Primaries for State Offices Initiative (2020)
  18. Florida Top-Two Open Primaries for State Offices Initiative (2026)
  19. Florida Amendment 7, Selection of Circuit and County Judges Amendment (1998)
  20. Florida Amendment 6, Repeal of Public Financing for Statewide Campaigns Amendment (2024)
  21. Florida Amendment 2, Conduction of Elections Amendment (1968)

Election-related agencies

See also: Campaign finance agencies in Florida and State election agencies

Candidates running for office may require some form of interaction with the following agencies:

Florida Division of Elections

Why: This agency receives and processes candidate filing paperwork.
Room 316, R. A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
Telephone: (850) 245-6200
Fax: (850) 245-6217
Email: [email protected]
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/

Counties

See also: Counties in Florida

Though all candidate paperwork is filed at the state level, a candidate running by petition method must have his or her petitions verified by Florida's counties. Those petitions are then filed with the state. Individual county contact information is listed in the table below.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Florida campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Campaign finance requirements in Florida - Google News

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "About the FEC," accessed June 27, 2012
  2. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Candidate Registration Brochure," accessed December 7, 2012
  3. ↑ New York Times, "Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit," January 21, 2010
  4. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Speechnow.org v. FEC," April 7, 2014
  5. ↑ OpenSecrets, "Two Federal Court Rulings Could Change Campaign Finance Landscape," March 26, 2010
  6. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Ongoing Litigation," accessed March 18, 2015
  7. ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate & Campaign Treasurer Handbook," accessed May 21, 2015
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Florida Statutes, "Title IX, Chapter 106, Section 021," accessed March 12, 2014
  9. ↑ Florida Statutes, "Title IX, Chapter 106, Section 023," accessed March 12, 2014
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Florida Division of Elections Website, "Frequently Asked Questions: Campaign Finance," accessed March 12, 2014
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Florida Statutes, "Title IX, Chapter 106, Section 06," accessed March 12, 2014
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Florida Statutes, "Title IX, Chapter 106, Section 0705," accessed March 12, 2014
  13. ↑ Florida Statutes, "Title IX, Chapter 106, Section 05," accessed March 12, 2014
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Florida Statutes, "Title IX, Chapter 106, Section 07," accessed March 11, 2014
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Florida Statutes, "Title IX, Chapter 106, Section 141," accessed March 12, 2014
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