Campaign finance requirements for Florida ballot measures
 in Florida |
Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Florida must adhere to the state's campaign finance laws. These laws regulate the amounts and sources of money given or received for political purposes; in addition, campaign finance laws stipulate disclosure requirements for political contributions and expenditures.
Proponents of more stringent regulations and disclosure requirements, such as the Brennan Center for Justice, claim that current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Others, such as the Institute for Free Speech, argue that strict disclosure requirements and contribution limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression.[1][2]
| In Florida, political committees involved in statewide ballot measure campaigns must report the names and addresses of all donors. Generally speaking, political committees can accept unlimited contributions from legal sources. |
The laws and regulations that apply to ballot measure campaigns may differ from those that apply to candidates for political office. To learn more about campaign finance requirements for candidates, see this article.
Florida ballot measures
- See also: Ballot measure
A ballot measure is any question or issue that appears on an election ballot to be approved or rejected by voters. In 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., citizens may use the initiative and referendum process, which permits citizens to petition to place measures on the ballot and usually involves a signature collection process of some kind. Even in states without initiative and referendum processes, however, ballot measures exist. In all states, citizens may be asked to approve legislatively referred constitutional amendments, state statutes, bond issues or tax proposals.
In Florida, ballot measures come in the following forms: initiated constitutional amendments, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, and commission-referred amendments.
Organizational requirements
In Florida, "a combination of two or more individuals" that "expressly advocates the election or defeat" of a ballot measure and spends more than $500 in aggregate during a calendar year is considered a political committee. In addition, "the sponsor of a proposed constitutional amendment by initiative who intends to seek the signatures of registered electors" is also considered a political committee. A political committee must file a statement of organization "within 10 days after its organization or, if later, within 10 days after the date on which it has information that causes the committee to anticipate that it will receive contributions or make expenditures in excess of $500." If the committee supports or opposes a statewide ballot measure, it must file the statement of organization with the Florida Division of Elections.[3][4]
See form: Statement of Organization of Political Committee
Contribution limits
Generally speaking, political committees in Florida can accept unlimited contributions from any legal source.[3][5]
Reporting requirements
Political committees involved in ballot measure campaigns in Florida must file regular campaign finance disclosure reports. These reports detail "all contributions, loans, expenditures, distributions and transfers." For all contributions, regardless of the amount, the committee must report the name and address of the donor. Similarly, for all expenditures, the committee must report the name and address of the recipient. For contributions exceeding $100, the committee must also report the donor's occupation.[3]
A political committee involved in a statewide ballot measure campaign must file reports according to the following schedule:[6]
- "on the 10th day following the end of each calendar month from the time the campaign treasurer is appointed"
- "on the 60th day immediately preceding the primary election, and each week thereafter, with the last weekly report being filed on the fourth day immediately preceding the general election"
- "on the 10th day immediately preceding the general election, and each day thereafter, with the last daily report being filed the fifth day immediately preceding the general election"
Year-specific reporting dates
2021
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Florida in 2021.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Florida, 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| January 1, 2021 – January 31, 2021 | February 10, 2021 |
| February 1, 2021 – February 28, 2021 | March 10, 2021 |
| March 1, 2021 – March 31, 2021 | April 12, 2021 |
| April 1, 2021 – April 30, 2021 | May 10, 2021 |
| May 1, 2021 – May 31, 2021 | June 10, 2021 |
| January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020 (multiple uniform contribution report)[7] | July 1, 2021 |
| June 1, 2021 – June 30, 2021 | July 12, 2021 |
| July 1, 2021 – July 31, 2021 | August 10, 2021 |
| August 1, 2021 – August 31, 2021 | September 10, 2021 |
| September 1, 2021 – September 30, 2021 | October 12, 2021 |
| October 1, 2021 – October 31, 2021 | November 10, 2021 |
| November 1, 2021 – November 30, 2021 | December 10, 2021 |
| December 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021 | January 10, 2022 |
| Source: Florida Division of Elections, "2021 Calendar of Reporting Dates," accessed July 9, 2021 | |
2016
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Florida in 2016.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Florida, 2016 | |
|---|---|
| Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| 01/01/16 - 01/31/16 | 2/10/2016 |
| 02/01/16 - 02/29/16 | 3/10/2016 |
| 03/01/16 - 03/31/16 | 4/11/2016 |
| 04/01/16 - 04/30/16 | 5/10/2016 |
| 05/01/16 - 05/31/16 | 6/10/2016 |
| 06/01/16 - 06/24/16 | 7/1/2016 |
| 06/25/16 - 07/01/16 | 7/8/2016 |
| 07/02/16 - 07/08/16 | 7/15/2016 |
| 07/09/16 - 07/15/16 | 7/22/2016 |
| 07/16/16 - 07/22/16 | 7/29/2016 |
| 07/23/16 - 07/29/16 | 8/5/2016 |
| 07/30/16 - 08/05/16 | 8/12/2016 |
| 08/06/16 - 08/12/16 | 8/19/2016 |
| 08/13/16 - 08/25/16 | 8/26/2016 |
| 8/26/2016 | 9/2/2016 |
| 08/27/16 - 09/02/16 | 9/9/2016 |
| 09/03/16 - 09/09/16 | 9/16/2016 |
| 09/10/16 - 09/16/16 | 9/23/2016 |
| 09/17/16 - 09/23/16 | 9/30/2016 |
| 09/24/16 - 09/30/16 | 10/7/2016 |
| 10/01/16 - 10/07/16 | 10/14/2016 |
| 10/08/16 - 10/14/16 | 10/21/2016 |
| 10/15/16 - 10/21/16 | 10/28/2016 |
| 10/22/16 - 10/28/16 | 10/29/2016 |
| 10/29/2016 | 10/30/2016 |
| 10/30/2016 | 10/31/2016 |
| 10/31/2016 | 11/1/2016 |
| 11/1/2016 | 11/2/2016 |
| 11/2/2016 | 11/3/2016 |
| 10/22/16 - 11/03/16 | 11/4/2016 |
| 11/04/16 – 11/30/16 | 12/12/2016 |
| 12/01/16– 12/31/16 | 1/10/2017 |
| Source: Florida Division of Elections, "2016 Calendar of Reporting Dates for Political Committees," accessed December 10, 2015 | |
State agencies
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Florida
In Florida, there are two primary agencies involved in campaign finance regulation: the Florida Secretary of State and the Florida Elections Commission. The former oversees reporting processes for state-level candidates and political committees. The latter enforces the state's campaign finance law and imposes civil penalties against individuals or committees who violate the law.[8][9]
- Florida Department of State, Division of Elections
- Room 316, R. A. Gray Building
- 500 South Bronough Street
- Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250
- Telephone: 850-245-6200
- Email: DivElections@dos.myflorida.com
- Florida Elections Commission
- 107 West Gaines Street
- Collins Building, Suite 224
- Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050
- Telephone: (850) 922-4539
- Fax: (850) 921-0783
- Email: fec@myfloridalegal.com
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.
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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.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Florida
- Campaign finance agencies in Florida
- List of Florida ballot measures
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Florida Division of Elections, "Campaign Finance," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Florida Statutes, "Section 106.03," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Florida Statutes, "Section 106.08," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Florida Statutes, "Section 106.07," accessed December 10, 2015
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Multiple Uniform Contributions," accessed July 22, 2021
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Campaign Finance," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ Florida Elections Commission, "About Our Agency," accessed July 29, 2015
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