106.021 Campaign treasurers; deputies; primary and secondary depositories.—
(1)(a) Each candidate for nomination or election to office and each political committee shall appoint a campaign treasurer. Each person who seeks to qualify for nomination or election to, or retention in, office shall appoint a campaign treasurer and designate a primary campaign depository before qualifying for office. Any person who seeks to qualify for election or nomination to any office by means of the petitioning process shall appoint a treasurer and designate a primary depository on or before the date he or she obtains the petitions. At the same time a candidate designates a campaign depository and appoints a treasurer, the candidate shall also designate the office for which he or she is a candidate. If the candidate is running for an office that will be grouped on the ballot with two or more similar offices to be filled at the same election, the candidate must indicate for which group or district office he or she is running. This subsection does not prohibit a candidate, at a later date, from changing the designation of the office for which he or she is a candidate. However, if a candidate changes the designated office for which he or she is a candidate, the candidate must notify all contributors in writing of the intent to seek a different office and offer to return pro rata, upon their request, those contributions given in support of the original office sought. This notification shall be given within 15 days after the filing of the change of designation and shall include a standard form developed by the Division of Elections for requesting the return of contributions. The notice requirement does not apply to any change in a numerical designation resulting solely from redistricting. If, within 30 days after being notified by the candidate of the intent to seek a different office, the contributor notifies the candidate in writing that the contributor wishes his or her contribution to be returned, the candidate shall return the contribution, on a pro rata basis, calculated as of the date the change of designation is filed. Up to a maximum of the contribution limits specified in s. 106.08, a candidate who runs for an office other than the office originally designated may use any contribution that a donor does not request be returned within the 30-day period for the newly designated office, provided the candidate disposes of any amount exceeding the contribution limit pursuant to the options in s. 106.11(5)(b) and (c) or s. 106.141(4)(a)1., 2., or 4.; notwithstanding, the full amount of the contribution for the original office shall count toward the contribution limits specified in s. 106.08 for the newly designated office. A person may not accept any contribution or make any expenditure with a view to bringing about his or her nomination, election, or retention in public office, or authorize another to accept such contributions or make such expenditure on the person’s behalf, unless such person has appointed a campaign treasurer and designated a primary campaign depository. A candidate for an office voted upon statewide may appoint not more than 15 deputy campaign treasurers, and any other candidate or political committee may appoint not more than 3 deputy campaign treasurers. The names and addresses of the campaign treasurer and deputy campaign treasurers so appointed shall be filed with the officer before whom such candidate is required to qualify or with whom such political committee is required to register pursuant to s. 106.03.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (d), each candidate and each political committee shall also designate one primary campaign depository for the purpose of depositing all contributions received, and disbursing all expenditures made, by the candidate or political committee. The candidate or political committee may also designate one secondary depository in each county in which an election is held in which the candidate or committee participates. Secondary depositories shall be for the sole purpose of depositing contributions and forwarding the deposits to the primary campaign depository. Any bank, savings and loan association, or credit union authorized to transact business in this state may be designated as a campaign depository. The candidate or political committee shall file the name and address of each primary and secondary depository so designated at the same time that, and with the same officer with whom, the candidate or committee files the name of his, her, or its campaign treasurer pursuant to paragraph (a). In addition, the campaign treasurer or a deputy campaign treasurer may deposit any funds which are in the primary campaign depository and which are not then currently needed for the disbursement of expenditures into a separate interest-bearing account in any bank, savings and loan association, or credit union authorized to transact business in this state. The separate interest-bearing account shall be designated “ (name of candidate or committee) separate interest-bearing campaign account.” In lieu thereof, the campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer may purchase a certificate of deposit with such unneeded funds in such bank, savings and loan association, or credit union. The separate interest-bearing account or certificate of deposit shall be separate from any personal or other account or certificate of deposit. Any withdrawal of the principal or earned interest or any part thereof shall only be made from the separate interest-bearing account or certificate of deposit for the purpose of transferring funds to the primary account and shall be reported as a contribution.
(c) Any campaign treasurer or deputy treasurer appointed pursuant to this section shall, before such appointment may become effective, have accepted appointment to such position in writing and filed such acceptance with the officer before whom the candidate is required to qualify or with the officer with whom the political committee is required to file reports. An individual may be appointed and serve as campaign treasurer of a candidate and a political committee or two or more candidates and political committees. A candidate may appoint herself or himself as campaign treasurer.
(d) Any political committee which deposits all contributions received in a national depository from which the political committee receives funds to contribute to state and local candidates shall not be required to designate a campaign depository in the state.
(2) A candidate or political committee may remove his, her, or its campaign treasurer or any deputy treasurer. In case of the death, resignation, or removal of a campaign treasurer before compliance with all obligations of a campaign treasurer under this chapter, the candidate or political committee shall appoint a successor and certify the name and address of the successor in the manner provided in the case of an original appointment. No resignation shall be effective until it has been submitted to the candidate or committee in writing and a copy thereof has been filed with the officer before whom the candidate is required to qualify or the officer with whom the political committee is required to file reports. No treasurer or deputy treasurer shall be deemed removed by a candidate or political committee until written notice of such removal has been given to such treasurer or deputy treasurer and has been filed with the officer before whom such candidate is required to qualify or with the officer with whom such committee is required to file reports.
(3) No contribution or expenditure, including contributions or expenditures of a candidate or of the candidate’s family, shall be directly or indirectly made or received in furtherance of the candidacy of any person for nomination or election to political office in the state or on behalf of any political committee except through the duly appointed campaign treasurer of the candidate or political committee, subject to the following exceptions:
(a) Independent expenditures;
(b) Reimbursements to a candidate or any other individual for expenses incurred in connection with the campaign or activities of the political committee by a check drawn upon the campaign account and reported pursuant to s. 106.07(4). The full name of each person to whom the candidate or other individual made payment for which reimbursement was made by check drawn upon the campaign account shall be reported pursuant to s. 106.07(4), together with the purpose of such payment;
(c) Expenditures made indirectly through a treasurer for goods or services, such as communications media placement or procurement services, campaign signs, insurance, or other expenditures that include multiple integral components as part of the expenditure and reported pursuant to s. 106.07(4)(a)13.; or
(d) Expenditures made directly by any affiliated party committee or political party regulated by chapter 103 for obtaining time, space, or services in or by any communications medium for the purpose of jointly endorsing three or more candidates, and any such expenditure may not be considered a contribution or expenditure to or on behalf of any such candidates for the purposes of this chapter.
(4) A deputy campaign treasurer may exercise any of the powers and duties of a campaign treasurer as set forth in this chapter when specifically authorized to do so by the campaign treasurer and the candidate, in the case of a candidate, or the campaign treasurer and chair of the political committee, in the case of a political committee.
(5) For purposes of appointing a campaign treasurer and designating a campaign depository, candidates for the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor on the same ticket shall be considered a single candidate.
...Florida’s Construction of § 106.08(5)
Building off of the district court’s narrowing construction, Florida argues that
§ 106.08(5) should be read in view of the entire state campaign finance regime,
including §§ 106.011(3)(a), 106.021(1)(b),13 and 106.11(1).14 Based on these
provisions, Florida contends that § 106.08(5) should be narrowly construed as only
prohibiting a candidate from using funds from his campaign account for personal
donation to an organization....
...We disagree with Florida because we would have to
rewrite § 106.08(5) before it could be read in this manner.15
We begin by noting that Florida’s interpretation cannot be reconciled with
the plain language of § 106.08(5). As we have explained, the provision contains
13
Section 106.021(1)(b) mandates that “each candidate and each political committee shall
....
...t on § 106.011(3)(a), which,
as we have discussed, defines “contributions” as gifts or other transfers made for
the purpose of influencing the results of an election. Florida argues that this
definition should be read in conjunction with the § 106.021(1)(b) requirement that
each candidate create a separate campaign account and with the § 106.11(1)
requirement that the account be used only for depositing contributions and making
campaign expenditures....
Cited 19 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1994 WL 592242
...ing the same election year, but subsequently withdrew from the first race. On the contrary, the possibility that a candidate for one office can later change the office for which he is a candidate as the party nominee is explicitly contemplated by subsection 106.021(1)(a), which provides: Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a candidate, at a later date, from changing the designation of the office for which he is a candidate....
...st be kept separate and accounted for independently of the contributions and expenditures in the second campaign. We conclude that this is the only permissible interpretation of the statutory provisions for the following reasons. As discussed above, section 106.021 explicitly authorizes a candidate to change the designation of the office he or she seeks; but that section also requires that contributions received in the first campaign cannot be carried over and applied to the second campaign unless the contributors give their consent....
...ributors, must be returned to the Trust Fund and cannot be expended for any other purpose, including the campaign for the newly designated office. On the other hand, when a candidate withdrawing from one race becomes a candidate for a new office, subsection 106.021(1)(a) provides that the candidate can accept no contributions and make no expenditures in the new campaign until the candidate has appointed a campaign treasurer and has designated a primary campaign depository when filing for qualification for the newly designated office. Expenditures can be made only from that fund for purposes of election to the newly designated office. § 106.021(3), Fla. Stat. (1993). It is significant that the language requiring permission from contributors to a withdrawing candidate to carry over funds to the campaign for a newly designated office was *524 added to section 106.021 by chapter 91-107, Laws of Florida....
Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2003 WL 22082173
...It is true that local political campaigns are smaller than statewide campaigns, but chapter 106 does not distinguish between state and local offices in the reporting requirements. The campaign treasurer is a formally designated campaign officer under the statute, see § 106.021, Fla....
Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2006 WL 2521401
...Plaintiff contends that Defendant failed to timely file the appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository for Candidates, Form DS-DE 9 (Plaintiff's Exhibit 1) as required by Florida Statutes §§ 105.031(5)(a)(4) [1] and 106.021(1)(a)....
...She bases this assertion on the belief that Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier opened a campaign account, accepted contributions which were deposited into this account, and made expenditures from the account without having filed the required DS-DE 9, all in violation of § 106.021(1)(a)....
...A statement that Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier had read and understood *1169 the requirements of the Florida Judicial Code of Conduct was filed and date stamped at 8:17 a.m. [4] Finally, the qualifying check, dated July 19, 2006, was presented, filed and date stamped at 8:19 a.m. § 106.021(1)(a) prohibits campaign contributions and expenditures until the candidate has appointed a treasurer and designated a primary campaign depository. [5] § 105.031(5), while not explicitly including such a prohibition, does refer to § 106.021 in referencing the appointment and designation form....
...When Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier opened his campaign account, he did so with money he loaned to the campaign. Such loans are campaign contributions. [6] Since he had not designated a primary campaign depository when he opened the account, Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier was in violation of § 106.021(1)(a) for accepting a campaign contribution prior to the filing of the Form DS-DE 9....
...The only expenditure made by Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier from the campaign account was the qualifying check. The check was presented for payment two minutes after the appointment of treasurer and designation of campaign depository were filed. As a result, there was no violation of § 106.021 for making an expenditure from the campaign account....
...Thus, when the check was presented to the Division of Elections, it was drawn on a valid campaign account and was properly executed. *1170 Disqualification of Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier is not warranted on this basis. Since this Court has found that Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier violated § 106.021, should Plaintiff's prayer that this Court issue an injunction directing the Secretary of State and the Supervisor of Elections for Miami-Dade County to de-certify the offender and remove Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier's name from the ballot be granted? In answering this question, the Court recognizes binding precedent holding that § 106.021 does not provide for a private right of action....
...As properly argued by Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier, §§ 106.18 and 106.19 detail the removal of a candidate for violations of Chapter 106, with enforcement within the purview of the Florida Elections Commission. As a result, the requested injunctive relief is not warranted. As indicated earlier, the violation of § 106.021 was de minimis and no harm to the public's interest in fair elections resulted....
...ight be found, this Court in the past has chosen the one which enhances the elective process by providing voters with the greater choice in exercising their democratic rights. It is hereby DECLARED that Defendant Sanchez-Gronlier is in violation, of § 106.021 but that removal from the ballot is not warranted....
...[A] properly executed check drawn upon the candidate's campaign account. . . . 2. The candidate's oath . . . . 3. The loyalty oath required by § 876.05, signed by the candidate and duly acknowledged. 4. The completed form for the appointment of campaign treasurer and designation of campaign depository as required by § 106.021....
...ing that the candidate has read and understands the requirements of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct . . . . 5. The full and public disclosure of financial interests . . . or the statement of financial interest . . . whichever is applicable. [2] 106.021, Fla....
...(2005) prescribes the manner in which a person seeking to become a qualified candidate must designate a campaign depository and treasurer prior to qualifying for office. Said section provides limitations on how and when contributions may be accepted or expended in furtherance of such sought candidacy. § 106.021(1)(a) provides in pertinent part: Each candidate for ....
...iod. These stealth candidates, knowing that they must present a check from their campaign account to qualify, will open the account in the same manner as occurred here. This Court recommends that the legislature consider amending both § 105.031 and § 106.021 to more clearly state that loans to a campaign by a potential candidate are contributions within the scope of these sections in an effort to address and prevent violations such as that which occurred here....
...f 35
• register with the state within 10 days after it is organized or, if it is organized
within ten days of an election, register immediately, id. § 106.03(1)(a);
• appoint a treasurer and establish a campaign depository, id. § 106.021(1)(a);
• deposit all funds within five business days of receipt, id....
...ey to
influence an election likely would: “put someone in charge of the money” and
24
Case: 12-14074 Date Filed: 06/14/2013 Page: 25 of 35
decide where to keep it, see Fla. Stat. § 106.021(1)(a) (requiring that Florida PACs
appoint a treasurer and open a separate bank account); avoid loss or comingling of
funds by depositing money into that account promptly, see id....
...r spendmore than $500 in a year to influence an election, including on a ballot issue). [1] The plaintiffs assert, and the defendants seem to concede, that this in turn would require the plaintiffs to comply with all the attendant regulations. See § 106.021(1) (appoint a treasurer and establish a campaign depository); § 106.03(1)(a) (register with the Division of Elections); § 106.05 (deposit all funds within five days of receipt); § 106.06(1) (keep detailed accounts current within two day...
...His relief requested
on appeal is moot in light of our disposition of the case.
2
Form DS-DE 9 must be filed before a candidate may raise or spend campaign
funds, which can occur up to almost two years prior to the qualifying period for the
office sought. § 106.021(1)(a), Fla....
from the campaign account, in violation of section 106.021(3). The Commission filed an Order of Probable
This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.
