SB 1372 — Elections

Florida Senate - 2020 CS for CS for SB 1372 By the CommitteesCommittee on Judiciary;Ethics and Elections;

and EthicsSenator andBrandes Elections;582-03042-20 20201372c1 A bill to be entitled An act relating to elections;

and Senator Brandes 590-03952-20 20201372c2 A bill to be entitled An act relating to elections;

104.0616, F.S.;

prohibiting a person from providing, offering to provide, or accepting a pecuniary or other benefit in exchange for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, delivering, or otherwise physically possessing any vote-by-mail ballot;

providing exceptions;

providing a penalty;

amending s.

901.15, F.S.;

authorizing a law enforcement officer to arrest a person without a warrant when probable cause exists that the person committed a specified violation involving a vote-by-mail ballot;

amending s.

preempting counties, municipalities, and other local governmental entities from enacting or adopting any limitation or restriction involving certain contributions and expenditures,expenditures; or establishing contribution limits different than those established in the Florida Election Code;

providing applicability;

3927 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

4129 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 101.043, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

Section 7. Section7. Subsection 104.0616,(11) Floridais Statutes,added isto amendedsection 106.08, Florida Statutes, to read:

104.0616 Vote-by-mail ballots and voting;

violations.— (1) For purposes of this section, the term “immediate family” means a person’s spouse or the parent, child, grandparent, or sibling of the person or the person’s spouse.

(2) Any person who provides or offers to provide, and any person who accepts, a pecuniary or other benefit in exchange for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, delivering, or otherwise physically possessing any more than two vote-by-mail ballots, except per election in addition to his or her own ballot, or a ballot belonging to an immediate family member, or except as provided in ss.

101.6105-101.694, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.

775.082, s.

775.083, or s.

775.084.

Section 8. Subsection (17) is added to section 901.15, Florida Statutes, to read:

901.15 When arrest by officer without warrant is lawful.—A law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a warrant when:

(17) There is probable cause to believe that a person has committed a violation involving a vote-by-mail ballot as provided in s.

104.0616.

Section 9. Subsection (11) is added to section 106.08, Florida Statutes, to read:

preemption.— (11)(a) A(11) A county, a municipality, or any other local governmental entity is expressly preempted from enacting or adopting:adopting any limitation or restriction involving:

1. Contribution(a) Contributions limitsto thata differpolitical fromcommittee theor limitationsan establishedelectioneering incommunications subsectionorganization. (1);

2. Any(b) Expenditures limitationfor oran restrictionelectioneering involvingcommunication contributions to a political committee or an electioneeringindependent communicationsexpenditure. organization;

orSection 3. Any8. This limitationact orshall restrictiontake oneffect expendituresJuly for1, an2020. electioneering communication or an independent expenditure.

(b) Any existing or future limitation or restriction enacted or adopted by a county, a municipality, or any other local governmental entity which is in conflict with this subsection is void.

Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.