Bill Text: FL S0082 | 2021 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Sponsorship Identification Disclaimers
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-09 - Chapter No. 2021-49 [S0082 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S0082-Enrolled.html
ENROLLED 2021 Legislature SB 82 202182er 1 2 An act relating to sponsorship identification 3 disclaimers; amending s. 106.011, F.S.; revising the 4 definition of the term “electioneering communication” 5 to conform to changes made by the act; amending s. 6 106.071, F.S.; modifying provisions governing general 7 independent expenditure disclaimers to conform to 8 changes made by the act; amending s. 106.143, F.S.; 9 removing an exemption for text messages from certain 10 requirements governing political advertisement 11 disclaimers to conform to changes made by the act; 12 amending s. 106.1439, F.S.; modifying provisions 13 governing general electioneering communications 14 disclaimer requirements to conform to changes made by 15 the act; amending s. 106.147, F.S.; establishing 16 sponsorship identification disclaimer requirements for 17 certain text messages; modifying existing requirements 18 governing telephone call disclaimers; providing 19 exceptions and restrictions; providing a penalty; 20 revising the definition of the term “person” to 21 conform to changes made by the act; amending s. 22 106.1475, F.S.; requiring specified persons and 23 organizations sending certain paid text messages to 24 have and maintain a registered agent for specified 25 purposes; providing exceptions; providing a penalty; 26 providing an effective date. 27 28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 29 30 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section 31 106.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 32 106.011 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the following 33 terms have the following meanings unless the context clearly 34 indicates otherwise: 35 (8)(a) “Electioneering communication” means a text message 36 or communication that is publicly distributed by a television 37 station, radio station, cable television system, satellite 38 system, newspaper, magazine, direct mail, or telephone whichand39that: 40 1. Refers to or depicts a clearly identified candidate for 41 office without expressly advocating the election or defeat of a 42 candidate but that is susceptible of no reasonable 43 interpretation other than an appeal to vote for or against a 44 specific candidate; 45 2. Is made within 30 days before a primary or special 46 primary election or 60 days before any other election for the 47 office sought by the candidate; and 48 3. Is targeted to the relevant electorate in the geographic 49 area the candidate would represent if elected. 50 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 106.071, Florida 51 Statutes, is amended to read: 52 106.071 Independent expenditures; electioneering 53 communications; reports; disclaimers.— 54 (2) Any political advertisement, other than a text message 55 or a telephone call, paid for by an independent expenditure must 56shallprominently state “Paid political advertisement paid for 57 by ...(Name and address of person paying for advertisement)... 58 independently of any ...(candidate or committee)....” 59 Section 3. Paragraph (f) of subsection (10) of section 60 106.143, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 61 106.143 Political advertisements circulated prior to 62 election; requirements.— 63 (10) This section does not apply to any campaign message or 64 political advertisement used by a candidate and the candidate’s 65 supporters or by a political committee if the message or 66 advertisement is: 67(f) Distributed as a text message or other message via68Short Message Service, provided the message is no more than 20069characters in length or requires the recipient to sign up or opt70in to receive it.71 Section 4. Section 106.1439, Florida Statutes, is amended 72 to read: 73 106.1439 Electioneering communications; disclaimers.— 74 (1) Any electioneering communication, other than a text 75 message or a telephone call, mustshallprominently state: “Paid 76 electioneering communication paid for by ...(Name and address of 77 person paying for the communication)....” 78(2) Any electioneering communication telephone call shall79identify the persons or organizations sponsoring the call by80stating either: “Paid for by ...(insert name of persons or81organizations sponsoring the call)....” or “Paid for on behalf82of ...(insert name of persons or organizations authorizing83call)....” This subsection does not apply to any telephone call84in which the individual making the call is not being paid and85the individuals participating in the call know each other prior86to the call.87 (2)(3)Any person who fails to include the disclaimer 88 prescribed in this section in any electioneering communication 89 that is required to contain such disclaimer commits a 90 misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 91 775.082 or s. 775.083. 92 Section 5. Section 106.147, Florida Statutes, is amended to 93 read: 94 106.147 Text message and telephone solicitation; disclosure 95 requirements; prohibitions; exemptions; penalties.— 96 (1)(a) Any text message or telephone call supporting or 97 opposing a candidate, an elected public official, or a ballot 98 measure, and any electioneering text message or telephone call, 99 must include the phraseproposal mustidentify the persons or100organizations sponsoring the call by stating either:“Paid for 101 by ....,” followed by the(insertname of the persons or 102 organizations sponsoring the message or call)or, in the case of 103 a text message, a working hyperlink or a uniform resource 104 locator (URL) to a website containing the required disclosure 105“paid for on behalf of....” (insert name of persons or106organizations authorizing call). 107 (b) A candidate’s text message or telephone call must 108 include the phrase “Paid for by,” followed by the name of the 109 candidate, then followed by the word “For,” and the name of the 110 elective office sought. 111 (c) A website that is hyperlinked, or identified by URL, in 112 a text message must remain online and available to the public 113 for at least 30 days after the date of the election in which the 114 candidate or ballot measure that the advertisement supported or 115 opposed was voted on. 116 (d)1. If an exchange consists of a sequence of multiple 117 text messages sent on the same day, the sponsorship disclaimer 118 is only required to be included with the first text message. 119 2. A person or an organization is deemed to be in 120 compliance with this subsection if the sponsorship disclaimer 121 required by this subsection is included in the text message in 122 the form in which the person or organization intended it to be 123 sent, regardless of the form the carrier relayed it to the 124 recipient. 125 3. If a person or an organization includes a working 126 hyperlink or URL in the text message as part of the required 127 disclaimer, the person or organization is deemed to be in 128 compliance with this subsection even if the recipient’s device 129 is incapable of accessing the referenced website. 130 (e) This subsectionparagraphdoes not apply to any: 131 1. Telephone call: 132 a. In which both the individual making the call is not 133 being paid and the individuals participating in the call know 134 each other beforeprior tothe call; or 135 b. That is a part of a series of like telephone calls 136 consisting of fewer than 1,000 completed calls averaging more 137 than 2 minutes in duration which are conducted for the purpose 138 of polling respondents regarding a candidate or an elected 139 public official. 140 2. Text message: 141 a. In which both the individual sending the text message is 142 not being paid and the text is individually sent without the 143 assistance of mass distribution technology, including a text 144 messaging platform; or 145 b. That requires the recipient to sign up or opt in to 146 receive it. 147(b) Any telephone call conducted for the purpose of polling148respondents concerning a candidate or elected public official149which is a part of a series of like telephone calls that150consists of fewer than 1,000 completed calls and averages more151than 2 minutes in duration is presumed to be a political poll152and not subject to the provisions of paragraph (a).153 (2)(c)A text message or aNotelephone call may notshall154 state or imply that the caller: 155 (a) Represents any person or organization unless the person 156 or organization so represented has given specific approval in 157 writing to make such representation; or.158(d) No telephone call shall state or imply that the caller159 (b) Represents a nonexistent person or organization. 160 (3)(2)Any text message or telephone call, not conducted by 161 independent expenditure, which expressly advocates for or 162 against a candidate or ballot measureproposalrequires prior 163 written authorization by the candidate or sponsor of the ballot 164 measureproposalthat the text message or telephone call 165 supports. A copy of such written authorization must be placed on 166 file with the qualifying officer by the candidate or sponsor of 167 the ballot measure beforeproposalprior tothe time the text 168 messages or telephone calls commence. 169 (4)(a)(3)(a)Any person who willfully violatesany170provision ofthis section commits a misdemeanor of the first 171 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 172 (b) For purposes of paragraph (a), the term “person” 173 includes any individual or organization making an independent 174 expenditure; any candidate; any officer of any political 175 committee, affiliated party committee, or political party 176 executive committee; any officer, partner, attorney, or other 177 representative of a corporation, partnership, or other business 178 entity; and any agent or other person acting on behalf of any 179 candidate, political committee, affiliated party committee, 180 political party executive committee, or corporation, 181 partnership, or other business entity. 182 Section 6. Section 106.1475, Florida Statutes, is amended 183 to read: 184 106.1475 Text message and telephone solicitation; 185 registered agent requirements; penalty.— 186 (1) Any person or organization that conductsanybusiness 187 in this state consisting of sending text messages or placing 188 telephone calls that are subject to the disclaimer requirements 189 in s. 106.147which consists ofmaking paid telephone calls190supporting or opposing any candidate or elected public official191 must, prior to conducting such business, have and continuously 192 maintain, for at least 180 days following the cessation of such 193 business activities in the state, a registered agent for the 194 purpose of any service of process, notice, or demand required or 195 authorized by law and must file with the division a notice of 196 such registered agent. Such registered agent must be an 197 individual who is a resident of this state, a domestic 198 corporation, or a foreign corporation authorized to do business 199 in this state. However, this subsection does not apply to any 200 person or organization already lawfully registered to conduct 201 business in this state. 202 (2) For purposes of this section, conducting business in 203 this state as specified in subsection (1) includes both sending 204 text messages or placing telephone calls from a location in this 205 state and sending text messages or placing telephone calls from 206 a location outside this state to individuals located in this 207 state. 208 (3)(a) The division shall create and maintain forms for the 209 notice required by subsection (1), which, at a minimum, must 210 elicit all of the following information: 211 1. The name, address, and telephone number of the 212 registered agent. 213 2. The name, address, and telephone number of the person or 214 organization conducting business in this state as specified in 215 subsection (1). 216 (b) The person or organization conducting business in this 217 state as specified in subsection (1) must immediately notify the 218 division of any changes in the information required in paragraph 219 (a). 220 (4) Any person or organization that violates this section 221 commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 222 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 223 Section 7. This act shall take effect October 1, 2021.