The Florida Senate passed a bill this week that bundles together a number of notable election changes.
Here’s what you need to know about the legislation, SB 620:
Redistricting greenlight
Gov. Ron DeSantis has called a late April special session for redistricting. As a result, Secretary of State Cord Byrd pushed back the qualifying deadline for congressional candidates to allow time for a potential new map.
A legal petition tried to block this effort, but the Florida Supreme Court knocked down the challenge.
However, the justices ruled on procedural grounds, not on the underlying legal arguments.
Florida senators decided to pass a bill that also extends the qualifying deadline, which is meant to make sure the timeline change has clear backing in state law.
“We don't know that we're going to [redistrict] yet, but the purpose of this was to set up the process if we do decide … to go through with it, that we have the candidate qualifying periods correct,” said Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, the bill sponsor.
“It could have been very confusing to candidates, and candidates could have missed out,” she added.
Dual citizenship disclosure
Another part of the legislation would require Florida candidates to disclose if they have dual citizenship if they’re running for public office. They must provide an oath or affirmation.
“In practical terms, a person owes allegiance to both the United States and a foreign country and is required to obey the laws of both countries,” states a legislative analysis. “If the foreign country places a claim on a United States dual national, conflicting obligations may arise.”
Candidacy eligibility
Under the bill, when people file for candidacy, they must also give an oath or affirmation that they’ll be legally eligible to serve.
It would create an expedited court process for candidates, political parties or affiliated committees to challenge another candidate's qualifications for running. If a court determines they’re ineligible, their name must be removed from the ballot.
Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Miami independent, orchestrated this addition to the bill. He accuses some candidates — he pointed to James Fishback, who’s running for governor and has faced eligibility questions due to a Washington, D.C., property — of collecting political donations while knowing all along they won’t actually be able to make the ballot.
To run for governor, candidates must have resided in Florida for the preceding seven years.
Fishback maintains his eligibility and punched back at Pizzo on social media, telling people to contact the senator’s office because he “is trying to literally remove my name from the ballot.”
Stock disclosure
The bill would also require Florida candidates for federal office to state in writing if they plan to trade stocks once in office.
When they run for reelection, they’d have to disclose whether or not they did.
While there are insider trading laws on the books, Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, says some politicians still profit.
“We have members of the United States Congress who have notoriously increased their net worth by millions and millions of dollars by trading in stocks based on the information that they've received by not only being members of Congress, but members of committees that have access to critical information,” said Gaetz, who pushed for the provision.
What about the House?
House legislation that’s cleared all of its committees, HB 535, would also require dual citizen candidate notification.
It doesn’t have the other changes. The Senate bill had those amended in late in the process.
House Speaker Daniel Perez said on Wednesday his chamber would consider the Senate legislation next week, the scheduled last week of session.
If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
