Limits to Campaign Contributions
Candidates for statewide office and retention to the Florida Supreme Court are limited to accepting up to $3,000 per donor, per election. They may also accept up to $3,000 per political action committee, per election.
Candidates for the Florida legislature are limited to accepting $1,000 per donor, per election. They may also accept up to $1,000 per political action committee (PAC), per election.
Statewide candidates are limited to accepting $250,000 in contributions from state political party committees per election cycle. Legislative candidates may accept up to $50,000 per political party committee per election cycle.
Candidates may make unlimited loans to their own campaigns. Loans from other persons or entities are generally considered contributions and are subject to the above-described limits.
Statewide candidates are limited to accepting up to $3,000 per corporation or union, per election. Legislative candidates are limited to accepting $1,000 per corporation or union, per election. Super PACs may not contribute to candidates.
Filing Deadlines
Candidates are required to file detailed reports on their campaign donations and expenditures to the Florida Secretary of State. Florida requires seven reports related to their primary elections and six related to their general elections.
See Florida campaign finance report deadlines here.
Additional reports are required by Florida filers. If a report is skipped (often because its deadline is close to another or due to delay in receiving reports for the state), the data from that report is captured in the next update.
The Florida State Legislature
The Florida state legislature meets in session for 60 consecutive days every year.
Florida House Representatives serve two-year terms. and are limited to serving four terms (eight years).
Florida Senators serve four-year terms and are limited to serving two terms (eight years).
Florida Statewide Office Holders
Florida statewide office holders (such as the governor and lieutenant governor) serve four-year terms and are up for reelection in non-presidential election years. They are limited to two terms in office.
How We Display Florida Campaign Finance Data
Campaign finance is complex, with reporting practices that vary widely from state to state. As a reporting system — and not a balance sheet — contributions and expenditures do not balance the way we’d expect if it were an accounting system. In most cases, this does not mean that the data is incomplete, but rather, that entities are following Florida’s unique reporting requirements.
To help put the numbers in context, we’ve created a state-specific explanation of how we display information reported, including in-kind donations, negative amounts and other unusual items. In Florida, for example, loans are currently displayed as part of total contribution numbers. Florida also sends their data to us on a physical DVD by mail.
Click the link below for a more detailed description of Florida’s campaign finance data and how their unique system is displayed on TUSA: