New guidance from the Florida Bureau of Election Records will be useful to federal PACs and other non-Florida political entities that want to participate in Florida politics but were wary of the state’s registration and reporting requirements.  Under the new guidance, available on page 34 of the Florida Political Committee Handbook:

  • Out-of-state and federal entities that have “only received donations that were not made for the purpose of influencing the results of Florida elections” and are otherwise legally permitted to make contributions may make Florida contributions without registering with the state.  In other words, if an entity only receives general donations and wants to make Florida contributions, it does not need to register.  Note that other political activity in Florida, such as making expenditures for express advocacy, may require registration.
  • A political committee that is registered in Florida must “maintain a separate bank account solely for Florida political activities” and deposit all of its receipts for Florida activities into that account.  These funds must be spent only on Florida activity.
  • If a federal or other non-Florida entity has to register in Florida, it may not commingle funds from its Florida account with its other funds.

We advise that any entity considering taking advantage of this new guidance consult with counsel before doing so.

Photo of Andrew Garrahan Andrew Garrahan

Andrew Garrahan represents and counsels clients at the intersection of law and politics. He guides them through both regulatory compliance issues and government investigations on matters including state and federal campaign finance, ethics, lobbying, and corruption, as well as in congressional investigations.

Andrew’s…

Andrew Garrahan represents and counsels clients at the intersection of law and politics. He guides them through both regulatory compliance issues and government investigations on matters including state and federal campaign finance, ethics, lobbying, and corruption, as well as in congressional investigations.

Andrew’s prior career in political fundraising gives him a unique perspective on the challenges faced by his clients, which include corporations, candidates, government officials, political and nonprofit organizations, and private individuals.

Andrew’s counseling and advisory practice includes:

  • guiding clients on structuring of and compliance for their state and federal lobbying and grassroots advocacy campaigns;
  • representing campaigns, Super PACs, corporations, trade associations, and individuals on the applicability of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and state campaign finance law;
  • counseling on Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) registration and disclosure, and its interaction with the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA);
  • helping companies comply with state and federal ethics laws, particularly on gifts and conflicts of interests, and domestic anticorruption; and
  • auditing corporate political law compliance practices.

Andrew’s investigations and defense work includes:

  • representing clients in Congressional investigations, including responding to letter requests and subpoenas;
  • preparing company officers and other individuals for testimony in Congressional investigative hearings;
  • defending clients in Department of Justice matters related to campaign finance, lobbying, ethics, and public corruption; and
  • representing clients before the FEC and state campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics regulators.
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