Money and Political Influence is the ability of well-funded interests (individuals, groups, or organizations) to use campaign contributions and lobby expenditures to influence the political process and have unjustified influence or power on public policy.
Political Contributions
Under section 106.011 Florida Statutes, “Contribution” is defined as:
A gift, subscription, conveyance, deposit, loan, payment, or distribution of money or anything of value, including contributions in kind having an attributable monetary value in any form, made for the purpose of influencing the results of an election or making an electioneering communication.
Lobby Expenditure
Under section 112.3215 Florida Statutes, Lobby “Expenditure” is defined as:
A payment, distribution, loan, advance, reimbursement, deposit, or anything of value made by a lobbyist or principal for the purpose of lobbying.
Money Political Influence in Florida.
What are campaign contribution limits in Florida?
City or County
Campaign contributions that go directly to a candidate’s account are limited to $1,000 for legislative and local races.
Statewide
Campaign contributions that go directly to a candidate’s account are limited to $3,000 for statewide races (Governor and Cabinet).
In reality, those contribution limits are a regulatory illusion.
Why are Florida Campaign Finance Regulations an Illusion?
Candidates can set up “Political Committees” (PC’s) that are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money with no restrictions on coordination with a candidate’s campaign. The use of PC’s also makes campaign funding less transparent, making it difficult to track the source of a contribution. Florida should move to restore the intent of the original campaign finance reform which sought to answer the fundamental question “who gave it, who got it?”
What Florida needs is comprehensive campaign finance and lobby reform.
A constitutional amendment, passed overwhelmingly by voters in 2018, created a revolving door ban that prohibits public officials from lobbying for six years after they leave office. It was a good first step, but Florida must tighten its lobbyist compensation reporting requirements.
Compensation for lobbying is currently reported in a $10,000 range, for example 1$ to $9,999 or $10,000 to $19,999. Reporting the exact amount of compensation would better allow the public to understand how lobbyists are used to influence public policy.