Resign To Run Law
The “resign-to-run law” essentially prohibits an elected or appointed
“officer” from qualifying as a candidate for another state, district,
county or municipal public office if the terms or any part of the terms
overlap with each other if the person did not resign from the office the
person presently holds. The entire chapter of Florida Statutes 99.012 has been listed here for your reference.
99.012 Restrictions on individuals qualifying for public office.—
(1) As used in this section:
(a) “Officer” means a person, whether elected or appointed, who has the authority to
exercise the sovereign power of the state pertaining to an office
recognized under the State Constitution or laws of the state. With
respect to a municipality, the term “officer” means a person, whether
elected or appointed, who has the authority to exercise municipal power
as provided by the State Constitution, state laws, or municipal charter.
(b) “Subordinate
officer” means a person who has been delegated the authority to
exercise the sovereign power of the state by an officer. With respect to
a municipality, subordinate officer means a person who has been
delegated the authority to exercise municipal power by an officer.
(2) No
person may qualify as a candidate for more than one public office,
whether federal, state, district, county, or municipal, if the terms or
any part thereof run concurrently with each other.
(3)
(a) No
officer may qualify as a candidate for another state, district, county,
or municipal public office if the terms or any part thereof run
concurrently with each other without resigning from the office he or she
presently holds.
(b) The resignation is irrevocable.
(c) The
written resignation must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the
first day of qualifying for the office he or she intends to seek.
(d) The resignation must be effective no later than the earlier of the following dates:
1. The date the officer would take office, if elected; or
2. The date the officer’s successor is required to take office.
(e)1. An
elected district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her
resignation to the officer before whom he or she qualified for the
office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the Department
of State.
2. An
appointed district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her
resignation to the officer or authority which appointed him or her to
the office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the
Department of State.
3. All other officers must submit their resignations to the Governor with a copy to the Department of State.
(f)1. With
regard to an elective office, the resignation creates a vacancy in
office to be filled by election. Persons may qualify as candidates for
nomination and election as if the public officer’s term were otherwise
scheduled to expire.
2. With
regard to an elective charter county office or elective municipal
office, the vacancy created by the officer’s resignation may be filled
for that portion of the officer’s unexpired term in a manner provided by
the respective charter. The office is deemed vacant upon the effective
date of the resignation submitted by the official in his or her letter
of resignation.
(g) Any
officer who submits his or her resignation, effective immediately or
effective on a date prior to the date of his or her qualifying for
office, may then qualify for office as a nonofficeholder, and the
provisions of this subsection do not apply.
(4) A
person who is a subordinate officer, deputy sheriff, or police officer
must resign effective upon qualifying pursuant to this chapter if the
person is seeking to qualify for a public office that is currently held
by an officer who has authority to appoint, employ, promote, or
otherwise supervise that person and who has qualified as a candidate for
reelection to that office.
(5) The
name of any person who does not comply with this section may be removed
from every ballot on which it appears when ordered by a circuit court
upon the petition of an elector or the Department of State.
(6) This section does not apply to:
(a) Political party offices.
(b) Persons serving without salary as members of an appointive board or authority.
(7) Nothing contained in subsection (3) relates to persons holding any federal office.
Frequently Asked Questions: Resign To Run Law
The Division of Elections has compiled this list of frequently asked questions to help candidates understand the Resign To Run law:
http://election.dos.state.fl.us/gen-faq.shtml#link9
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