Florida bill would require bloggers to register with state if paid to write about elected officials

2 years ago 817

Bill would hold bloggers to standards of lobbyists

Jacksonville faith leaders & Northside Coalition traveling to Tallahassee for rally at Capitol

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Florida bill filed in the Senate would require paid bloggers to register with the state if they write about elected officials, including the governor and lawmakers.

The bill, SB 1316, was filed by Sen. Jason Brodeur and states that if a blogger posts about an elected officer and receives compensation for the post, they must register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.

The bill defines a blog as “a website or webpage that hosts any blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary or business content.” It also states that newspapers and other similar publications wouldn’t be included.

Upon registering, bloggers would then have to file monthly reports on who paid the blogger, how much compensation they received and the date the blog post was published, the bill says.

For bloggers not reporting on time, the bill lays out a fine of $25 per day per report, which would be capped at $2,500 per report.

Fines would need to be paid within 30 days after the notice of payment due is sent, and reports related to members of the legislature or executive branch would require bloggers to pay fines to the Legislative Lobbyist Registration Trust Fund or Executive Branch Lobby Registration Trust Fund, respectively, the bill states.

However, fines wouldn’t be assessed against bloggers for a first-time offense if their report were filed late, according to the bill.

The entirety of the bill’s text can be read below.