Overview of Miami-Dade County CF Reforms

• Miami-Dade is unique in that it has expressly been empowered to adopt additional regulations governing elections. This empowerment was granted in Section 2.06 of Article 2 of its County Charter. Unlike the other Florida charter counties, its charter is imbedded in the state constitution and therefore it cannot be in conflict with the state constitution.

• reforms were implemented via ordinance by the BOCC

• reforms adopted:
  ordinance prohibiting certain campaign contributions or expenditures by banks, corporations or unincorporated associations, #983014, Dec 1998

  ordinance limiting to $250 campaign contributions and expenditures by individuals and political committees to candidates for specific offices, #001224, May 2000

  ordinance providing for electronic reporting and posting of campaign contributions and expenditures by certain candidates, #002128, June 2000

  ordinance requiring electronic reporting of independent expenditures relating to candidates; and establishing additional reporting requirement of contributions and expenditures in $5,000 increments during the final reporting period, #002652, October 2000

  ordinance establishing limited public financing for mayoral and county commission elections and setting qualification and conditions for participation, #010859, March 2001

• The BOCC placed the question of whether to provide limited public financing on the ballot prior to adopting the ordinance establishing their public financing program

December 4, 2001
Susan B. Wright