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EIJZCTORS AND ELETIONS
CANDIDATES, CAHPAIGN EXPENSES ARE COKTESTING ELECTIONS
January 28, 1952 052-22
iECTIOiIS--C.J.I~IDIDAT ~~FRIEIDS AND SUPPORTERSPERSOKAL Seances
CCLTIRIBUTION or -- 8 99.161, 99.172, 10a.061, FLORIDA swam":-
QCESTIONS: 1. May a candidate for public office request and
accept the personal services of his friends
and supporters without violating any of the
provisions of the Election Code of 1951?
2. If question (1) is answered in the affirmative,
what are the personal services which may be
performed in the furtherance of a person's
candidacy?
3. What expenses may a candidate's supporters
incur in the performance of the personal
services which they wish to contribute withr
out violating the provisions of the Election
Code of 1951?
To: Honorable Lovick P. Williams, Prosecuting Attorney, Citrus
County, Inverness, Florida:
Section 10b.061(2), Election Code of 1951, provides in
part that, . No person in the furtherance of or in opposition
to the candidacy of any person for nomination or election in any
election shall give or promise to give, pay,loan, expend or con
tribute any money or other thing of value for any proposition what-
soever; provided personal services and ersonal traveling expengeg
mav_be_99ntributec, and perIHEd further 'hEt campaign contriou
ions may Se Bade to a candidate direct or to his campaign manager
. ." (Emphasis supplied.)
Although section 99.16l(b) and the quoted portion of
Section 10.O6l provide almost identical prohibitions, and even
thOush Section 99.161 does not contain words of similar import
to those of the proviso in Section 104.161(2), it appears that
there is a sufficiently substantial basis for assuming that the
legislature intended that the emphasized clause of Section 104.
061(2) should provide an exception to the provisions of both
Sections 10b.061(2) and 99.16l(u)(a). There is no substantial
basis upon which it may be said that the legislature intended
that either section should impliedly repeal the other.
Hon. Lovick P. Villiams 052-22
Page #2
Due to the proximity of the time at which these measures
appeared before the legislature, as evidenced by the above infor~
mntion, it must be assumed that the legislature knew of the effec
of both chapters. intended that they should operate concurrently
and intended that neither should by any means abrogate the effec-
tchness of the other,
In View of the foregoing, it is my opinion that the ques-
tions set forth herein should be answered as follows:
(1) A candidate for public office may accept the personal
services of his friends and supporters and employ them in the fur
therance of his candidacy provided no provisions of the law in re
gard to the conduct of elections or political campaigns are vio-
lated by the method in which the personal soerces are employed.
Such a contribution of personal services does not come within the
prohibition of Section 99.16l(2). Nor may the expenses or trans-
portation necessary to the performance of those personal services
be included in the prohibition of Section 99.161(2). Those traVel
expenses which are incurred by a person in performing personal
services for a candidate are not to be considered in determining
whether the person has exceeded the $1,000 limit set by Section
99.161(2), since it is permissible to donate them directly to the
Oarldato and since they are necessary incidents of the personal
service.
(2) The personal services which are contemplated by Sec
tion 10b.06l(2) are those services which an individual may person
ally perform on behalf of the candidate without the expenditure of
anything of value except the time and energies of the person and
the money necessary to defray the traveling expenses of the person
donating his personal services. The services intended are those
which a person may perform through the sole expenditure or his own
physical and mental efforts, such as, preparing and distributing
campaign literature, speaking on behalf of a candidate, and driving
his own private automobile. The latter service is allowed only in
that the traVeling expenses of the driver, the person donating his
personal services, are also allowed to be contributed.
(3) No other expenses, except those incurred in the
trnVeling of an individual who has donated his personal services,
may be incurred by any Person in the furtherance of any other
persons candidacy for public office, unless such expenses are
those authorized and permitted by Section 99.172, Election Code
of 1951, and unless theytxre in all other ways treated in the
manner prescribed by the Election Code.
EVE/JLGJr/bma Richard W. Ervin
amp Attorney General
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scary to the performance of those personal services i the PPOhibitlO:1 Of Deation 99.161(2). ThOsc troVel t are incurrod by a persor. ir. perfora-ing perne:.el .aandidate are not to be conaldered irt deteratir.irt -rson h.m exceeded the g:1, 000 limit set by :-.net iori 30 it is permiosible to donate them directly tc t e air.ee they a re unnecessary 11.elderits of the pers:3n:1 The percorr.1 services which are conte:1.plated by Son) nre tuona services which an ladividual :ray personr. behalf ci the aandidate without the expenditure of lue ex^ept the ti:ne ona energica of the person nnd saary to d ofray the traveling exilenses of the peraor -ercorial eerriees. The services intended are thoce. may perform through the cale expenditur-e of his o'e EntRl efforta, auch as, preparing and distributing nture, opt.rddng 011 behnif of a ca.d idate and dra.vil nutamobilo. The latter eervice is allgwed or.ly i:
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