SB 528 creates a new section of Florida law regulating “political polls,” defined as sampling or collecting responses to questions on a political subject from a selected or random group of persons or voters for analysis. The bill requires any political poll conducted in Florida, whether by telephone, text message, or email, to include the phrase “Sponsored and paid for by” followed by the name of the person or organization funding the poll. It also specifies where and how that disclosure must appear: at the beginning of a phone call or text message, and in bold 12-point type in an email.
The bill also makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to willfully violate the disclosure requirement. It broadly defines “person” to include individuals, organizations, candidates, political committees, party committees, business entities, and agents acting on their behalf. The act would take effect July 1, 2025.
If enacted, SB 528 would add a new disclosure requirement to Florida election law for political polling activity and create criminal penalties for noncompliance. It would affect pollsters, campaigns, political committees, parties, businesses, and others conducting or financing political polls in Florida by requiring clear sponsorship attribution in multiple communication formats. The bill would create a new statutory section, s. 106.146, F.S., and expand the scope of regulated election-related communications beyond campaign ads to include polling disclosures.
The available record shows limited formal debate or recorded votes, but the bill ultimately died in the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, indicating it did not advance. Based on the text, the measure appears aimed at transparency in political polling, a goal that is generally framed as consumer- and voter-protective. However, the absence of committee transcripts or vote details means there is no documented public sentiment in the provided materials beyond its failure to move forward.
The main point of contention likely concerns whether political polls should be treated like regulated political communications and whether imposing a mandatory sponsorship disclaimer, especially with criminal penalties, could burden pollsters, campaigns, and political organizations. The bill’s broad definition of “person” suggests it would reach a wide range of actors, including businesses and agents, which could raise concerns about compliance costs, chilling effects, or overbreadth. Because no committee transcript is provided, specific objections or supporters are not identified in the record.