Chapter 28, Florida Administrative Code, requires that an agency head shall maintain a current Statement of Agency Organization and Operation. The statement is to describe the organization of the agency and outline the general course of the agency's operations. The purpose of the statement is to inform the public in a complete and concise manner of the nature of agency business. This statement is arranged in the following sections: description of the agency, access to public documents, the role of the Commission Clerk, and electronic filing.

Composition of the Commission
The Commission is composed of nine members appointed by the Governor. The Governor appoints all the members except the Chair from lists of three names provided to him by the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the minority leaders of both houses. The Chair of the Commission serves for a maximum of four years with his or her term running concurrently with the term of the appointing Governor. The members of the Commission may serve no more than two full terms of four years. The law provides that Commissioners shall not be a member of any county, state, or national committee of a political party; an officer in any partisan political club, or organization; or hold, or be a candidate for, any other public office. The law provides that no person is eligible for appointment to the Commission if they held an elected office in the year immediately preceding their appointment. No more than five Commissioners can be from the same political party at any one time. See Section 106.24, Florida Statutes.

Description of Agency

Organization
The Commission is created within the Department of Legal Affairs, Office of the Attorney General. However, the Commission is a separate budget entity and the agency head for all purposes. It is not subject to the control, supervision, or direction of the Department of Legal Affairs or the Attorney General in the performance of its duties. The Commission appoints an Executive Director to employ and supervise all staff. The Commission's staff consists of the Executive Director, a General Counsel, Associate General Counsel, an Investigator Manager, 6 Investigators, a Business Manager, Agency Clerk, Paralegal and Administrative Assistant. See Section 106.24, Florida Statutes.

Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction to investigate and determine violations of Chapters 106 and 104 is vested in the Florida Elections Commission. The Commission shall investigate all violations of Chapters 106 and 104, but only after having received either a sworn complaint or information reported to it by the Division of Elections. See Section 106.25, Florida Statutes.

Rules
Commission rules are in Chapters 2B-1, and 2B-2, Florida Administrative Code. The Commission has adopted the Uniform Rules of Procedure in Chapter 28, Florida Administrative Code, to govern its operations.

Access to Public Documents

Contact Person
Any member of the public may obtain public records information by contacting the Commission Clerk, Patsy Rushing, at patsy.rushing@myfloridalegal.com or (850) 922-4539.

* Under Florida law, email addresses are public records. If you do not want your email address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.

Confidentiality of Documents
Every sworn complaint filed with the Commission, every investigation and investigative report or other paper of the Commission, and every proceeding of the Commission with respect to a violation of Chapters 104 or Chapter 106, Florida Statutes, is exempt from the public records and open meeting laws until the Commission makes a determination of probable cause. See Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.

Commission Clerk

Identity of the Clerk
The Commission Clerk is Patsy Rushing. Her contact information is posted below.

Florida Elections Commission
107 West Gaines Street
Collins Building, Suite 224
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050
Phone number: (850) 922-4539
Fax number: (850) 921-0783
Email: patsy.rushing@myfloridalegal.com

Duties of Clerk
The duties of the Clerk include:

• Receives and time stamps all documents filed with the Commission;
• Provides the appropriate attorney with a copy of the filed documents;
• Sets up all hearings;
• Maintains evidence introduced at hearing;
• Prepares records for appeal;
• Prepares and indexes final orders;
• Keeps a log of all public records requests; and
• Archives old files according to schedule or at direction of supervising attorney.

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Electronic Filing

Exceptions
The Commission will accept documents filed by fax transmission or email except complaints and any other document required to be signed before an officer authorized to administer oaths.

Conditions to Receive Faxed Documents
Faxed documents will be accepted under the following conditions.

• The document must be filed by using fax number (850) 921-0783.
• The party who files a document by fax transmission represents that the original physically signed document will be retained by that party for the duration of the proceeding and of any subsequent appeal or subsequent proceeding in that cause, and that the party will produce it upon the request of another party.
• The party who elects to file a document by fax transmission will be responsible for any delay, disruption, or interruption of the electronic signals and accepts the full risk that the document may not be properly filed with the Clerk as a result.
• The filing date for a fax transmission is the date that the Clerk receives the complete document.

Conditions to Receive Email Documents
Emailed documents will be accepted under the following conditions.

• The document must be emailed to patsy.rushing@myfloridalegal.com.
• The party who files a document by email represents that the original physically signed document will be retained by that party for the duration of the proceeding and of any subsequent appeal or subsequent proceeding in that cause, and that the party will produce it upon the request of another party.
• The party who elects to file a document by email will be responsible for any delay, disruption, or interruption of the electronic signals and accepts the full risk that the document may not be properly filed with the Clerk as a result.
• The filing date for an email is the date that the Clerk receives the complete document.
• All documents sent by email must be in PDF format.