Senate Bill sb2252c2

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 2252

    By the Committees on Ethics and Elections; Education; and
    Senator Webster




    582-2370-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to district school boards;

  3         providing legislative findings; creating s.

  4         1001.364, F.S.; providing for an alternate

  5         procedure for the election of a district school

  6         board chair in any school district that does

  7         not have a district school board member elected

  8         at large; requiring a referendum and providing

  9         requirements for submitting such referendum to

10         the electors; creating s. 1001.365, F.S.;

11         providing for resolution of a tie vote by the

12         district school board chair and district school

13         board members; amending s. 1001.371, F.S.,

14         relating to organization of district school

15         boards, to conform; providing an effective

16         date.

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18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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20         Section 1.  The Legislature finds that medium-sized

21  counties in Florida have experienced rapid and dynamic growth

22  in the last decade. The Legislature recognizes that some

23  counties have been experiencing rapid growth, based on student

24  enrollment figures. The Legislature also recognizes that the

25  needs of students in kindergarten through grade 12 are

26  significantly tied to expansive growth in these counties, and

27  that the needs of families that have school-age children

28  require critical consideration. The Legislature finds that the

29  will of the electors regarding education issues may be better

30  realized by offering an alternate procedure for the district

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 2252
    582-2370-06




 1  school board chair to be elected directly by the electors of

 2  the school district.

 3         Section 2.  Section 1001.364, Florida Statutes, is

 4  created to read:

 5         1001.364  Alternate procedure for election of district

 6  school board chair.--

 7         (1)  The district school board chair shall be elected

 8  in accordance with the provisions of s. 1001.371 unless a

 9  proposition calling for the district school board chair to be

10  elected as an additional school board member by districtwide

11  vote is submitted to and approved by a majority of the

12  qualified electors voting on such proposition in the manner

13  provided in subsection (2).

14         (2)  A proposition calling for the district school

15  board chair to be elected by districtwide vote shall be

16  submitted to the electors of the school district at any

17  primary, general, or otherwise-called special election in

18  either of the following manners:

19         (a)  The district school board may adopt a formal

20  resolution directing that the proposition be placed on the

21  ballot; or

22         (b)  The electors of the school district may petition

23  to have the proposition placed on the ballot by presenting to

24  the district school board petitions signed by not less than 10

25  percent of the duly qualified electors residing within the

26  school district. The number of signatures required shall be

27  determined by the supervisor of elections according to the

28  number of registered electors in the school district as of the

29  date the petitioning electors register as a political

30  committee as provided in subsection (3).

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 2252
    582-2370-06




 1         (3)  The electors petitioning to have the proposition

 2  placed on the ballot shall register as a political committee

 3  pursuant to s. 106.03, and a specific person shall be

 4  designated therein as chair of the committee to act for the

 5  committee.

 6         (4)  Each petition form circulated shall include the

 7  following wording:

 8  

 9         As a registered elector of the school district

10         of ____ County, Florida, I am petitioning for a

11         referendum election to determine whether the

12         district school board chair shall be elected by

13         districtwide vote.

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15  The petition shall also include space for the signature and

16  address of the elector. Each signature obtained shall be dated

17  when made and is valid for a period of 4 years after that

18  date.

19         (5)  Upon the filing of the petitions with the district

20  school board by the chair of the committee, the district

21  school board shall submit the petitions to the supervisor of

22  elections for verification of the signatures. Within a period

23  of not more than 30 days, the supervisor of elections shall

24  determine whether the petitions contain the required number of

25  valid signatures. The supervisor of elections shall be paid by

26  the committee seeking verification the sum of 10 cents for

27  each signature checked.

28         (6)  If it is determined that the petitions have the

29  required signatures, the supervisor of elections shall certify

30  the petitions to the district school board, which shall adopt

31  a formal resolution requesting that an election date be set to

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 2252
    582-2370-06




 1  conform to the earliest primary, general, or otherwise-called

 2  special election that occurs not less than 30 days after

 3  certification of the petitions. If it is determined that the

 4  petitions do not contain the required signatures, the

 5  supervisor of elections shall so notify the district school

 6  board, which shall file the petitions without taking further

 7  action, and the matter shall be at an end. No additional

 8  signatures may be added to the petitions, and the petitions

 9  may not be used in any other proceeding.

10         (7)  No special election may be called for the sole

11  purpose of presenting the proposition to the vote of the

12  electors.

13         (8)  Any school district adopting the proposition set

14  forth in this section may thereafter return to the procedure

15  otherwise provided by law by following the same procedure

16  outlined in subsection (2).

17         (9)  If a proposition submitted to the electors under

18  subsection (2) calling for the district school board chair to

19  be elected by districtwide vote is approved by vote of the

20  qualified electors, the office of district school board chair

21  shall be filled at the next general election.

22         (10)  The vice chair of the district school board shall

23  be elected by the members of the district school board as

24  provided in s. 1001.371.

25         (11)  This section applies only to those counties

26  organized by charter that have a population of between 800,000

27  and 900,000 according to the latest federal decennial census.

28         Section 3.  Section 1001.365, Florida Statutes, is

29  created to read:

30         1001.365  Votes by district school board chair and

31  district school board members.--Unless otherwise provided by

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 2252
    582-2370-06




 1  law, in the event of a tie vote of the district school board

 2  chair and district school board members acting in any

 3  capacity, the side on which the district school board chair

 4  voted shall be deemed to prevail. For purposes of any vote of

 5  the district school board chair and district school board

 6  members acting in any capacity, action taken pursuant to that

 7  side of a tie vote on which the district school board chair

 8  voted satisfies the requirement that action be taken by a

 9  "majority" vote or a "simple majority" vote. This section

10  applies only to those counties organized by charter that have

11  a population of between 800,000 and 900,000 according to the

12  latest federal decennial census.

13         Section 4.  Section 1001.371, Florida Statutes, is

14  amended to read:

15         1001.371  Organization of district school board.--On

16  the third Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each

17  year, the district school board shall organize by electing a

18  chair. It may elect a vice chair, and the district school

19  superintendent shall act ex officio as the secretary. If a

20  vacancy should occur in the position of chair, the district

21  school board shall proceed to elect a chair at the next

22  ensuing regular or special meeting. At the organization

23  meeting, the district school superintendent shall act as chair

24  until the organization is completed. The chair and secretary

25  shall then make and sign a copy of the proceedings of

26  organization, including the schedule for regular meetings and

27  the names and addresses of all district school officers, and

28  annex their affidavits that the same is a true and correct

29  copy of the original, and the secretary shall file the

30  document within 2 weeks with the Department of Education. This

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    Florida Senate - 2006                    CS for CS for SB 2252
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 1  section does not apply to any school district with a district

 2  school board chair who is elected by districtwide vote.

 3         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

 4  

 5          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 6                       CS/Senate Bill 2252

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 8  The committee substitute for CS/SB 2252 specifically changes
    the population classification within the bill from between
 9  800,000 and 1 million to between 800,000 and 900,000.

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