Florida Senate - 2013                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 600
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 866118                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/03/2013           .                                
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       The Committee on Community Affairs (Latvala) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 245 - 427
    4  and insert:
    5         (1) For purposes of this section, the term:
    6         (a)“Defect” means:
    7         1. Any failure, fault, or flaw in an electronic or
    8  electromechanical voting system approved pursuant to s. 101.5605
    9  which results in nonconformance with the standards in a manner
   10  that affects the timeliness or accuracy of the casting or
   11  counting of ballots; or
   12         2. Any failure or inability of the voting system
   13  manufacturer or vendor to make available or provide approved
   14  replacements of hardware or software to the counties that have
   15  purchased the approved voting system, the unavailability of
   16  which results in the system’s nonconformance with the standards
   17  in a manner that affects the timeliness or accuracy of the
   18  casting or counting of ballots.
   19         (b) “Standards” refers to the requirements in ss. 101.5606
   20  and 101.56062 under which a voting system was approved for use
   21  in the state.
   22         (c) “Vendor” means a person who submits or previously
   23  submitted a voting system that was approved by the Department of
   24  State in accordance with s. 101.5605, or a person who enters
   25  into a contract for the sale or lease of a voting system to any
   26  county, or that previously entered into such a contract that has
   27  not expired.
   28         (2)(a) No later than December 31, 2013, and, thereafter, on
   29  January 1 of every odd-numbered year, each vendor shall file a
   30  written disclosure with the department identifying any known
   31  defect in the voting system or the fact that there is no known
   32  defect, the effect of any defect on the operation and use of the
   33  approved voting system, and any known corrective measures to
   34  cure a defect, including, but not limited to, advisories and
   35  bulletins issued to system users.
   36         (b) Implementation of corrective measures approved by the
   37  department which enable a system to conform to the standards and
   38  ensure the timeliness and accuracy of the casting and counting
   39  of ballots constitutes a cure of a defect.
   40         (c)If a vendor becomes aware of the existence of a defect,
   41  he or she must file a new disclosure with the department as
   42  provided in paragraph (a) within 30 days after the date the
   43  vendor determined or reasonably should have determined that the
   44  defect existed.
   45         (d)If a vendor discloses to the department that a defect
   46  exists, the department may suspend all sales or leases of the
   47  voting system in the state and may suspend the use of the system
   48  in any election in the state. The department shall provide
   49  written notice of any such suspension to each affected vendor
   50  and supervisor of elections. If the department determines that
   51  the defect no longer exists, the department shall lift the
   52  suspension and provide written notice to each affected vendor
   53  and supervisor of elections.
   54         (e)If a vendor fails to file a required disclosure for a
   55  voting system previously approved by the department, that system
   56  may not be sold, leased, or used for elections in the state
   57  until it has been submitted for examination and approval and
   58  adopted for use pursuant to s. 101.5605. The department shall
   59  provide written notice to all supervisors of elections that the
   60  system is no longer approved.
   61         (3)(a)If the department has reasonable cause to believe a
   62  voting system approved pursuant to s. 101.5605 contains a defect
   63  either before, during, or after an election which has not been
   64  disclosed pursuant to subsection (2), the department may
   65  investigate whether the voting system has a defect.
   66         (b)The department may initiate an investigation pursuant
   67  to paragraph (a) on its own initiative or upon the written
   68  request of the supervisor of elections of a county that
   69  purchased or leased a voting system that contains the alleged
   70  defect.
   71         (c)Upon initiating an investigation, the department shall
   72  provide written notice to the vendor and all of the supervisors
   73  of elections.
   74         (4)(a) If the department determines by a preponderance of
   75  the evidence that a defect exists in the voting system, or that
   76  a vendor failed to timely disclose a defect pursuant to
   77  subsection (2), the department shall provide written notice to
   78  the affected vendor and supervisors of elections.
   79         (b) A vendor entitled to receive notice pursuant to
   80  paragraph (a) shall, within 10 days, file a written response to
   81  the department which:
   82         1. Denies that the alleged defect exists or existed as
   83  alleged by the department or that the vendor failed to timely
   84  disclose a defect, and sets forth the reasons for such denial;
   85  or
   86         2. Admits that the defect exists or existed as alleged by
   87  the department or that the vendor failed to timely disclose a
   88  defect.
   89         (c) If the defect has been cured, the vendor shall provide
   90  an explanation of how the defect was cured.
   91         (d) If the defect has not been cured, the vendor shall
   92  inform the department whether the defect can be cured and shall
   93  provide the department with a plan for curing the defect. If the
   94  defect can be cured, the department shall establish a timeframe
   95  within which to cure the defect.
   96         (5) If after receiving a response from the vendor, the
   97  department determines that a defect does not exist or has been
   98  cured within the timeframe established by the department, the
   99  department shall take no further action.
  100         (6)If the department determines that: a vendor failed to
  101  timely disclose a defect; or that a defect exists and a vendor
  102  has not filed a written response or has failed to cure within
  103  the timeframe established by the department, or if the defect
  104  cannot be cured, the department shall impose a civil penalty of
  105  $25,000 for the defect plus an amount equal to the actual costs
  106  incurred by the department in conducting the investigation.
  107         (7) If the department finds that a defect existed:
  108         (a)The department may suspend all sales and leases of the
  109  voting system and may suspend its use in any county in the
  110  state. The department shall provide written notice of the
  111  suspension to each affected vendor and supervisor of elections.
  112         (b) If the department determines that a defect no longer
  113  exists in a voting system that has been suspended from use
  114  pursuant to paragraph (a), the department shall lift the
  115  suspension and authorize the sale, lease, and use of the voting
  116  system in any election in the state. The department shall
  117  provide written notice that the suspension has been lifted to
  118  each affected vendor and supervisor of elections.
  119         (c) If the defect cannot be cured, the department may
  120  disapprove the voting system for use in elections in the state.
  121  The department shall provide written notice to all supervisors
  122  of elections that the system is no longer approved. After
  123  approval of a system has been withdrawn pursuant to this
  124  paragraph, the system may not be sold, leased, or used in
  125  elections in the state until it has been submitted for
  126  examination and approval and adopted for use pursuant to s.
  127  101.5605.
  128         (d) Any vendor against whom a civil penalty was imposed
  129  under this section may not submit a voting system for approval
  130  by the Department of State in accordance with s. 101.5605 or
  131  enter into a contract for sale or lease of a voting system in
  132  the state until the civil penalties have been paid and the
  133  department provides written confirmation to the supervisors of
  134  elections of the payment.
  135         (8)The department shall prepare a written report of any
  136  investigation conducted pursuant to this section.
  137         (9)The authority of the department under this section is
  138  in addition to, and not exclusive of, any other authority
  139  provided by law.
  140         (10) All proceedings under this section are exempt from
  141  chapter 120.
  142  
  143  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  144         And the title is amended as follows:
  145         Delete lines 22 - 27
  146  and insert:
  147         notice; creating s. 101.56065, F.S.; providing
  148         definitions; requiring a vendor to file a written
  149         disclosure with the department; providing requirements
  150         for the disclosure; providing what constitutes a cure
  151         of a defect; requiring a vendor to file a new
  152         disclosure with the department if a vendor becomes
  153         aware of a defect within a specified period;
  154         authorizing the department to suspend all sales or
  155         leases or use in an election of a defective voting
  156         system; authorizing the