Florida Senate - 2019                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SPB 7096
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Simmons) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5  
    6         Section 1. Present subsection (3) of section 100.371,
    7  Florida Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (4), present
    8  subsections (4) through (7) of that section are renumbered as
    9  subsections (6) through (9), respectively, new subsections (3)
   10  and (5) are added to that section, and present subsection (3),
   11  paragraphs (a) and (e) of present subsection (5), and present
   12  subsection (6) of that section are amended, to read:
   13         100.371 Initiatives; procedure for placement on ballot.—
   14         (3) Before obtaining signatures for compensation, a
   15  petition gatherer must register with the Secretary of State on a
   16  form prepared by the secretary. The registrant must provide his
   17  or her name, date of birth, residential address, and attestation
   18  that he or she has been a Florida resident for at least 29 days
   19  before submitting the registration form. The secretary shall
   20  maintain a searchable database of registered petition gatherers.
   21         (4) An initiative petition form circulated for signature
   22  may not be bundled with or attached to any other petition. Each
   23  signature shall be dated when made and shall be valid for a
   24  period of 2 years following such date, provided all other
   25  requirements of law are met. The sponsor shall submit signed and
   26  dated forms to the supervisor of elections for the county of
   27  residence listed by the person signing the form for verification
   28  of the number of valid signatures obtained. If a signature on a
   29  petition is from a registered voter in another county, the
   30  supervisor shall notify the petition sponsor of the misfiled
   31  petition. The supervisor shall promptly verify the signatures
   32  within 30 days after receipt of the petition forms and payment
   33  of the fee required by s. 99.097. The supervisor shall promptly
   34  record, in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of State, the
   35  date each form is received by the supervisor, and the date the
   36  signature on the form is verified as valid. The supervisor may
   37  verify that the signature on a form is valid only if:
   38         (a) The form contains the original signature of the
   39  purported elector.
   40         (b) The purported elector has accurately recorded on the
   41  form the date on which he or she signed the form.
   42         (c) The form sets forth the purported elector’s name,
   43  address, city, county, and voter registration number or date of
   44  birth.
   45         (d) The purported elector is, at the time he or she signs
   46  the form and at the time the form is verified, a duly qualified
   47  and registered elector in the state.
   48         (e) The petition gatherer who collected the petition is
   49  registered with the Secretary of State under subsection (3).
   50  
   51  The supervisor shall retain the signature forms for at least 1
   52  year following the election in which the issue appeared on the
   53  ballot or until the Division of Elections notifies the
   54  supervisors of elections that the committee that circulated the
   55  petition is no longer seeking to obtain ballot position.
   56         (5) Upon determining that a constitutional amendment
   57  proposed by initiative has met the requirements to be placed on
   58  the ballot, the Secretary of State shall allow any interested
   59  person to file a position statement of not more than 50 words
   60  outlining why the person supports or opposes the amendment. The
   61  secretary shall publish each position statement on the webpage
   62  for constitutional amendments on the department’s website.
   63         (7)(a)(5)(a) Within 60 45 days after receipt of a proposed
   64  revision or amendment to the State Constitution by initiative
   65  petition from the Secretary of State, the Financial Impact
   66  Estimating Conference shall complete an analysis and financial
   67  impact statement to be placed on the ballot of the estimated
   68  increase or decrease in any revenues or costs to state or local
   69  governments and the estimated economic impact on both the state
   70  and local economies resulting from the proposed initiative. The
   71  Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall submit the
   72  financial impact statement to the Attorney General and Secretary
   73  of State.
   74         (e)1. Any financial impact statement that the Supreme Court
   75  finds not to be in accordance with this subsection shall be
   76  remanded solely to the Financial Impact Estimating Conference
   77  for redrafting, provided the court’s advisory opinion is
   78  rendered at least 75 days before the election at which the
   79  question of ratifying the amendment will be presented. The
   80  Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall prepare and adopt a
   81  revised financial impact statement no later than 5 p.m. on the
   82  15th day after the date of the court’s opinion.
   83         2. If, by 5 p.m. on the 75th day before the election, the
   84  Supreme Court has not issued an advisory opinion on the initial
   85  financial impact statement prepared by the Financial Impact
   86  Estimating Conference for an initiative amendment that otherwise
   87  meets the legal requirements for ballot placement, the financial
   88  impact statement shall be deemed approved for placement on the
   89  ballot.
   90         3. In addition to the financial impact statement required
   91  by this subsection, the Financial Impact Estimating Conference
   92  shall draft an initiative financial information statement. The
   93  initiative financial information statement should describe in
   94  greater detail than the financial impact statement any projected
   95  increase or decrease in revenues or costs that the state or
   96  local governments would likely experience and the estimated
   97  economic impact on both the state and local economies if the
   98  ballot measure were approved. If appropriate, the initiative
   99  financial information statement may include both estimated
  100  dollar amounts and a description placing the estimated dollar
  101  amounts into context. The initiative financial information
  102  statement must include both a summary of not more than 500 words
  103  and additional detailed information that includes the
  104  assumptions that were made to develop the financial impacts,
  105  workpapers, and any other information deemed relevant by the
  106  Financial Impact Estimating Conference.
  107         4. The Department of State shall have printed, and shall
  108  furnish to each supervisor of elections, a copy of the summary
  109  from the initiative financial information statements. The
  110  supervisors shall have the summary from the initiative financial
  111  information statements available at each polling place and at
  112  the main office of the supervisor of elections upon request.
  113         5. The Secretary of State and the Office of Economic and
  114  Demographic Research shall make available on the Internet each
  115  initiative financial information statement in its entirety. In
  116  addition, each supervisor of elections whose office has a
  117  website shall post the summary from each initiative financial
  118  information statement on the website. Each supervisor shall
  119  include a copy of each summary from the initiative financial
  120  information statements and the Internet addresses for the
  121  information statements on the Secretary of State’s and the
  122  Office of Economic and Demographic Research’s websites in the
  123  publication or mailing required by s. 101.20.
  124         (8)(6) The Department of State may adopt rules in
  125  accordance with s. 120.54 to carry out the provisions of
  126  subsections (1)-(7) (1)-(5).
  127         Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 101.161, Florida
  128  Statutes, is amended to read:
  129         101.161 Referenda; ballots.—
  130         (1) Whenever a constitutional amendment or other public
  131  measure is submitted to the vote of the people, a ballot summary
  132  of such amendment or other public measure shall be printed in
  133  clear and unambiguous language on the ballot after the list of
  134  candidates, followed by the word “yes” and also by the word
  135  “no,” and shall be styled in such a manner that a “yes” vote
  136  will indicate approval of the proposal and a “no” vote will
  137  indicate rejection. The ballot summary of the amendment or other
  138  public measure and the ballot title to appear on the ballot
  139  shall be embodied in the constitutional revision commission
  140  proposal, constitutional convention proposal, taxation and
  141  budget reform commission proposal, or enabling resolution or
  142  ordinance. The ballot summary of the amendment or other public
  143  measure shall be an explanatory statement, not exceeding 75
  144  words in length, of the chief purpose of the measure. In
  145  addition, for every amendment proposed by initiative, the ballot
  146  shall include, following the ballot summary, in the following
  147  order:,
  148         (a) The name of the initiative’s sponsor and the percentage
  149  of total contributions obtained by the sponsor from in-state
  150  persons. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “person”
  151  has the same meaning as provided in s. 106.011(14), except that
  152  the term does not include a political party, an affiliated party
  153  committee, or a political committee.
  154         (b) A separate financial impact statement concerning the
  155  measure prepared by the Financial Impact Estimating Conference
  156  in accordance with s. 100.371(7) s. 100.371(5).
  157         (c) If the financial impact statement estimates increased
  158  costs or decreased revenues, a range that includes increased
  159  costs or decreased revenues, or an indeterminate economic impact
  160  a statement in bold print describing the impact of the
  161  initiative on both the state and local economies.
  162  
  163  The ballot title shall consist of a caption, not exceeding 15
  164  words in length, by which the measure is commonly referred to or
  165  spoken of. This subsection does not apply to constitutional
  166  amendments or revisions proposed by joint resolution.
  167         Section 3. Section 101.171, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  168  read:
  169         101.171 Copy of constitutional amendment to be available at
  170  voting locations.—Whenever any amendment to the State
  171  Constitution is to be voted upon at any election, the Department
  172  of State shall have printed and shall furnish to each supervisor
  173  of elections a sufficient number of copies of the amendment
  174  either in poster or booklet form, and the supervisor shall have
  175  a copy thereof conspicuously posted or available at each voting
  176  booth polling room or early voting area upon the day of
  177  election.
  178         Section 4. Effective 41 days after the effective date of
  179  this act, section 104.186, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
  180         104.186 Initiative petitions; prohibition on compensation
  181  based on the number of petitions gathered.—A person who
  182  compensates an initiative petition gatherer or entity based on
  183  the number of petitions gathered commits a misdemeanor of the
  184  first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
  185  775.083. A petition gathered in violation of this section is
  186  void.
  187         Section 5. The provisions of this act apply to all
  188  revisions or amendments to the State Constitution by initiative
  189  which are proposed for the 2020 election ballot; however, this
  190  act does not affect the validity of any petition gathered before
  191  or within 40 days after this act’s effective date.
  192         Section 6. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
  193  act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
  194  
  195  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  196  And the title is amended as follows:
  197         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  198  and insert:
  199                        A bill to be entitled                      
  200         An act relating to constitutional amendments; amending
  201         s. 100.371, F.S.; requiring a compensated petition
  202         gatherer to register with the Secretary of State and
  203         to attest that he or she is a Florida resident for a
  204         specified period before obtaining signatures on
  205         petition forms; requiring the Secretary of State to
  206         maintain a searchable database of such forms; revising
  207         requirements regarding the supervisor of elections’
  208         determination of a petition form’s validity;
  209         authorizing interested persons to submit position
  210         statements on initiatives for publication on the
  211         Department of State’s website; extending the timeframe
  212         for the Financial Impact Estimating Conference to
  213         complete its analysis of an initiative; requiring the
  214         analysis to summarize the impact to the state and
  215         local economies; requiring each supervisor to include
  216         a copy of the summary in the publication or mailing of
  217         a sample ballot; amending s. 101.161, F.S.; requiring
  218         the name of the sponsor of an initiative to appear on
  219         the ballot with the percentage of donations received
  220         from certain in-state donors; defining the term
  221         “person”; requiring a statement to appear on the
  222         ballot if the amendment is estimated to increase
  223         costs, decrease revenues, or have an indeterminate
  224         economic impact; amending s. 101.171, F.S.; requiring
  225         a copy of proposed amendments be provided in each
  226         voting booth; creating s. 104.186, F.S.; prohibiting
  227         compensation for initiative petition gatherers or
  228         entities based on the number of petitions gathered;
  229         providing a penalty; providing for application;
  230         providing effective dates.