HB 1883 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to financial impact statements for
3	proposed constitutional amendments; amending s. 15.21,
4	F.S.; requiring the Secretary of State to submit certain
5	proposed constitutional amendments to the Financial Impact
6	Estimating Conference; amending s. 16.061, F.S., as
7	amended; revising the time period for the Attorney General
8	to petition the Supreme Court for review of certain
9	financial impact statements; deleting duties of the
10	Attorney General with respect to constitutional amendments
11	proposed other than by initiative; conforming provisions
12	to changes made by the act; amending s. 100.371, F.S.;
13	creating the Financial Impact Estimating Conference;
14	providing membership; providing duties; deleting certain
15	duties of the Revenue Estimating Conference; providing for
16	the creation of an initiative financial information
17	statement; providing duties of the Department of State
18	with respect to printing and providing copies of the
19	initiative financial information statement; requiring the
20	Secretary of State and the Office of Economic and
21	Demographic Research to make such statement available on-
22	line; amending ss. 101.161 and 216.136, F.S.; conforming
23	provisions to changes made by the act; repealing s.
24	100.381, F.S., relating to fiscal impact statements for
25	constitutional amendments or revisions other than
26	initiatives; providing an effective date.
27
28	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30	Section 1. Section 15.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to
31	read:
32	15.21 Initiative petitions; s. 3, Art. XI, State
33	Constitution.--The Secretary of State shall immediately submit
34	an initiative petition to the Attorney General and to the
35	Financial ImpactRevenueEstimating Conference if the sponsor
36	has:
37	(1) Registered as a political committee pursuant to s.
38	106.03;
39	(2) Submitted the ballot title, substance, and text of the
40	proposed revision or amendment to the Secretary of State
41	pursuant to ss. 100.371 and 101.161; and
42	(3) Obtained a letter from the Division of Elections
43	confirming that the sponsor has submitted to the appropriate
44	supervisors for verification, and the supervisors have verified,
45	forms signed and dated equal to 10 percent of the number of
46	electors statewide and in at least one-fourth of the
47	congressional districts required by s. 3, Art. XI of the State
48	Constitution.
49	Section 2. Section 16.061, Florida Statutes, as amended by
50	section 2 of chapter 2002-390, Laws of Florida, is amended to
51	read:
52	16.061 Initiative petitions.--
53	(1) The Attorney General shall, within 3530days after
54	receipt of a proposed revision or amendment to the State
55	Constitution by initiative petition from the Secretary of State,
56	petition the Supreme Court, requesting an advisory opinion
57	regarding the compliance of the text of the proposed amendment
58	or revision with s. 3, Art. XI of the State Constitution and the
59	compliance of the proposed ballot title and substance with s.
60	101.161 and the compliance of the financialfiscalimpact
61	statement with ss. 100.371 and 101.161. For all other proposed
62	revisions or amendments to the State Constitution, the Attorney
63	General shall, upon the Revenue Estimating Conference finalizing
64	the fiscal impact statement, petition the Supreme Court
65	requesting an advisory opinion regarding compliance of the text
66	of the fiscal impact statement with ss. 100.371, 100.381, and
67	101.161.The petition may enumerate any specific factual issues
68	which the Attorney General believes would require a judicial
69	determination.
70	(2) A copy of the petition shall be provided to the
71	Secretary of State and the principal officer of the sponsor.
72	(3) Any financialfiscalimpact statement that the court
73	finds not to be in accordance with s. 100.371, s. 100.381,or s.
74	101.161 shall be remanded solely to the Financial ImpactRevenue
75	Estimating Conference for redrafting.
76	Section 3. Subsection (6) of section 100.371, Florida
77	Statutes, is amended to read:
78	100.371 Initiatives; procedure for placement on ballot.--
79	(6)(a) Within 2545days after receipt of a proposed
80	revision or amendment to the State Constitution by initiative
81	petition from the Secretary of State or, for any initiative
82	approved by the Florida Supreme Court for the general election
83	ballot for 2002, within 45 days after the effective date of this
84	subsection, whichever occurs later, the Financial ImpactRevenue
85	Estimating Conference shall complete an analysis and financial
86	fiscalimpact statement to be placed on the ballot of the
87	estimated increase or decrease in any revenues or costs to state
88	or local governments resulting from the proposed initiative. The
89	Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall submit the
90	financial impact statement to the Attorney General and the
91	Secretary of State.
92	(b)1. The Financial ImpactRevenueEstimating Conference
93	shall provide an opportunity for any proponents or opponents of
94	the initiative to submit information and may solicit information
95	or analysis from any other entities or agencies, including the
96	Office of Economic and Demographic Research. All meetings of the
97	Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall be open to the
98	public as provided in chapter 286.
99	2. The principals of the Financial Impact Estimating
100	Conference shall be the Executive Office of the Governor, the
101	Executive Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the coordinator
102	of the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, and
103	professional staff of the Senate and House of Representatives
104	who have appropriate expertise in the subject matter of the
105	initiative, or their designees. A Financial Impact Estimating
106	Conference may be appointed for each initiative.
107	3.(b)1. Members of the Financial ImpactRevenueEstimating
108	Conference shall reach a consensus or majority agreement
109	concurrence on a clear and unambiguous financialfiscalimpact
110	statement, no more than 50 words in length. Nothing in this
111	subsection prohibits the Financial ImpactRevenueEstimating
112	Conference from setting forth a range of potential impacts in
113	the financialfiscal impact statement. Any financialfiscal
114	impact statement that a court finds not to be in accordance with
115	this section, s. 100.381,or s. 101.161 shall be remanded solely
116	to the Financial ImpactRevenueEstimating Conference for
117	redrafting. The Financial ImpactRevenueEstimating Conference
118	shall redraft the financialfiscalimpact statement within 15
119	days.
120	4.2. If the members of the Financial ImpactRevenue
121	Estimating Conference are unable to agree on the statement
122	required by this subsection, the following statement shall
123	appear on the ballot pursuant to s. 101.161(1): "The financial
124	fiscalimpact of this measure, if any, cannot be reasonably
125	determined at this time."
126	(c) The financialfiscalimpact statement must be
127	separately contained inand be set forth after the ballot
128	summary as required in s. 101.161(1).
129	(d)1. In addition to the financial impact statement
130	required by paragraph (a), the Financial Impact Estimating
131	Conference shall draft an initiative financial information
132	statement. The initiative financial information statement should
133	describe in greater detail than the financial impact statement
134	any projected increase or decrease in revenues, costs,
135	expenditures, or indebtedness that the state would likely
136	experience if the ballot measure were approved by state voters.
137	Where appropriate, the initiative financial information
138	statement may include both estimated dollar amounts and a
139	description placing the estimated dollar amounts into context.
140	The initiative financial information statement must include both
141	a summary of not more than 500 words and more detailed
142	information that includes the assumptions that were made to
143	develop the fiscal impacts, work papers, and any other
144	information deemed relevant by the Financial Impact Estimating
145	Conference.
146	2. The Department of State shall have printed, and shall
147	furnish to each supervisor of elections, a copy of the summary
148	from the initiative financial information statement. The
149	supervisors shall include the summary from the initiative
150	financial information statement with the publication or mailing
151	required by s. 101.20.
152	3. The Secretary of State and the Office of Economic and
153	Demographic Research shall make available on-line the entire
154	initiative financial information statement.
155	Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 101.161, Florida
156	Statutes, is amended to read:
157	101.161 Referenda; ballots.--
158	(1) Whenever a constitutional amendment or other public
159	measure is submitted to the vote of the people, the substance of
160	such amendment or other public measure shall be printed in clear
161	and unambiguous language on the ballot after the list of
162	candidates, followed by the word "yes" and also by the word
163	"no," and shall be styled in such a manner that a "yes" vote
164	will indicate approval of the proposal and a "no" vote will
165	indicate rejection. The wording of the substance of the
166	amendment or other public measure and the ballot title to appear
167	on the ballot shall be embodied in the joint resolution,
168	constitutional revision commission proposal, constitutional
169	convention proposal, taxation and budget reform commission
170	proposal, or enabling resolution or ordinance. Except for
171	amendments and ballot language proposed by joint resolution, the
172	substance of the amendment or other public measure shall be an
173	explanatory statement, not exceeding 75 words in length, of the
174	chief purpose of the measure. In addition, the ballot shall
175	include a separate financialfiscalimpact statement concerning
176	the measure prepared by the Financial ImpactRevenueEstimating
177	Conference in accordance with s. 100.371(6) or s. 100.381. The
178	ballot title shall consist of a caption, not exceeding 15 words
179	in length, by which the measure is commonly referred to or
180	spoken of.
181	Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
182	216.136, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
183	216.136 Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
184	principals.--
185	(3) REVENUE ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.--
186	(a) Duties.--The Revenue Estimating Conference shall
187	develop such official information with respect to anticipated
188	state and local government revenues as the conference determines
189	is needed for the state planning and budgeting system. Any
190	principal may request the conference to review and estimate
191	revenues for any trust fund. Also, the conference shall prepare
192	fiscal impact statements for constitutional amendments pursuant
193	to s. 100.371(6).
194	Section 6. Section 100.381, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
195	Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.