HB 1743

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to financial impact statements for
3proposed constitutional amendments; amending s. 15.21,
4F.S.; requiring the Secretary of State to submit certain
5proposed constitutional amendments to the Financial Impact
6Estimating Conference; amending s. 16.061, F.S.; requiring
7the Attorney General to petition the Supreme Court for an
8advisory opinion of certain financial impact statements;
9deleting duties of the Attorney General with respect to
10constitutional amendments proposed other than by
11initiative; conforming provisions to changes made by the
12act; amending s. 100.371, F.S.; requiring the Financial
13Impact Estimating Conference to complete a financial
14impact statement for certain purposes; requiring the
15conference to submit the statement to the Attorney General
16and the Secretary of State; requiring meetings of the
17conference to be open to the public; establishing the
18Financial Impact Estimating Conference for certain
19purposes; specifying principals of the conference;
20revising criteria for financial impact statements;
21providing for redrafting of such statements by the
22conference under certain circumstances; requiring the
23conference to draft an initiative financial information
24statement; specifying statement requirements; requiring
25the Department of State to print and furnish copies of a
26summary of such statement to supervisors of elections;
27requiring supervisors of elections to include the summary
28with certain required mailings; requiring the Secretary of
29State and the Office of Economic and Demographic Research
30to make such statement available online; amending s.
31101.161, F.S.; requiring constitutional amendments
32proposed by initiative to include a financial impact
33statement following the ballot summary; amending s.
34216.136, F.S.; to conform; repealing s. 100.381, F.S.,
35relating to fiscal impact statements for constitutional
36amendments or revisions other than initiatives; providing
37an effective date.
38
39Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
40
41     Section 1.  Section 15.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to
42read:
43     15.21  Initiative petitions; s. 3, Art. XI, State
44Constitution.--The Secretary of State shall immediately submit
45an initiative petition to the Attorney General and to the
46Financial Impact Revenue Estimating Conference if the sponsor
47has:
48     (1)  Registered as a political committee pursuant to s.
49106.03;
50     (2)  Submitted the ballot title, substance, and text of the
51proposed revision or amendment to the Secretary of State
52pursuant to ss. 100.371 and 101.161; and
53     (3)  Obtained a letter from the Division of Elections
54confirming that the sponsor has submitted to the appropriate
55supervisors for verification, and the supervisors have verified,
56forms signed and dated equal to 10 percent of the number of
57electors statewide and in at least one-fourth of the
58congressional districts required by s. 3, Art. XI of the State
59Constitution.
60     Section 2.  Section 16.061, Florida Statutes, is amended to
61read:
62     16.061  Initiative petitions Proposed constitutional
63revisions or amendments.--
64     (1)  The Attorney General shall, within 30 days after
65receipt of a proposed revision or amendment to the State
66Constitution by initiative petition from the Secretary of State,
67petition the Supreme Court, requesting an advisory opinion
68regarding the compliance of the text of the proposed amendment
69or revision with s. 3, Art. XI of the State Constitution and the
70compliance of the proposed ballot title and substance with s.
71101.161. The Attorney General shall, within 30 days after
72receipt of the initiative petition's financial impact statement
73or revised financial impact statement from the Financial Impact
74Estimating Conference, or immediately after receipt if received
75less than 120 days before the election at which the question of
76ratifying the amendment will be presented, petition the Supreme
77Court requesting an advisory opinion regarding compliance of the
78statement with s. 100.371(6) and the compliance of the fiscal
79impact statement with ss. 100.371 and 101.161. For all other
80proposed revisions or amendments to the State Constitution, the
81Attorney General shall, upon the Revenue Estimating Conference
82finalizing the fiscal impact statement, petition the Supreme
83Court requesting an advisory opinion regarding compliance of the
84text of the fiscal impact statement with ss. 100.371, 100.381,
85and 101.161. The petition may enumerate any specific factual
86issues which the Attorney General believes would require a
87judicial determination.
88     (2)  A copy of the petition shall be provided to the
89Secretary of State and the principal officer of the sponsor.
90     (3)  Any financial fiscal impact statement that the court
91finds not to be in accordance with s. 100.371, s. 100.381, or s.
92101.161 shall be remanded solely to the Financial Impact Revenue
93Estimating Conference for redrafting.
94     Section 3.  Subsection (6) of section 100.371, Florida
95Statutes, is amended to read:
96     100.371  Initiatives; procedure for placement on ballot.--
97     (6)(a)  Within 45 days after receipt of a proposed revision
98or amendment to the State Constitution by initiative petition
99from the Secretary of State or, within 30 days after such
100receipt if receipt occurs 120 days or less before the election
101at which the question of ratifying the amendment will be
102presented for any initiative approved by the Florida Supreme
103Court for the general election ballot for 2002, within 45 days
104after the effective date of this subsection, whichever occurs
105later, the Financial Impact Revenue Estimating Conference shall
106complete an analysis and financial fiscal impact statement to be
107placed on the ballot of the estimated increase or decrease in
108any revenues or costs to state or local governments resulting
109from the proposed initiative. The Financial Impact Estimating
110Conference shall submit the financial impact statement to the
111Attorney General and the Secretary of State.
112     (b)1.  The Financial Impact Revenue Estimating Conference
113shall provide an opportunity for any proponents or opponents of
114the initiative to submit information and may solicit information
115or analysis from any other entities or agencies, including the
116Office of Economic and Demographic Research. All meetings of the
117Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall be open to the
118public as provided in chapter 286.
119     2.  The Financial Impact Estimating Conference is
120established to review, analyze, and estimate the financial
121impact of amendments to or revisions of the State Constitution
122proposed by initiative. The principals of the Financial Impact
123Estimating Conference shall be the Executive Office of the
124Governor, the coordinator of the Office of Economic and
125Demographic Research, and professional staff of the Senate and
126House of Representatives who have appropriate expertise in the
127subject matter of the initiative, or their designees. A
128Financial Impact Estimating Conference may be appointed for each
129initiative.
130     3.(b)1.  Principals Members of the Financial Impact Revenue
131Estimating Conference shall reach a consensus or majority
132concurrence on a clear and unambiguous financial fiscal impact
133statement, no more than 100 50 words in length. Nothing in this
134subsection prohibits the Financial Impact Revenue Estimating
135Conference from setting forth a range of potential impacts in
136the financial fiscal impact statement. Any financial fiscal
137impact statement that a court finds not to be in accordance with
138this section, s. 100.381, or s. 101.161 shall be remanded solely
139to the Financial Impact Revenue Estimating Conference for
140redrafting. The Financial Impact Revenue Estimating Conference
141shall redraft the financial fiscal impact statement within 15
142days.
143     4.2.  If the principals members of the Financial Impact
144Revenue Estimating Conference are unable to agree on the
145statement required by this subsection, the following statement
146shall appear on the ballot pursuant to s. 101.161(1): "The
147financial fiscal impact of this measure, if any, cannot be
148reasonably determined at this time."
149     (c)  The financial fiscal impact statement must be
150separately contained and be set forth after the ballot summary
151as required in s. 101.161(1).
152     (d)1.  In addition to the financial impact statement
153required by paragraph (a), the Financial Impact Estimating
154Conference shall draft an initiative financial information
155statement. The initiative financial information statement must
156describe in greater detail than the financial impact statement
157any projected increase or decrease in revenues, costs,
158expenditures, or indebtedness that the state would likely
159experience if the ballot measure were approved by state voters.
160Where appropriate, the initiative financial information
161statement may include both estimated dollar amounts and a
162description placing the estimated dollar amounts into context.
163The initiative financial information statement must include both
164a summary of not more than 500 words and more detailed
165information that includes the assumptions that were made to
166develop the financial impacts, work papers, and any other
167information deemed relevant by the Financial Impact Estimating
168Conference.
169     2.  The Department of State shall have printed, and shall
170furnish to each supervisor of elections, a copy of the summary
171from the initiative financial information statement. The
172supervisors shall include the summary from the initiative
173financial information statement with the publication or mailing
174required by s. 101.20.
175     3.  The Secretary of State and the Office of Economic and
176Demographic Research shall make available online the entire
177initiative financial information statement.
178     Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 101.161, Florida
179Statutes, is amended to read:
180     101.161  Referenda; ballots.--
181     (1)  Whenever a constitutional amendment or other public
182measure is submitted to the vote of the people, the substance of
183such amendment or other public measure shall be printed in clear
184and unambiguous language on the ballot after the list of
185candidates, followed by the word "yes" and also by the word
186"no," and shall be styled in such a manner that a "yes" vote
187will indicate approval of the proposal and a "no" vote will
188indicate rejection. The wording of the substance of the
189amendment or other public measure and the ballot title to appear
190on the ballot shall be embodied in the joint resolution,
191constitutional revision commission proposal, constitutional
192convention proposal, taxation and budget reform commission
193proposal, or enabling resolution or ordinance. Except for
194amendments and ballot language proposed by joint resolution, the
195substance of the amendment or other public measure shall be an
196explanatory statement, not exceeding 75 words in length, of the
197chief purpose of the measure. In addition, for any amendment
198proposed by initiative, the ballot shall include, following the
199ballot summary, a separate financial fiscal impact statement
200concerning the measure prepared by the Financial Impact Revenue
201Estimating Conference in accordance with s. 100.371(6) or s.
202100.381. The ballot title shall consist of a caption, not
203exceeding 15 words in length, by which the measure is commonly
204referred to or spoken of.
205     Section 5.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
206216.136, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
207     216.136  Consensus estimating conferences; duties and
208principals.--
209     (3)  REVENUE ESTIMATING CONFERENCE.--
210     (a)  Duties.--The Revenue Estimating Conference shall
211develop such official information with respect to anticipated
212state and local government revenues as the conference determines
213is needed for the state planning and budgeting system. Any
214principal may request the conference to review and estimate
215revenues for any trust fund. Also, the conference shall prepare
216fiscal impact statements for constitutional amendments pursuant
217to s. 100.371(6).
218     Section 6.  Section 100.381, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
219     Section 7.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.