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A bill to be entitled |
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An act relating to Lee County; amending the Lee County |
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Home Rule Charter to provide for the election of |
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commissioners from single districts; providing for the |
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creation of districts; providing an exception; providing |
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for a referendum; providing a ballot statement; providing |
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for the staggering of commissioner terms; providing an |
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effective date. |
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
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Section 1. Section 2.2 A. of Article II of the Lee County |
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Home Rule Charter is amended to read: |
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Section 2.2: Legislative Branch |
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A. The County Commission. The governing body of the |
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County shall be a board of County Commissioners composed of five |
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(5) members serving staggered terms of four (4) years. There |
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shall be one Commissioner for each of the (5) County Commission |
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districts established pursuant to general law and they shall be |
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elected in a partisan election by the electors of their |
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districts on a county-wide basis by the electors of the County. |
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Each County Commissioner during the term of office shall reside |
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in the district from which such County Commissioner ran for |
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office, provided that any County Commissioner who is removed |
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from a district by redistricting may continue to serve during |
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the balance of the term. Districts must be contiguous, separate, |
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and equal by population at the time of redistricting.
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Section 2. In accordance with the requirements of section |
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101.161, Florida Statutes, and section 3, the Supervisor of |
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Elections of Lee County shall place the title and substance of |
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the referendum on the ballot as follows:
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ELECTION OF LEE COUNTY COMMISSION
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MEMBERS TO PROVIDE FOR SINGLE-MEMBER REPRESENTATION
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Shall the election of Lee County Commission members be changed |
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so that commissioners are elected by the people who live in |
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their districts, rather than countywide?
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Yes
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No
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Section 3. If for any reason there is a countywide |
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election prior to the 2004 general election and 2004 primaries, |
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the vote for this act will occur on this earlier date. If it is |
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prior to the qualifying period for the 2004 general election, |
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all county commission seats will be up for election in the year |
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2004 and staggered from that point on. If the next countywide |
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election is in 2004, all county commission seats will be up for |
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election in the year 2006 and staggered from that point on.
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Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, |
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except that section 1 shall take effect only upon its approval |
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by a majority vote of those qualified electors of Lee County |
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voting in a referendum to be held by the Lee County Board of |
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County Commissioners in conjunction with the next regular |
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general, special, or other election, exclusive of primaries, in |
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accordance with the provisions of law relating to elections |
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currently in force and this act. |
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