| 1 | The Committee on Local Government & Veterans' Affairs recommends |
| 2 | the following: |
| 3 |
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| 4 | Committee Substitute |
| 5 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 6 | A bill to be entitled |
| 7 | An act relating to Lee County; amending the Lee County |
| 8 | Home Rule Charter to provide for the election of |
| 9 | commissioners from single districts; providing for the |
| 10 | creation of districts; providing an exception; providing |
| 11 | for a referendum; providing a ballot statement; providing |
| 12 | for the staggering of commissioner terms; providing an |
| 13 | effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Section 2.2 A. of Article II of the Lee County |
| 18 | Home Rule Charter is amended to read: |
| 19 | Section 2.2: Legislative Branch |
| 20 | A. The County Commission. The governing body of the |
| 21 | County shall be a board of County Commissioners composed of five |
| 22 | (5) members serving staggered terms of four (4) years. There |
| 23 | shall be one Commissioner for each of the (5) County Commission |
| 24 | districts established pursuant to general law and they shall be |
| 25 | elected in a partisan election by the electors of their |
| 26 | districts on a county-wide basis by the electors of the County. |
| 27 | Each County Commissioner during the term of office shall reside |
| 28 | in the district from which such County Commissioner ran for |
| 29 | office, provided that any County Commissioner who is removed |
| 30 | from a district by redistricting may continue to serve during |
| 31 | the balance of the term. Districts must be contiguous, separate, |
| 32 | and equal by population at the time of redistricting. |
| 33 | Section 2. In accordance with the requirements of section |
| 34 | 101.161, Florida Statutes, and section 3, the Supervisor of |
| 35 | Elections of Lee County shall place the title and substance of |
| 36 | the referendum on the ballot as follows: |
| 37 | ELECTION OF LEE COUNTY COMMISSION |
| 38 | MEMBERS TO PROVIDE FOR SINGLE-MEMBER REPRESENTATION |
| 39 | Shall the election of Lee County Commission members be changed |
| 40 | so that commissioners are elected by the people who live in |
| 41 | their districts, rather than countywide? |
| 42 | Yes |
| 43 | No |
| 44 | Section 3. The referendum shall be placed on the 2004 |
| 45 | general election ballot. Upon the approval of the countywide |
| 46 | referendum, all county commission seats will be up for election |
| 47 | in the year 2006 and staggered from that point on. |
| 48 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, |
| 49 | except that section 1 shall take effect only upon its approval |
| 50 | by a majority vote of those qualified electors of Lee County |
| 51 | voting in a referendum to be held by the Lee County Board of |
| 52 | County Commissioners in conjunction with the next regular |
| 53 | general, special, or other election, exclusive of primaries, in |
| 54 | accordance with the provisions of law relating to elections |
| 55 | currently in force and this act. |