| 1 | Representative(s) Pickens offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove everything after the enacting clause and insert: |
| 5 | Section 1. Effective August 1, 2007, subsections (1), (3), |
| 6 | and (4) of section 99.097, Florida Statutes, are amended to |
| 7 | read: |
| 8 | 99.097 Verification of signatures on petitions.-- |
| 9 | (1) As determined by each supervisor, based upon local |
| 10 | conditions, the verifying checking of signatures names on |
| 11 | petitions may be based on the most inexpensive and |
| 12 | administratively feasible of either of the following methods of |
| 13 | verification: |
| 14 | (a) A name-by-name, signature-by-signature check of the |
| 15 | number of valid authorized signatures on the petitions; or |
| 16 | (b) A check of a random sample, as provided by the |
| 17 | Department of State, of names and signatures on the petitions. |
| 18 | The sample must be such that a determination can be made as to |
| 19 | whether or not the required number of valid signatures has have |
| 20 | been obtained with a reliability of at least 99.5 percent. Rules |
| 21 | and guidelines for this method of petition verification shall be |
| 22 | promulgated by the Department of State, which may include a |
| 23 | requirement that petitions bear an additional number of names |
| 24 | and signatures, not to exceed 15 percent of the names and valid |
| 25 | signatures otherwise required. If the petitions do not meet such |
| 26 | criteria, then the use of the verification method described in |
| 27 | this paragraph shall not be available to supervisors. |
| 28 |
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| 29 | Notwithstanding subsection (2) or any other provision of law, |
| 30 | petitions to secure ballot placement for an initiative and |
| 31 | petition revocations directed thereto pursuant to s. 100.371 |
| 32 | must be verified by the method provided in paragraph (a). |
| 33 | (3)(a) A signature name on a petition of a, which name |
| 34 | that is not in substantially the same form as a name on the |
| 35 | voter registration books, shall be counted as a valid signature |
| 36 | if, after comparing the signature on the petition with the |
| 37 | signature of the alleged signer as shown on the registration |
| 38 | books, the supervisor determines that the person signing the |
| 39 | petition and the person who registered to vote are one and the |
| 40 | same. In any situation in which this code requires the form of |
| 41 | the petition to be prescribed by the division, no signature |
| 42 | shall be counted toward the number of signatures required unless |
| 43 | it is on a petition form prescribed by the division. |
| 44 | (b) If a voter signs a petition and lists an address other |
| 45 | than the legal residence where the voter is registered, the |
| 46 | supervisor shall treat the signature as if the voter had listed |
| 47 | the address where the voter is registered. |
| 48 | (4)(a) The supervisor shall be paid in advance the sum of |
| 49 | 10 cents for each signature verified checked or the actual cost |
| 50 | of verifying checking such signature, whichever is less, by the |
| 51 | candidate or, in the case of a petition to have an issue placed |
| 52 | on the ballot by initiative, by the initiative sponsor person or |
| 53 | organization submitting the petition. However, if a candidate or |
| 54 | initiative sponsor, person, or organization seeking to have an |
| 55 | issue placed upon the ballot cannot pay such charges without |
| 56 | imposing an undue burden on personal resources or upon the |
| 57 | resources otherwise available to such candidate or initiative |
| 58 | sponsor, person, or organization, such candidate or initiative |
| 59 | sponsor, person, or organization shall, upon written |
| 60 | certification of such inability given under oath to the |
| 61 | supervisor, be entitled to have the signatures verified at no |
| 62 | charge. In the event a candidate or initiative sponsor, person, |
| 63 | or organization submitting a petition to have an issue placed |
| 64 | upon the ballot is entitled to have the signatures verified at |
| 65 | no charge, the supervisor of elections of each county in which |
| 66 | the signatures are verified at no charge shall submit the total |
| 67 | number of such signatures checked in the county to the Chief |
| 68 | Financial Officer no later than December 1 of the general |
| 69 | election year, and the Chief Financial Officer shall cause such |
| 70 | supervisor of elections to be reimbursed from the General |
| 71 | Revenue Fund in an amount equal to 10 cents for each signature |
| 72 | verified name checked or the actual cost of verifying checking |
| 73 | such signatures, whichever is less. In no event shall such |
| 74 | reimbursement of costs be deemed or applied as extra |
| 75 | compensation for the supervisor. Petitions shall be retained by |
| 76 | the supervisors for a period of 1 year following the election |
| 77 | for which the petitions were circulated. |
| 78 | (b) An initiative sponsor that has filed a certification |
| 79 | of undue burden under paragraph (a) may not provide compensation |
| 80 | to any paid petition circulator, as defined in s. 100.371, |
| 81 | unless the initiative sponsor first pays all supervisors for |
| 82 | each signature verified or reimburses the General Revenue Fund |
| 83 | for such costs. If an initiative sponsor subject to this |
| 84 | paragraph provides compensation to a paid petition circulator |
| 85 | before the date the initiative sponsor pays all supervisors for |
| 86 | each signature verified or reimburses the General Revenue Fund |
| 87 | for such costs, no signature on a petition circulated by the |
| 88 | paid petition circulator before that date may be counted toward |
| 89 | the number of valid signatures required for ballot placement |
| 90 | until the initiative sponsor pays all supervisors for each |
| 91 | signature verified or reimburses the General Revenue Fund for |
| 92 | such costs. |
| 93 | Section 2. Effective August 1, 2007, subsections (1) and |
| 94 | (3) of section 100.371, Florida Statutes, are amended, |
| 95 | subsection (6) is renumbered as subsection (10) and amended, and |
| 96 | new subsections (6) through (9) are added to that section, to |
| 97 | read: |
| 98 | 100.371 Initiatives; procedure for placement on ballot; |
| 99 | private property rights.-- |
| 100 | (1) Constitutional amendments proposed by initiative shall |
| 101 | be placed on the ballot for the general election, provided the |
| 102 | initiative petition has been filed with the Secretary of State |
| 103 | no later than February 1 of the year the general election is |
| 104 | held. A petition shall be deemed to be filed with the Secretary |
| 105 | of State upon the date the secretary determines that valid and |
| 106 | verified the petition forms have has been signed by the |
| 107 | constitutionally required number and distribution of electors |
| 108 | pursuant to this code, subject to the right of revocation |
| 109 | established in this section. |
| 110 | (3)(a) Each signature shall be dated when made and shall |
| 111 | be valid for a period of 4 years after following such date, |
| 112 | provided all other requirements of law are met. The sponsor |
| 113 | shall submit signed and dated forms to the appropriate |
| 114 | supervisor of elections for verification as to the number of |
| 115 | registered electors whose valid signatures appear thereon. The |
| 116 | supervisor shall promptly verify the signatures within 30 days |
| 117 | after receipt of the petition forms and upon payment of the fee |
| 118 | required by s. 99.097. The supervisor shall promptly record each |
| 119 | valid signature in the statewide voter registration system, in |
| 120 | the manner prescribed by the Secretary of State, the date each |
| 121 | form is received by the supervisor and the date the signature on |
| 122 | the form is verified as valid. The supervisor shall verify that |
| 123 | the signature on a form is valid only if the form complies with |
| 124 | the following: |
| 125 | 1. The form shall contain the original signature of the |
| 126 | purported elector. |
| 127 | 2. The purported elector shall accurately record on the |
| 128 | form the date on which he or she signed the form. |
| 129 | 3. The date the purported elector signed the form, as |
| 130 | recorded by the purported elector, shall be no more than 30 days |
| 131 | before the date the form is received by the supervisor of |
| 132 | elections. |
| 133 | 4. The form shall accurately set forth the purported |
| 134 | elector's name, legal residence address, county, and voter |
| 135 | registration number or date of birth. |
| 136 | 5. The purported elector shall be, at the time he or she |
| 137 | signs the form, a duly qualified and registered elector |
| 138 | authorized to vote in the county in which his or her signature |
| 139 | is submitted. |
| 140 | (b) The supervisor shall retain the signature forms for at |
| 141 | least 1 year after following the election in which the issue |
| 142 | appeared on the ballot or until the Division of Elections |
| 143 | notifies the supervisors of elections that the committee which |
| 144 | circulated the petition is no longer seeking to obtain ballot |
| 145 | position. |
| 146 | (6)(a) An elector's signature on a petition form may be |
| 147 | revoked by submitting to the appropriate supervisor of elections |
| 148 | a signed petition-revocation form adopted by rule for this |
| 149 | purpose by the division. |
| 150 | (b) The petition-revocation form and the manner in which |
| 151 | signatures are obtained, submitted, and verified shall be |
| 152 | subject to the same relevant requirements and timeframes as the |
| 153 | corresponding petition form and processes under this code and |
| 154 | shall be approved by the Secretary of State before any signature |
| 155 | on a petition-revocation form is obtained. |
| 156 | (c) Supervisors of elections shall provide petition- |
| 157 | revocation forms to the public at all main and branch offices. |
| 158 | (d) The petition-revocation form shall be filed with the |
| 159 | supervisor of elections by February 1 preceding the next general |
| 160 | election or, if the initiative amendment is not certified for |
| 161 | ballot position in that election, by February 1 preceding the |
| 162 | next successive general election. The supervisor of elections |
| 163 | shall promptly verify the signature on the petition-revocation |
| 164 | form and process such revocation upon payment, in advance, of a |
| 165 | fee of 10 cents or the actual cost of verifying such signature, |
| 166 | whichever is less. The supervisor shall promptly record each |
| 167 | valid and verified petition-revocation form in the statewide |
| 168 | voter registration system in the manner prescribed by the |
| 169 | Secretary of State. |
| 170 | (7)(a) If a person is presented with a petition form or |
| 171 | petition-revocation form for his or her possible signature by a |
| 172 | petition circulator, the person shall record this fact on the |
| 173 | form and the name and address of the petition circulator shall |
| 174 | legibly appear on the form before the signature on the form may |
| 175 | be verified by the supervisor. For purposes of this subsection, |
| 176 | the term "petition circulator" means any person who, in the |
| 177 | context of a direct face-to-face conversation, presents to |
| 178 | another person for his or her possible signature a petition form |
| 179 | or petition-revocation form regarding ballot placement for an |
| 180 | initiative. |
| 181 | (b) A paid petition circulator shall, when engaged in the |
| 182 | activities of a petition circulator described in paragraph (a), |
| 183 | wear a prominent badge, in a form and manner prescribed by rule |
| 184 | by the division, identifying him or her as a paid petition |
| 185 | circulator. For purposes of this subsection, the term "paid |
| 186 | petition circulator" means a petition circulator who receives |
| 187 | any compensation as a direct or indirect consequence of the |
| 188 | activities of a petition circulator described in paragraph (a). |
| 189 | (c) No petition circulator may receive, and no person may |
| 190 | provide to a petition circulator, compensation that is based, |
| 191 | directly or indirectly, upon the number of signatures obtained |
| 192 | on petition or petition-revocation forms. |
| 193 | (8) A signed petition form or petition-revocation form |
| 194 | regarding ballot placement for an initiative that does not fully |
| 195 | comply with the applicable provisions of this code or the rules |
| 196 | adopted under this code, or that was obtained in violation of |
| 197 | the applicable provisions of this code or the rules adopted |
| 198 | under this code, may be verified by the supervisor of elections |
| 199 | and counted toward the number of valid signatures required for |
| 200 | ballot placement only if those deficiencies or violations are |
| 201 | corrected prior to the date specified in subsection (1). |
| 202 | (9) No provision of this code shall be deemed to prohibit |
| 203 | a private person exercising lawful control over privately owned |
| 204 | property, including property held open to the public for the |
| 205 | purposes of a commercial enterprise, from excluding from such |
| 206 | property persons seeking to engage in activity supporting or |
| 207 | opposing initiative amendments. |
| 208 | (10)(6) The Department of State may adopt rules in |
| 209 | accordance with s. 120.54 to carry out the provisions of |
| 210 | subsections (1)-(9) (1)-(5). |
| 211 | Section 3. Any signature gathered on a previously approved |
| 212 | initiative petition form that has been submitted for |
| 213 | verification before August 1, 2007, may be verified and counted, |
| 214 | if otherwise valid. However, any initiative petition form that |
| 215 | is submitted for verification on or after that date may be |
| 216 | verified and counted only if it complies with this act and has |
| 217 | been approved by the Secretary of State before obtaining elector |
| 218 | signatures. |
| 219 | Section 4. If any provision of this act or its application |
| 220 | to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity |
| 221 | does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that |
| 222 | can be given effect without the invalid provision or |
| 223 | application, and to this end the provisions of this act are |
| 224 | severable. |
| 225 | Section 5. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this |
| 226 | act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |
| 227 |
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| 228 |
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| 229 | ======= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ========== |
| 230 | Remove the entire title and insert: |
| 231 | A bill to be entitled |
| 232 | An act relating to petition procedures and standards; |
| 233 | amending s. 99.097; revising terminology relating to |
| 234 | verification of signatures on petitions; requiring name- |
| 235 | by-name, signature-by-signature verification of initiative |
| 236 | petitions and related petition revocations; providing |
| 237 | requirements for initiative sponsors filing a certificate |
| 238 | of undue burden; amending s. 100.371, F.S.; revising |
| 239 | procedures for placing an initiative on the ballot; |
| 240 | providing requirements for information to be contained in |
| 241 | petition forms; providing procedure for revocation of a |
| 242 | petition signature; providing regulation of initiative |
| 243 | petition circulators; providing private property rights |
| 244 | relating to activity on the property that supports or |
| 245 | opposes ballot initiatives; providing for verification of |
| 246 | signatures gathered before the effective date of the |
| 247 | changes made by this act to ss. 99.097 and 100.371, F.S.; |
| 248 | providing for severability; providing an effective date. |