Senate Bill sb0900

    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 900

    By Senator Posey





    24-800-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to initiative petitions;

  3         amending s. 100.371, F.S.; prescribing

  4         information that must be on a petition

  5         initiative form, and conditions with which the

  6         elector signing it must comply, before the form

  7         may be verified; providing procedures for

  8         revocation of a signature on a petition form;

  9         requiring certain information relating to

10         petition circulators, as defined, to be

11         included on forms; requiring paid petition

12         circulators, as defined, to identify themselves

13         as such; prohibiting a supervisor from counting

14         a petition or petition-revocation form that

15         does not comply with statutory requirements;

16         providing for rules; providing for verification

17         of certain petition forms; providing

18         severability; providing an effective date.

19  

20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

21  

22         Section 1.  Subsections (1) and (3) of section 100.371,

23  Florida Statutes, are amended, present subsection (6) of that

24  section is renumbered as subsection (9) and amended, and new

25  subsections (6), (7), and (8) are added to that section to

26  read:

27         100.371  Initiatives; procedure for placement on

28  ballot.--

29         (1)  Constitutional amendments proposed by initiative

30  shall be placed on the ballot for the general election,

31  provided the initiative petition has been filed with the

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 900
    24-800-07




 1  Secretary of State no later than February 1 of the year the

 2  general election is held. A petition shall be deemed to be

 3  filed with the Secretary of State upon the date the secretary

 4  determines that valid and verified the petition forms have has

 5  been signed by the constitutionally required number and

 6  distribution of electors pursuant to the election code,

 7  subject to the right of revocation established in this

 8  section.

 9         (3)  Each signature shall be dated when made and shall

10  be valid for a period of 4 years following such date, provided

11  all other requirements of law are met. The sponsor shall

12  submit signed and dated forms to the appropriate supervisor of

13  elections for verification as to the number of registered

14  electors whose valid signatures appear thereon. The supervisor

15  shall promptly verify the signatures upon payment of the fee

16  required by s. 99.097. The supervisor shall promptly record

17  each valid signature in the statewide voter registration

18  system, in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of State,

19  the date each form is received by the supervisor and the date

20  the signature on the form is verified as valid. The supervisor

21  may verify that the signature on a form is valid only if:

22         (a)  The form contains the original signature of the

23  purported elector.

24         (b)  The purported elector has accurately recorded on

25  the form the date on which he or she signed the form.

26         (c)  The date the elector signed the form, as recorded

27  by the elector, is no more than 20 days before the date the

28  form is received by the supervisor of elections.

29         (d)  The form accurately sets forth the purported

30  elector's name, street address, county, and voter registration

31  number or date of birth.

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 900
    24-800-07




 1         (e)  The purported elector is, at the time he or she

 2  signs the form, a duly qualified and registered elector

 3  authorized to vote in the county in which his or her signature

 4  is submitted.

 5  

 6  The supervisor shall retain the signature forms for at least 1

 7  year following the election in which the issue appeared on the

 8  ballot or until the Division of Elections notifies the

 9  supervisors of elections that the committee which circulated

10  the petition is no longer seeking to obtain ballot position.

11         (6)  An elector's signature on a petition form may be

12  revoked by submitting to the appropriate supervisor of

13  elections a signed petition-revocation form adopted by rule

14  for this purpose by the division. The petition-revocation form

15  is subject to the same relevant requirements as the

16  corresponding petition form under the election code and must

17  be approved by the Secretary of State before any signature is

18  obtained. The petition-revocation form shall be filed with the

19  supervisor of elections no later than the February 1 preceding

20  the next general election or, if the initiative amendment is

21  not certified for ballot position in that election, no later

22  than the February 1 preceding the next successive general

23  election. The supervisor of elections shall promptly verify

24  the signature on the petition-revocation form and process such

25  revocation upon payment, in advance, of a fee of 10 cents or

26  the actual cost of verifying such signature, whichever is

27  less. The supervisor shall promptly record each valid and

28  verified petition-revocation form in the statewide voter

29  registration system in the manner prescribed by the Secretary

30  of State.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 900
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 1         (7)(a)  If a person is presented with a petition form

 2  or petition-revocation form for his or her possible signature

 3  by a petition circulator, the person must record this fact on

 4  the form, and the name and address of the petition circulator

 5  must legibly appear on the form before the signature on the

 6  form may be verified by the supervisor. For purposes of this

 7  subsection, the term "petition circulator" means any person

 8  who, in the context of a direct face-to-face conversation,

 9  presents to another person for his or her possible signature a

10  petition form or petition-revocation form regarding ballot

11  placement for an initiative.

12         (b)  A paid petition circulator shall, when engaged in

13  the activities described in paragraph (a), wear a prominent

14  badge, in a form and manner prescribed by rule by the

15  division, identifying him or her as a "PAID PETITION

16  CIRCULATOR." For purposes of this subsection, the term "paid

17  petition circulator" means a petition circulator who receives

18  any compensation as a direct or indirect consequence of these

19  activities.

20         (8)  A signed petition form or petition-revocation form

21  regarding ballot placement for an initiative which does not

22  fully comply with the applicable provisions of the elections

23  code and the rules adopted thereunder, or which was obtained

24  in violation of the applicable provisions of the elections

25  code or the rules thereunder, may be verified by the

26  supervisor of elections and counted toward the number of valid

27  signatures required for ballot placement only after those

28  deficiencies or violations are corrected.

29         (9)(6)  The Department of State may adopt rules in

30  accordance with s. 120.54 to carry out the provisions of

31  subsections (1)-(8) (1)-(5).

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    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 900
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 1         Section 2.  Any signature gathered on a previously

 2  approved initiative petition form that has been submitted for

 3  verification before August 1, 2008, may be verified and

 4  counted if otherwise valid. However, any initiative petition

 5  form that is submitted for verification on or after that date

 6  may be verified and counted only if it complies with this act

 7  and has been approved by the Secretary of State before

 8  obtaining elector signatures.

 9         Section 3.  If any provision of this act or its

10  application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the

11  invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of

12  the act which can be given effect without the invalid

13  provision or application, and to this end the provisions of

14  this act are declared severable.

15         Section 4.  Except as otherwise expressly provided in

16  this act, this act shall take effect August 1, 2008.

17  

18            *****************************************

19                          SENATE SUMMARY

20    Provides requirements for initiative petition forms,
      including information that must be included on the form
21    before it may be verified and counted and qualifications
      of electors signing such forms. Provides for an elector's
22    signature to be revoked. Requires a "paid petition
      circulator" to identify himself or herself as such.
23    Provides for verification of and counting a signature on
      a previously approved form that has been submitted for
24    verification before the effective date of the act.

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