Amendment
Bill No. CS/HB 1201
Amendment No. 659453
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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1Representative Dorworth offered the following:
2
3     Amendment (with title amendment)
4     Between lines 973 and 974, insert:
5     Section 17.  Section 100.372, Florida Statutes, is created
6to read:
7     100.372  Registration of paid petition circulators.--
8     (1)  For purposes of this code:
9     (a)  "Compensation" means a payment, distribution, loan,
10advance, reimbursement, deposit, salary, fee, retainer, or
11anything of value provided or owed to a petition circulator,
12directly or indirectly, by a person or entity for the activities
13described in paragraph (b).
14     (b)  "Petition circulator" means any person who, in the
15context of a direct face-to-face interaction, presents to
16another person for his or her possible signature a petition form
17or petition-revocation form regarding ballot placement for an
18initiative.
19     (c)  "Paid petition circulator" means a petition circulator
20who receives any compensation as a direct or indirect
21consequence of the activities described in paragraph (b), other
22than for the reimbursement of legitimate out-of-pocket expenses
23incurred by the petition circulator in the ordinary course of
24these activities, as specified by department rule.
25     (d)  "Registrant" means a person who is registered with the
26department as a paid petition circulator.
27     (2)  A person may not engage in any activities as a paid
28petition circulator in this state without first registering with
29the department. A person or entity may not provide compensation
30as a direct or indirect consequence of the activities described
31in paragraph (1)(b) to a petition circulator who is not
32registered with the department as a paid petition circulator.
33     (3)  To register with the department as a paid petition
34circulator, a person shall complete a declaration signed under
35penalty of perjury by the paid petition circulator that sets
36forth his or her full legal name and date of birth, the street
37address at which he or she legally resides, and any other
38information required by department rule and shall identify the
39petitions or petition-revocation forms that he or she will be
40circulating. Registration shall also include a statement
41containing the original signature of a principal officer of the
42sponsoring political committee that the registrant is authorized
43to circulate petitions or petition-revocation forms on behalf of
44the sponsor. Upon completion of the registration process, the
45department shall issue to the registrant a unique registration
46number.
47     (4)  Every petition form or petition-revocation form
48presented by a paid petition circulator to a person for his or
49her possible signature must contain that paid petition
50circulator's registration number as issued by the department.
51     (5)  When a registrant ceases to circulate a particular
52petition form or petition-revocation form, he or she shall
53promptly send a written statement to the department indicating
54that he or she is no longer circulating that petition or
55petition-revocation form. Notwithstanding this requirement, the
56department may remove the name of a registrant from the list of
57registered petition circulators if the sponsor of a petition or
58petition-revocation notifies the department that a person is no
59longer authorized to circulate petitions on behalf of that
60sponsor.
61     (6)(a)  Except as provided in subsection (7), a person
62engaged in any activities as a paid petition circulator who
63fails to comply with this section or the rules adopted under
64this section shall be subject to a fine of $1,000 per day for
65each violation.
66     (b)  A person or entity providing compensation as a direct
67or indirect consequence of the activities described in paragraph
68(1)(b) to a petition circulator who is not properly registered
69with the department shall be subject to a fine that may not
70exceed $50,000 for each petition circulator who is provided
71compensation in violation of this section.
72     (c)  The fines provided for in this section shall be
73assessed by the department and deposited in the Grants and
74Donations Trust Fund of the Department of State.
75     (7)  Each registrant shall file a compensation report with
76the department for each calendar quarter during any portion of
77which the registrant was registered to circulate any petition or
78petition-revocation form. The report shall include:
79     (a)  The full name, business address, and telephone number
80of the sponsor of each petition or petition-revocation for which
81the registrant was provided compensation.
82     (b)  Total compensation provided or owed to the registrant
83as a direct or indirect consequence of the activities described
84in paragraph (1)(b), reported in one of the following
85categories:  $0; $1 to $5,999; $6,000 to $11,999; $12,000 to
86$17,999; $18,000 to $23,999; $24,000 to $29,999; $30,000 to
87$35,999; and $36,000 or more.
88     (8)  The compensation reports shall be filed no later than
8945 days after the end of each reporting period. The four
90reporting periods are from January 1 through March 31, April 1
91through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1
92through December 31, respectively. The reports shall be open to
93public inspection. In the event a report is late, the person
94designated to review the timeliness of reports shall immediately
95notify the registrant as to the failure to timely file the
96report and that a fine is being assessed for each late day. The
97fine shall be $50 per day per report for each late day, not to
98exceed $5,000 per report. Upon receipt of the report, the person
99designated to review the timeliness of reports shall determine
100the amount of the fine due based upon when a report is actually
101received by the department. Such fine shall be paid within 30
102days after the notice of payment due is transmitted by the
103department unless appeal is made to the department. The moneys
104shall be deposited into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of
105the Department of State.
106     (9)  The department shall adopt rules in accordance with
107ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the registration and
108reporting requirements of this section. The rule may provide for
109the payment of a fee by registrants that may not exceed the
110amount necessary to cover the department's cost of implementing
111this section. Funds collected from registrants shall be
112deposited in the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of the
113Department of State.
114     (10)  Any signature gathered on a previously approved
115initiative petition form or petition-revocation form that has
116been submitted for verification before August 1, 2008, may be
117verified and counted if otherwise valid. However, any initiative
118petition form or petition-revocation form that is submitted for
119verification on or after August 1, 2008, may be verified and
120counted only if it complies with this section.
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T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T
125     Remove line 59 and insert:
126forms by rule: creating s. 100.372, F.S.; providing definitions;
127requiring paid petition circulators to register with the
128Department of State; prohibiting compensation to petition
129circulators not registered with the department as paid petition
130circulators; providing registration requirements; requiring a
131paid petition circulator's registration number on petition
132forms; requiring a registrant to submit a written statement to
133department of cancellation upon termination of registration;
134permitting the department to remove names of registrants from
135the list of paid petition circulators under certain
136circumstances; providing penalties; requiring the filing of a
137quarterly compensation report; providing criteria for the
138report; permitting public inspection of such reports; providing
139penalties for failure to file timely reports; providing that
140registration fees and fines shall be deposited into the Grants
141and Donations Trust Fund; requiring the department to adopt
142rules; providing circumstances under which signatures on
143petition and petition-revocation forms submitted before a
144specified date are deemed valid; amending s. 101.041, F.S.;
145deleting a


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