| 1 | Representative Dorworth offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Between lines 973 and 974, insert: |
| 5 | Section 17. Section 100.372, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 6 | to read: |
| 7 | 100.372 Registration of paid petition circulators.-- |
| 8 | (1) For purposes of this code: |
| 9 | (a) "Compensation" means a payment, distribution, loan, |
| 10 | advance, reimbursement, deposit, salary, fee, retainer, or |
| 11 | anything of value provided or owed to a petition circulator, |
| 12 | directly or indirectly, by a person or entity for the activities |
| 13 | described in paragraph (b). |
| 14 | (b) "Petition circulator" means any person who, in the |
| 15 | context of a direct face-to-face interaction, presents to |
| 16 | another person for his or her possible signature a petition form |
| 17 | or petition-revocation form regarding ballot placement for an |
| 18 | initiative. |
| 19 | (c) "Paid petition circulator" means a petition circulator |
| 20 | who receives any compensation as a direct or indirect |
| 21 | consequence of the activities described in paragraph (b), other |
| 22 | than for the reimbursement of legitimate out-of-pocket expenses |
| 23 | incurred by the petition circulator in the ordinary course of |
| 24 | these activities, as specified by department rule. |
| 25 | (d) "Registrant" means a person who is registered with the |
| 26 | department as a paid petition circulator. |
| 27 | (2) A person may not engage in any activities as a paid |
| 28 | petition circulator in this state without first registering with |
| 29 | the department. A person or entity may not provide compensation |
| 30 | as a direct or indirect consequence of the activities described |
| 31 | in paragraph (1)(b) to a petition circulator who is not |
| 32 | registered with the department as a paid petition circulator. |
| 33 | (3) To register with the department as a paid petition |
| 34 | circulator, a person shall complete a declaration signed under |
| 35 | penalty of perjury by the paid petition circulator that sets |
| 36 | forth his or her full legal name and date of birth, the street |
| 37 | address at which he or she legally resides, and any other |
| 38 | information required by department rule and shall identify the |
| 39 | petitions or petition-revocation forms that he or she will be |
| 40 | circulating. Registration shall also include a statement |
| 41 | containing the original signature of a principal officer of the |
| 42 | sponsoring political committee that the registrant is authorized |
| 43 | to circulate petitions or petition-revocation forms on behalf of |
| 44 | the sponsor. Upon completion of the registration process, the |
| 45 | department shall issue to the registrant a unique registration |
| 46 | number. |
| 47 | (4) Every petition form or petition-revocation form |
| 48 | presented by a paid petition circulator to a person for his or |
| 49 | her possible signature must contain that paid petition |
| 50 | circulator's registration number as issued by the department. |
| 51 | (5) When a registrant ceases to circulate a particular |
| 52 | petition form or petition-revocation form, he or she shall |
| 53 | promptly send a written statement to the department indicating |
| 54 | that he or she is no longer circulating that petition or |
| 55 | petition-revocation form. Notwithstanding this requirement, the |
| 56 | department may remove the name of a registrant from the list of |
| 57 | registered petition circulators if the sponsor of a petition or |
| 58 | petition-revocation notifies the department that a person is no |
| 59 | longer authorized to circulate petitions on behalf of that |
| 60 | sponsor. |
| 61 | (6)(a) Except as provided in subsection (7), a person |
| 62 | engaged in any activities as a paid petition circulator who |
| 63 | fails to comply with this section or the rules adopted under |
| 64 | this section shall be subject to a fine of $1,000 per day for |
| 65 | each violation. |
| 66 | (b) A person or entity providing compensation as a direct |
| 67 | or indirect consequence of the activities described in paragraph |
| 68 | (1)(b) to a petition circulator who is not properly registered |
| 69 | with the department shall be subject to a fine that may not |
| 70 | exceed $50,000 for each petition circulator who is provided |
| 71 | compensation in violation of this section. |
| 72 | (c) The fines provided for in this section shall be |
| 73 | assessed by the department and deposited in the Grants and |
| 74 | Donations Trust Fund of the Department of State. |
| 75 | (7) Each registrant shall file a compensation report with |
| 76 | the department for each calendar quarter during any portion of |
| 77 | which the registrant was registered to circulate any petition or |
| 78 | petition-revocation form. The report shall include: |
| 79 | (a) The full name, business address, and telephone number |
| 80 | of the sponsor of each petition or petition-revocation for which |
| 81 | the registrant was provided compensation. |
| 82 | (b) Total compensation provided or owed to the registrant |
| 83 | as a direct or indirect consequence of the activities described |
| 84 | in paragraph (1)(b), reported in one of the following |
| 85 | categories: $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 |
| 89 | 45 days after the end of each reporting period. The four |
| 90 | reporting periods are from January 1 through March 31, April 1 |
| 91 | through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1 |
| 92 | through December 31, respectively. The reports shall be open to |
| 93 | public inspection. In the event a report is late, the person |
| 94 | designated to review the timeliness of reports shall immediately |
| 95 | notify the registrant as to the failure to timely file the |
| 96 | report and that a fine is being assessed for each late day. The |
| 97 | fine shall be $50 per day per report for each late day, not to |
| 98 | exceed $5,000 per report. Upon receipt of the report, the person |
| 99 | designated to review the timeliness of reports shall determine |
| 100 | the amount of the fine due based upon when a report is actually |
| 101 | received by the department. Such fine shall be paid within 30 |
| 102 | days after the notice of payment due is transmitted by the |
| 103 | department unless appeal is made to the department. The moneys |
| 104 | shall be deposited into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of |
| 105 | the Department of State. |
| 106 | (9) The department shall adopt rules in accordance with |
| 107 | ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the registration and |
| 108 | reporting requirements of this section. The rule may provide for |
| 109 | the payment of a fee by registrants that may not exceed the |
| 110 | amount necessary to cover the department's cost of implementing |
| 111 | this section. Funds collected from registrants shall be |
| 112 | deposited in the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of the |
| 113 | Department of State. |
| 114 | (10) Any signature gathered on a previously approved |
| 115 | initiative petition form or petition-revocation form that has |
| 116 | been submitted for verification before August 1, 2008, may be |
| 117 | verified and counted if otherwise valid. However, any initiative |
| 118 | petition form or petition-revocation form that is submitted for |
| 119 | verification on or after August 1, 2008, may be verified and |
| 120 | counted only if it complies with this section. |
| 121 |
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| 122 |
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| 123 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 124 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
| 125 | Remove line 59 and insert: |
| 126 | forms by rule: creating s. 100.372, F.S.; providing definitions; |
| 127 | requiring paid petition circulators to register with the |
| 128 | Department of State; prohibiting compensation to petition |
| 129 | circulators not registered with the department as paid petition |
| 130 | circulators; providing registration requirements; requiring a |
| 131 | paid petition circulator's registration number on petition |
| 132 | forms; requiring a registrant to submit a written statement to |
| 133 | department of cancellation upon termination of registration; |
| 134 | permitting the department to remove names of registrants from |
| 135 | the list of paid petition circulators under certain |
| 136 | circumstances; providing penalties; requiring the filing of a |
| 137 | quarterly compensation report; providing criteria for the |
| 138 | report; permitting public inspection of such reports; providing |
| 139 | penalties for failure to file timely reports; providing that |
| 140 | registration fees and fines shall be deposited into the Grants |
| 141 | and Donations Trust Fund; requiring the department to adopt |
| 142 | rules; providing circumstances under which signatures on |
| 143 | petition and petition-revocation forms submitted before a |
| 144 | specified date are deemed valid; amending s. 101.041, F.S.; |
| 145 | deleting a |