| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the registration of paid petition |
| 3 | circulators; creating s. 100.372, F.S.; providing |
| 4 | definitions; requiring paid petition circulators to |
| 5 | register with the Department of State; prohibiting |
| 6 | compensation to petition circulators not registered with |
| 7 | the department as paid petition circulators; providing |
| 8 | registration qualifications and criteria; requiring a paid |
| 9 | petition circulator's registration number on petition |
| 10 | forms; providing for invalidity of certain petition |
| 11 | signatures; providing for validity of forms submitted |
| 12 | before a certain date; authorizing the department to adopt |
| 13 | rules; providing for severability; providing an effective |
| 14 | date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Section 100.372, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 19 | to read: |
| 20 | 100.372 Registration of paid petition circulators.-- |
| 21 | (1) For purposes of this code: |
| 22 | (a) "Petition circulator" means any person who, in the |
| 23 | context of a direct face-to-face interaction, presents to |
| 24 | another person for his or her possible signature a petition form |
| 25 | or petition-revocation form regarding ballot placement for an |
| 26 | initiative. |
| 27 | (b) "Paid petition circulator" means a petition circulator |
| 28 | who receives any compensation as a direct or indirect |
| 29 | consequence of the activities described in paragraph (a), other |
| 30 | than for the reimbursement of legitimate out-of-pocket expenses |
| 31 | incurred by the petition circulator in the ordinary course of |
| 32 | these activities, as specified by department rule. |
| 33 | (c) "Registrant" means a person who is registered with the |
| 34 | department as a paid petition circulator. |
| 35 | (2) A person may not engage in any activities as a paid |
| 36 | petition circulator in this state without first registering with |
| 37 | the department. A person or entity may not provide compensation |
| 38 | as a direct or indirect consequence of the activities described |
| 39 | in paragraph (1)(a) to a petition circulator who is not |
| 40 | registered with the department as a paid petition circulator. |
| 41 | (3) A person may not be registered as a paid petition |
| 42 | circulator by the department unless the person is: |
| 43 | (a) A citizen of the United States for purposes of s. |
| 44 | 97.041(1)(a)2.; |
| 45 | (b) A legal resident of this state for purposes of s. |
| 46 | 97.041(1)(a)3.; and |
| 47 | (c) Not a convicted felon ineligible to register to vote |
| 48 | or vote pursuant to s. 97.041(2)(b). |
| 49 | (4) If, at any time, a registrant no longer satisfies one |
| 50 | or more of the requirements set forth in subsection (3), the |
| 51 | registrant's registration shall be immediately rendered invalid |
| 52 | by operation of law, the registrant shall immediately notify the |
| 53 | department, and the registrant shall immediately halt all |
| 54 | activities as a paid petition circulator. |
| 55 | (5) To register with the department as a paid petition |
| 56 | circulator, a person shall provide his or her full legal name; |
| 57 | the street address at which the person legally resides; the |
| 58 | person's telephone number; the person's date of birth; a copy of |
| 59 | a valid government-issued photo identification card; the name, |
| 60 | street address, and telephone number of the person or entity |
| 61 | from which the person will receive compensation as a direct or |
| 62 | indirect consequence of the activities described in paragraph |
| 63 | (1)(a); identification of the petition forms or petition- |
| 64 | revocation forms that the person will be circulating; and any |
| 65 | other information required by department rule. As a condition of |
| 66 | registration, the registrant shall notify the department of any |
| 67 | change in the information submitted pursuant to this subsection |
| 68 | within 1 business day after such change. |
| 69 | (6) A registrant shall not circulate any petition forms or |
| 70 | petition-revocation forms as a paid petition circulator until |
| 71 | the registrant has registered those forms with the department. |
| 72 | (7) Every petition form or petition-revocation form |
| 73 | presented by a paid petition circulator to a person for his or |
| 74 | her possible signature must contain that paid petition |
| 75 | circulator's registration number, as issued by the department. |
| 76 | (8) A signature on a petition form or petition-revocation |
| 77 | form regarding ballot placement for an initiative is invalid, |
| 78 | may not be verified by the supervisor of elections, and may not |
| 79 | be counted toward the number of valid signatures required for |
| 80 | ballot placement if such signature was not gathered in full |
| 81 | compliance with this section. |
| 82 | (9) Any signature gathered on a previously approved |
| 83 | initiative petition form or petition-revocation form that has |
| 84 | been submitted for verification before August 1, 2008, may be |
| 85 | verified and counted if otherwise valid. However, any initiative |
| 86 | petition form or petition-revocation form that is submitted for |
| 87 | verification on or after August 1, 2008, may be verified and |
| 88 | counted only if it complies with this section. |
| 89 | (10) The Department of State may adopt rules in accordance |
| 90 | with ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to carry out the provisions of |
| 91 | this section, including the adoption of a registration fee not |
| 92 | exceeding the amount necessary to cover the department's cost of |
| 93 | registration and regulation. |
| 94 | Section 2. If any provision of this act or its application |
| 95 | to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity |
| 96 | does not affect other provisions or applications of the act |
| 97 | which can be given effect without the invalid provision or |
| 98 | application, and to this end the provisions of this act are |
| 99 | severable. |
| 100 | Section 3. This act shall take effect August 1, 2008. |