| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to paid petition circulators; creating s. |
| 3 | 100.372, F.S.; providing legislative intent; providing |
| 4 | definitions; requiring registration of paid petition |
| 5 | circulators and prohibiting the payment of compensation to |
| 6 | those not properly registered; establishing registration |
| 7 | and training requirements for paid petition circulators; |
| 8 | providing circumstances under which a registration becomes |
| 9 | invalid; providing application requirements; providing for |
| 10 | civil penalties; providing circumstances under which |
| 11 | initiative petitions shall be rejected; requiring |
| 12 | possession of evidence of registration; requiring |
| 13 | registration numbers to appear on certain forms; requiring |
| 14 | the Department of State to create a training program; |
| 15 | providing rulemaking authority; providing for a |
| 16 | registration fee; providing for disposition of funds; |
| 17 | providing for counting and verification of signatures |
| 18 | appearing on certain forms submitted before and after a |
| 19 | specified date; providing severability; providing an |
| 20 | effective date. |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Section 1. Section 100.372, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 25 | to read: |
| 26 | 100.372 Paid petition circulators.-- |
| 27 | (1) INTENT.--It is the intent of the Legislature to |
| 28 | protect the personal information and identities of Florida |
| 29 | residents signing initiative petitions in this state. As a |
| 30 | result of actions by various groups and individuals prior to the |
| 31 | 2008 elections, the Legislature determines it is necessary to |
| 32 | take measures to ensure the integrity of the system of |
| 33 | collecting and verifying petitions. Therefore, in order to |
| 34 | ensure an open, fair, and accountable process for obtaining |
| 35 | signatures on initiative petitions, to protect the personal |
| 36 | information and identities of Florida residents, and to restore |
| 37 | public confidence in the process of participatory democracy, the |
| 38 | state shall impose reasonable and necessary regulations on the |
| 39 | actions of individuals and groups seeking to engage in |
| 40 | initiative petition gathering activities. |
| 41 | (2) DEFINITIONS.--For purposes of this section: |
| 42 | (a) "Initiative sponsor" means either the political |
| 43 | committee registered pursuant to s. 106.03 that has submitted |
| 44 | the text of a proposed amendment to the Secretary of State or |
| 45 | any person as defined in s. 106.011 who has contributed in |
| 46 | excess of $10,000 to the registered political committee. |
| 47 | (b) "Paid petition circulator" means a petition circulator |
| 48 | who receives any compensation or other valuable consideration as |
| 49 | a direct or indirect consequence of the activities described in |
| 50 | paragraph (c), other than for the reimbursement of legitimate |
| 51 | out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the petition circulator in |
| 52 | the ordinary course of these activities, as specified by |
| 53 | department rule. |
| 54 | (c) "Petition circulator" means any person who, in a |
| 55 | direct face-to-face interaction, presents to another person for |
| 56 | his or her possible signature an initiative petition form. |
| 57 | (d) "Registrant" means a person who is registered with the |
| 58 | department as a paid petition circulator. |
| 59 | (3) PROHIBITION AGAINST UNREGISTERED PAID PETITION |
| 60 | CIRCULATING.--A person may not engage in any activities as a |
| 61 | paid petition circulator in this state without first registering |
| 62 | with the department. A person or entity may not provide |
| 63 | compensation or other valuable consideration as a direct or |
| 64 | indirect consequence of the activities described in paragraph |
| 65 | (2)(c) to a petition circulator who is not registered with the |
| 66 | department as a paid petition circulator. |
| 67 | (4) REGISTRATION OF PAID PETITION CIRCULATORS.-- |
| 68 | (a) A person shall not engage in activities as a paid |
| 69 | petition circulator unless the person: |
| 70 | 1. Has registered with the department in the manner |
| 71 | prescribed by this section and by rule of the department; |
| 72 | 2. Certifies under penalty of perjury that he or she has |
| 73 | not been convicted of a criminal offense in this state or any |
| 74 | other state or under federal law involving fraud, deceit, |
| 75 | forgery, perjury, or identity theft within the 5 years preceding |
| 76 | the date of the application; |
| 77 | 3. Completes the training program prescribed by rule of |
| 78 | the department; |
| 79 | 4. Is a legal resident of this state for purposes of s. |
| 80 | 97.041(1)(a)3.; and |
| 81 | 5. Does not receive compensation based upon the number of |
| 82 | initiative petition signatures obtained. |
| 83 | (b) If at any time a registrant no longer satisfies one or |
| 84 | more of the requirements set forth in this section, the |
| 85 | registrant's registration shall be immediately rendered invalid |
| 86 | by operation of law, the registrant shall immediately notify the |
| 87 | department, and the registrant shall immediately halt all |
| 88 | activities as a paid petition circulator. |
| 89 | (c) A person may apply to the department for the |
| 90 | registration required under paragraph (a). The application shall |
| 91 | include: |
| 92 | 1. The full name and any assumed name of the applicant. |
| 93 | 2. The residential street address of the applicant. |
| 94 | 3. An example of the signature of the applicant. |
| 95 | 4. Identification of the initiative petitions that the |
| 96 | applicant will be circulating. |
| 97 | 5. The name, street address, and telephone number of the |
| 98 | person or entity from which the applicant will receive |
| 99 | compensation as a direct or indirect consequence of the |
| 100 | activities described in paragraph (2)(c). |
| 101 | 6. A statement signed by the applicant acknowledging that |
| 102 | the applicant has read and understands state and federal law |
| 103 | applicable to the gathering of signatures on initiative petition |
| 104 | forms, as the law is summarized in the training program |
| 105 | established by the department. |
| 106 | 7. Evidence indicating that the applicant has completed |
| 107 | the training required by the department by rule. |
| 108 | 8. Three 2-inch by 2-inch passport-style photographs of |
| 109 | the applicant. |
| 110 | 9. A statement signed by an authorized representative of |
| 111 | an initiative sponsor of each petition for which the applicant |
| 112 | will gather signatures acknowledging that, pursuant to s. |
| 113 | 106.19(3), the sponsor will be liable for civil penalties under |
| 114 | s. 106.265 if the applicant violates this section or rules |
| 115 | adopted thereunder related to obtaining signed petitions. |
| 116 | 10. Any other information required by the department by |
| 117 | rule. |
| 118 | (d) If an applicant meets the requirements of paragraph |
| 119 | (a), no later than 2 business days after receipt of the |
| 120 | completed application, the department shall register the |
| 121 | applicant and assign the registrant a registration number. As a |
| 122 | condition of registration, the registrant shall notify the |
| 123 | department of any change in the information submitted pursuant |
| 124 | to this subsection within 1 business day after such change. |
| 125 | (5) SUBMISSION OF FORMS; EVIDENCE OF REGISTRATION.-- |
| 126 | (a) A person who submits to a supervisor of elections |
| 127 | initiative petition forms that have been circulated by a paid |
| 128 | petition circulator shall certify under penalty of perjury that |
| 129 | the signatures on such initiative petition forms were collected |
| 130 | or obtained in compliance with this section. A signature on an |
| 131 | initiative petition form is invalid, may not be verified by the |
| 132 | supervisor of elections, and may not be counted toward the |
| 133 | number of valid signatures required for ballot placement if such |
| 134 | signature was not gathered in full compliance with this section. |
| 135 | (b) A registrant shall carry evidence of registration with |
| 136 | the registrant while he or she is obtaining signatures for an |
| 137 | initiative petition and shall produce evidence of registration |
| 138 | upon request by any law enforcement officer. The evidence of |
| 139 | registration shall include the registrant's photograph and |
| 140 | registration number. The department, by rule, shall designate |
| 141 | the form of the evidence of registration. |
| 142 | (c) Every initiative petition form presented by a |
| 143 | registrant to a person for his or her possible signature must |
| 144 | contain the registrant's registration number as issued by the |
| 145 | department. |
| 146 | (6) TRAINING OF PAID PETITION CIRCULATORS.--The Department |
| 147 | of State shall create a training program to provide prospective |
| 148 | applicants with an overview and explanation of state and federal |
| 149 | law pertaining to initiative petition gathering. The department |
| 150 | shall ensure that prospective applicants who complete the |
| 151 | training program have been provided with an explanation of all |
| 152 | statutes, regulations, and court rulings that address initiative |
| 153 | petition gathering. The department may conduct training programs |
| 154 | through a secure Internet website and may contract with a third- |
| 155 | party vendor for the administration of the training program. |
| 156 | (7) RULEMAKING.--The Department of State shall adopt rules |
| 157 | pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this |
| 158 | section, including the adoption of a registration fee necessary |
| 159 | to cover the department's cost of registration, training, and |
| 160 | regulation. Funds collected from registrants shall be deposited |
| 161 | in the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of the Department of |
| 162 | State. |
| 163 | Section 2. Any signature gathered on a previously approved |
| 164 | initiative petition form that has been submitted for |
| 165 | verification before October 1, 2009, may be verified and counted |
| 166 | if otherwise valid. However, any signature gathered on an |
| 167 | initiative petition form that is submitted for verification on |
| 168 | or after that date may be verified and counted only if such form |
| 169 | complies with this act. |
| 170 | Section 3. If any provision of this act or its application |
| 171 | to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity |
| 172 | does not affect other provisions or applications of the act |
| 173 | which can be given effect without the invalid provision or |
| 174 | application, and to this end the provisions of this act are |
| 175 | severable. |
| 176 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |