Amendment
Bill No. CS/CS/HB 1355

Amendment No. 186541

CHAMBER ACTION
Senate		House
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1	Representative Pafford offered the following:
2
3	Amendment (with title amendment)
4	Remove lines 508-615 and insert:
5	(3)  A third-party voter registration organization shall
6	turn in each voter registration application received from its
7	authorized registration agents regardless of whether the third-
8	party voter registration organization believes the voter
9	registration application may be invalid or incomplete. If, when
10	submitting a voter registration application, a third-party voter
11	registration organization also submits information stating why
12	the organization believes the application may be invalid or
13	incomplete, the third-party voter registration organization
14	shall be presumed to be in compliance with this section.
15	(1)  Prior to engaging in any voter registration
16	activities, a third-party voter registration organization shall
17	name a registered agent in the state and submit to the division,
18	in a form adopted by the division, the name of the registered
19	agent and the name of those individuals responsible for the day-
20	to-day operation of the third-party voter registration
21	organization, including, if applicable, the names of the
22	entity's board of directors, president, vice president, managing
23	partner, or such other individuals engaged in similar duties or
24	functions. On or before the 15th day after the end of each
25	calendar quarter, each third-party voter registration
26	organization shall submit to the division a report providing the
27	date and location of any organized voter registration drives
28	conducted by the organization in the prior calendar quarter.
29	(2)  The failure to submit the information required by
30	subsection (1) does not subject the third-party voter
31	registration organization to any civil or criminal penalties for
32	such failure, and the failure to submit such information is not
33	a basis for denying such third-party voter registration
34	organization with copies of voter registration application
35	forms.
36	(4)(a)(3)  A third-party voter registration organization
37	that collects voter registration applications serves as a
38	fiduciary to the applicant, ensuring that any voter registration
39	application entrusted to the third-party voter registration
40	organization, irrespective of party affiliation, race,
41	ethnicity, or gender, shall be promptly delivered to the
42	division or the supervisor of elections within 48 hours after
43	the applicant completes it or the next business day if the
44	appropriate office is closed for that 48-hour period. If a voter
45	registration application collected by any third-party voter
46	registration organization is not promptly delivered to the
47	division or supervisor of elections, the third-party voter
48	registration organization is shall be liable for the following
49	fines:
50	1.(a)  A fine in the amount of $50 for each application
51	received by the division or the supervisor of elections more
52	than 48 hours 10 days after the applicant delivered the
53	completed voter registration application to the third-party
54	voter registration organization or any person, entity, or agent
55	acting on its behalf or the next business day, if the office is
56	closed. A fine in the amount of $250 for each application
57	received if the third-party voter registration organization or
58	person, entity, or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully.
59	2.(b)  A fine in the amount of $100 for each application
60	collected by a third-party voter registration organization or
61	any person, entity, or agent acting on its behalf, before prior
62	to book closing for any given election for federal or state
63	office and received by the division or the supervisor of
64	elections after the book-closing book closing deadline for such
65	election. A fine in the amount of $500 for each application
66	received if the third-party registration organization or person,
67	entity, or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully.
68	3.(c)  A fine in the amount of $500 for each application
69	collected by a third-party voter registration organization or
70	any person, entity, or agent acting on its behalf, which is not
71	submitted to the division or supervisor of elections. A fine in
72	the amount of $1,000 for any application not submitted if the
73	third-party voter registration organization or person, entity,
74	or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully.
75
76	The aggregate fine pursuant to this paragraph subsection which
77	may be assessed against a third-party voter registration
78	organization, including affiliate organizations, for violations
79	committed in a calendar year is shall be $1,000.
80	(b)  A showing by the fines provided in this subsection
81	shall be reduced by three-fourths in cases in which the third-
82	party voter registration organization that the failure to
83	deliver the voter registration application within the required
84	timeframe is based upon force majeure or impossibility of
85	performance shall be an affirmative defense to a violation of
86	this subsection has complied with subsection (1). The secretary
87	may shall waive the fines described in this subsection upon a
88	showing that the failure to deliver the voter registration
89	application promptly is based upon force majeure or
90	impossibility of performance.
91	(5)  If the Secretary of State reasonably believes that a
92	person has committed a violation of this section, the secretary
93	may refer the matter to the Attorney General for enforcement.
94	The Attorney General may institute a civil action for a
95	violation of this section or to prevent a violation of this
96	section. An action for relief may include a permanent or
97	temporary injunction, a restraining order, or any other
98	appropriate order.
99	(6)(4)(a)  The division shall adopt by rule a form to
100	elicit specific information concerning the facts and
101	circumstances from a person who claims to have been registered
102	to vote by a third-party voter registration organization but who
103	does not appear as an active voter on the voter registration
104	rolls. The division shall also adopt rules to ensure the
105	integrity of the registration process, including rules requiring
106	third-party voter registration organizations to account for all
107	state and federal registration forms used by their registration
108	agents.
109	(b)  The division may investigate any violation of this
110	section. Civil fines shall be assessed by the division and
111	enforced through any appropriate legal proceedings.
112	(7)(5)  The date on which an applicant signs a voter
113	registration application is presumed to be the date on which the
114	third-party voter registration organization received or
115	collected the voter registration application.
116	(8)(6)  The civil fines provided in this section are in
117	addition to any applicable criminal penalties.
118	(9)(7)  Fines collected pursuant to this section shall be
119	annually appropriated by the Legislature to the department for
120	enforcement of this section and for voter education.
121	(10)(8)  The division may adopt rules to administer this
122	section.
123
124
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126	T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T
127	Remove line 31 and insert:
128	any other appropriate order; requiring submission of all voter
129	registration applications received by a third-party voter
130	registration organization; providing circumstances under which a
131	third-party voter registration organization shall be deemed to
132	be in compliance with the law when submitting voter registration
133	applications; requiring that the division

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