Florida Senate - 2012                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1596
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 257664                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  01/24/2012           .                                
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       The Committee on Rules Subcommittee on Ethics and Elections
       (Smith) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 21 and 22
    4  insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 99.061, Florida
    6  Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to
    8  federal, state, county, or district office.—
    9         (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of any special act to
   10  the contrary, a each person seeking to qualify for election to a
   11  special district office, except the board of supervisors of a
   12  community development district, shall qualify between noon of
   13  the 71st day before prior to the primary election and noon of
   14  the 67th day before prior to the date of the primary election. A
   15  person seeking to qualify for the board of supervisors of a
   16  community development district shall qualify between noon of the
   17  71st day before and noon of the 67th day before the date of the
   18  election of the board. Candidates for single-county special
   19  districts shall qualify with the supervisor of elections in the
   20  county in which the district is located. If the district is a
   21  multicounty district, candidates shall qualify with the
   22  Department of State. All special district candidates shall
   23  qualify by paying a filing fee of $25 or qualify by the petition
   24  process pursuant to s. 99.095. Notwithstanding s. 106.021, a
   25  candidate who does not collect contributions and whose only
   26  expense is the filing fee or signature verification fee is not
   27  required to appoint a campaign treasurer or designate a primary
   28  campaign depository.
   29  
   30         Between lines 39 and 40
   31  insert:
   32         Section 3. Subsections (2) and (5) of section 101.6102,
   33  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   34         101.6102 Mail ballot elections; limitations.—
   35         (2) The following elections may not be conducted by mail
   36  ballot:
   37         (a) An election at which any candidate is nominated,
   38  elected, retained, or recalled, except an election of a
   39  candidate to the board of supervisors of a community development
   40  district; or
   41         (b) An election held on the same date as another election,
   42  other than a mail ballot election, in which the qualified
   43  electors of that political subdivision are eligible to cast
   44  ballots.
   45         (5) Nothing in This section does not shall be construed to
   46  prohibit the use of a mail ballot election in a municipal
   47  annexation referendum requiring separate vote of the registered
   48  electors of the annexing municipality and of the area proposed
   49  to be annexed. If a mail ballot election is authorized for a
   50  municipal annexation referendum, the provisions of ss. 101.6101
   51  101.6107 shall control over any conflicting provisions of s.
   52  171.0413.
   53  
   54         Between lines 113 and 114
   55  insert:
   56         Section 7. Subsections (1) and (2) and paragraphs (a) and
   57  (b) of subsection (3) of section 190.006, Florida Statutes, are
   58  amended to read:
   59         190.006 Board of supervisors; members and meetings.—
   60         (1) The board of the district shall exercise the powers
   61  granted to the district pursuant to this act. The board shall
   62  consist of five members; except as otherwise provided herein,
   63  each member shall be elected to hold office for a term of 2
   64  years or 4 years, as provided in this section, and until a
   65  successor is chosen and qualifies. The members of the board must
   66  be residents of the state and citizens of the United States.
   67         (2)(a) Within 90 days after following the effective date of
   68  the rule or ordinance establishing the district, there shall be
   69  held a meeting of the landowners of the district must be held
   70  for the purpose of electing five supervisors for the district.
   71  Notice of the landowners’ meeting shall be published once a week
   72  for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of which is in general
   73  circulation in the area of the district., The last day of such
   74  publication of the notice may to be not be less fewer than 14
   75  days or more than 28 days before the date of the election. The
   76  landowners, when assembled at such meeting, shall organize by
   77  electing a chair who shall conduct the meeting. The chair may be
   78  any person present at the meeting. If the chair is a landowner
   79  or proxy holder of a landowner, he or she may nominate
   80  candidates and make and second motions.
   81         (b) At the such meeting, each landowner is shall be
   82  entitled to cast one vote per acre of land owned by him or her
   83  and located within the district for each person to be elected. A
   84  landowner may vote in person or by proxy in writing. Each proxy
   85  must be signed by one of the legal owners of the property for
   86  which the vote is cast and must contain the typed or printed
   87  name of the individual who signed the proxy; the street address,
   88  legal description of the property, or tax parcel identification
   89  number; and the number of authorized votes. If the proxy
   90  authorizes more than one vote, each property must be listed and
   91  the number of acres of each property must be included. The
   92  signature on a proxy need not be notarized. A fraction of an
   93  acre shall be treated as 1 acre, entitling the landowner to one
   94  vote with respect thereto. For purposes of determining voting
   95  interests, platted lots shall be counted individually and
   96  rounded up to the nearest whole acre. The acreage of platted
   97  lots may shall not be aggregated for determining the number of
   98  voting units held by a landowner or a landowner’s proxy. The two
   99  candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be
  100  elected to for a term period of 4 years, and the three
  101  candidates receiving the next largest number of votes shall be
  102  elected to for a term period of 2 years, with the term of office
  103  for each successful candidate commencing upon election. After
  104  the initial election The members of the first board elected by
  105  landowners shall serve their respective 4-year or 2-year terms;
  106  however, the next election by landowners shall be held on the
  107  first Tuesday in November. Thereafter, there shall be an
  108  election of supervisors for the district must be held every 2
  109  years. The election must be held by mail ballot on a date that
  110  is acceptable to the board and the supervisor of elections or by
  111  a regular ballot on the date of a general or special election or
  112  other date that is acceptable to the board and the supervisor of
  113  elections in November on a date established by the board and
  114  noticed pursuant to paragraph (a). The second and subsequent
  115  landowners’ election shall be announced at a public meeting of
  116  the board at least 90 days before prior to the date of the
  117  landowners’ meeting and shall also be noticed pursuant to
  118  paragraph (a). Instructions on how all landowners may
  119  participate in the election, along with sample proxies, shall be
  120  provided during the board meeting that announces the landowners’
  121  meeting. The two candidates receiving the highest number of
  122  votes shall be elected to serve for a 4-year term period, and
  123  the remaining candidate elected shall serve for a 2-year term
  124  period.
  125         (3)(a)1. If the board proposes to exercise the ad valorem
  126  taxing power authorized by s. 190.021, the district board shall
  127  call a special an election at which the members of the board of
  128  supervisors will be elected. The special election must be held
  129  on a date that is acceptable to the board and the supervisor of
  130  elections. The special Such election may be held by mail ballot
  131  or by regular ballot on a date other than the date of shall be
  132  held in conjunction with a primary or general election. unless
  133  The district shall bear bears the cost of the a special
  134  election. Each member shall be elected by the qualified electors
  135  of the district for a term of 4 years, except that, at the first
  136  such election, three members shall be elected for a period of 4
  137  years and two members shall be elected for a period of 2 years.
  138  All elected board members must be qualified electors of the
  139  district.
  140         2.a. Regardless of whether a district has proposed to levy
  141  ad valorem taxes, commencing 6 years after the initial
  142  appointment of members or, for a district exceeding 5,000 acres
  143  in area or for a compact, urban, mixed-use district, 10 years
  144  after the initial appointment of members, the position of each
  145  member whose term has expired shall be filled by a qualified
  146  elector of the district, elected by the qualified electors of
  147  the district. However, for those districts established after
  148  June 21, 1991, and for those existing districts established
  149  after December 31, 1983, which have fewer less than 50 qualified
  150  electors on June 21, 1991, sub-subparagraphs b. and d. shall
  151  apply. If, in the 6th year after the initial appointment of
  152  members, or 10 years after such initial appointment for
  153  districts exceeding 5,000 acres in area or for a compact, urban,
  154  mixed-use district, there are not at least 250 qualified
  155  electors in the district, or for a district exceeding 5,000
  156  acres or for a compact, urban, mixed-use district, there are not
  157  at least 500 qualified electors, members of the board shall
  158  continue to be elected by landowners.
  159         b. After the 6th or 10th year, once a district reaches 250
  160  or 500 qualified electors, respectively, then the positions of
  161  two board members whose terms are expiring shall be filled by
  162  qualified electors of the district, elected by the qualified
  163  electors of the district for 4-year terms. The remaining board
  164  member whose term is expiring shall be elected for a 4-year term
  165  by the landowners and is not required to be a qualified elector.
  166  Thereafter, as terms expire, board members shall be qualified
  167  electors elected by qualified electors of the district for a
  168  term of 4 years.
  169         c. Once a district qualifies to have any of its board
  170  members elected by the qualified electors of the district, the
  171  initial and all subsequent elections by the qualified electors
  172  of the district shall be held at the general election in
  173  November. The board shall adopt a resolution if necessary to
  174  implement this requirement when the board determines the number
  175  of qualified electors as required by sub-subparagraph d., to
  176  extend or reduce the terms of current board members.
  177         d. On or before June 1 of each year, the board shall
  178  determine the number of qualified electors in the district as of
  179  the immediately preceding April 15. The board shall use and rely
  180  upon the official records maintained by the supervisor of
  181  elections and property appraiser or tax collector in each county
  182  in making this determination. Such determination shall be made
  183  at a properly noticed meeting of the board and shall become a
  184  part of the official minutes of the district.
  185         (b) Elections of board members by qualified electors held
  186  pursuant to this subsection shall be nonpartisan and shall be
  187  conducted in the manner prescribed by law for holding general
  188  elections. The district shall publish a notice of the qualifying
  189  period set by the supervisor of elections for each election at
  190  least 2 weeks before prior to the start of the qualifying
  191  period. Board members shall assume the office on the second
  192  Tuesday following their election. If no elector qualifies for a
  193  seat to be filled in an election, a vacancy in that seat shall
  194  be declared by the board effective on the second Tuesday
  195  following the election. Within 90 days thereafter, the board
  196  shall appoint a qualified elector to fill the vacancy. Until
  197  such appointment, the incumbent board member in that seat shall
  198  remain in office.
  199  
  200  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  201         And the title is amended as follows:
  202         Delete line 2
  203  and insert:
  204         An act relating to elections; amending s. 99.061,
  205         F.S.; revising the method of qualifying for election
  206         to a board of supervisors of a community development
  207         district; amending s. 101.043,
  208  
  209         Delete line 6
  210  and insert:
  211         the elector’s legal residence; amending s. 101.6102,
  212         F.S.; providing that an election of a candidate to the
  213         board of supervisors of a community development
  214         district may be conducted by mail ballot; amending s.
  215         106.025,
  216  
  217         Delete line 17
  218  and insert:
  219         debit cards are considered bank checks; amending s.
  220         190.006, F.S.; providing editorial changes; revising
  221         the election process for members of a district board;
  222         revising the process for a special election at which
  223         the members of the board of supervisors will be
  224         elected; providing an