Florida Senate - 2018                              CS for SB 276
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Appropriations; and Senators Hutson and
       Baxley
       
       
       
       
       576-01823-18                                           2018276c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to voter registration list
    3         maintenance; amending s. 98.075, F.S.; authorizing the
    4         Department of State to become a member of a
    5         nongovernmental entity to verify voter registration
    6         information; establishing requirements for such
    7         memberships; requiring the Department of Highway
    8         Safety and Motor Vehicles to provide specified
    9         information to the Department of State; establishing
   10         reporting requirements; providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 98.075, Florida
   15  Statutes, is amended to read:
   16         98.075 Registration records maintenance activities;
   17  ineligibility determinations.—
   18         (2) DUPLICATE REGISTRATION.—
   19         (a) The department shall identify those voters who are
   20  registered more than once within the state or those applicants
   21  whose registration applications within the state would result in
   22  duplicate registrations. The most recent application shall be
   23  deemed an update to the voter registration record.
   24         (b)1.The department may become a member of a
   25  nongovernmental entity whose membership is composed solely of
   26  election officials of state governments and the District of
   27  Columbia if the sole purpose of the membership is to share and
   28  exchange information in order to verify voter registration
   29  information. If the department intends to become a member of
   30  such a nongovernmental entity, the agreement to join the entity
   31  must require that the Secretary of State, or his or her
   32  designee, serve as a full member with voting rights on the
   33  nongovernmental entity’s board of directors within 12 months
   34  after joining the entity.
   35         2.The department may share confidential and exempt
   36  information after becoming a member of a nongovernmental entity
   37  as provided in subparagraph 1. if:
   38         a.Each member of the nongovernmental entity agrees to
   39  maintain the confidentiality of such information as required by
   40  the laws of the jurisdiction providing the information; or
   41         b.The bylaws of the nongovernmental entity require member
   42  jurisdictions and the entity to maintain the confidentiality of
   43  information as required by the laws of the jurisdiction
   44  providing the information.
   45         3.The department may only become a member of a
   46  nongovernmental entity as provided in subparagraph 1. if the
   47  entity is controlled and operated by the participating
   48  jurisdictions. The entity may not be operated or controlled by
   49  the Federal Government or any other entity acting on behalf of
   50  the Federal Government. The department must be able to withdraw
   51  at any time from any such membership entered into.
   52         4.If the department becomes a member of a nongovernmental
   53  entity as provided in subparagraph 1., the Department of Highway
   54  Safety and Motor Vehicles must, pursuant to a written agreement
   55  with the department, provide driver license or identification
   56  card information to the department for the purpose of sharing
   57  and exchanging voter registration information with the
   58  nongovernmental entity.
   59         5.If the department becomes a member of a nongovernmental
   60  entity as provided in subparagraph 1., the department must
   61  submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
   62  and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 1 of
   63  each year. The report must describe the terms of the
   64  nongovernmental entity membership and provide information on the
   65  total number of voters removed from the voter registration
   66  system as a result of the membership and the reasons for their
   67  removal.
   68         Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2019.