Florida Senate - 2019                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 7066
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì139958dÎ139958                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  04/23/2019           .                                
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       The Committee on Rules (Simmons) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (834194) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 1068 - 1069
    5  and insert:
    6         Section 25. Effective 60 days after the effective date of
    7  this act, subsection (3) of section 100.371, Florida Statutes,
    8  is amended to read:
    9         100.371 Initiatives; procedure for placement on ballot.—
   10         (3) An initiative petition form circulated for signature
   11  may not be bundled with or attached to any other petition. Each
   12  signature shall be dated when made and shall be valid for a
   13  period of 2 years following such date, provided all other
   14  requirements of law are met. The sponsor shall submit signed and
   15  dated forms to the supervisor of elections for the county of
   16  residence listed by the person signing the form for verification
   17  of the number of valid signatures obtained. If a signature on a
   18  petition is from a registered voter in another county, the
   19  supervisor shall notify the petition sponsor of the misfiled
   20  petition. The petition sponsor must submit each signed petition
   21  gathered by a paid or volunteer petition circulator to the
   22  appropriate supervisor by the fifth day of the month following
   23  the month in which the petition is signed. The supervisor shall
   24  promptly verify the signatures within 30 days after receipt of
   25  the petition forms and payment of the fee required by s. 99.097.
   26  The supervisor shall promptly record, in the manner prescribed
   27  by the Secretary of State, the date each form is received by the
   28  supervisor, and the date the signature on the form is verified
   29  as valid. The supervisor may verify that the signature on a form
   30  is valid only if:
   31         (a) The form contains the original signature of the
   32  purported elector.
   33         (b) The form contains the disclosures required by s.
   34  100.372(3), which must be legible, if the form was collected by
   35  a paid petition circulator.
   36         (c) The purported elector has accurately recorded on the
   37  form the date on which he or she signed the form and the form
   38  was received by the supervisor by the fifth day of the month in
   39  the month after the form was signed.
   40         (d)(c) The form sets forth the purported elector’s name,
   41  address, city, county, and voter registration number or date of
   42  birth.
   43         (e)(d) The purported elector is, at the time he or she
   44  signs the form and at the time the form is verified, a duly
   45  qualified and registered elector in the state.
   46  
   47  The supervisor shall retain the signature forms for at least 1
   48  year following the election in which the issue appeared on the
   49  ballot or until the division of Elections notifies the
   50  supervisors of elections that the committee that circulated the
   51  petition is no longer seeking to obtain ballot position.
   52         Section 26. Effective 60 days after the effective date of
   53  this act, section 100.372, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
   54         100.372 Regulation of, and disclosures by, paid petition
   55  circulators.—
   56         (1) A person may not collect signatures or initiative
   57  petitions for compensation unless the person is registered as a
   58  paid petition circulator with the Secretary of State.
   59         (2) An application for registration must be submitted in
   60  the format required by the Secretary of State and must include
   61  the following:
   62         (a) The information required to be contained on the
   63  petition form under s. 101.161, including the ballot summary and
   64  title as approved by the Secretary of State.
   65         (b) The applicant’s name, permanent address, and date of
   66  birth.
   67         (c) An address in this state at which the applicant will
   68  accept service of process related to disputes concerning
   69  circulation of that circulator’s petitions, if the circulator is
   70  not a resident of this state.
   71         (d) A statement that the applicant consents to the
   72  jurisdiction of the courts of this state in resolving disputes
   73  concerning the circulation of petitions by the applicant.
   74         (e) Any information required by the Secretary of State to
   75  verify the applicant’s identity or address.
   76         (3) All petitions circulated by a paid petition circulator
   77  must contain, in a format required by the Secretary of State, a
   78  completed Petition Circulator’s Affidavit which includes:
   79         (a) The circulator’s name and address;
   80         (b) The method by which the circulator is compensated such
   81  as compensation on an hourly basis, per signature basis, or
   82  other basis described by the circulator; and
   83         (c) The following statement, which must be signed by the
   84  circulator:
   85  
   86         By my signature below, as petition circulator, I
   87         verify that the petition was signed in my presence,
   88         that the petition signer had sufficient time to read
   89         the petition language, and that I believe the
   90         signature on the petition to be the genuine signature
   91         of the petition signer. Under penalties of perjury, I
   92         declare that I have read the foregoing Petition
   93         Circulator’s Affidavit and the facts stated in it are
   94         true.
   95  
   96         Petition Circulator’s Signature: ...Signature...
   97  
   98         (4) If a registered petition circulator is properly served
   99  with a subpoena to provide evidence in an action regarding the
  100  circulation of petitions and fails to appear or produce
  101  documents as provided for in the subpoena, all signatures
  102  collected by that circulator are deemed invalid. The party
  103  serving the subpoena may request an order from the court
  104  directing the removal of any petitions collected by the
  105  circulator.
  106         (5) A paid petition circulator shall display a badge that
  107  states PAID CIRCULATOR in a form and manner specified by rule of
  108  the Secretary of State.
  109         (6) A person who violates subsection (1) or subsection (5)
  110  commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as
  111  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
  112         Section 27. Effective 60 days after the effective date of
  113  this act, section 97.026, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  114         97.026 Forms to be available in alternative formats and via
  115  the Internet.—It is the intent of the Legislature that all forms
  116  required to be used in chapters 97-106 shall be made available
  117  upon request, in alternative formats. Such forms shall include
  118  vote-by-mail ballots as alternative formats for such ballots
  119  become available and the Division of Elections is able to
  120  certify systems that provide them. Whenever possible, such
  121  forms, with the exception of vote-by-mail ballots, shall be made
  122  available by the Department of State via the Internet. Sections
  123  that contain such forms include, but are not limited to, ss.
  124  97.051, 97.052, 97.053, 97.057, 97.058, 97.0583, 97.071, 97.073,
  125  97.1031, 98.075, 99.021, 100.361, 100.371, 100.372, 101.045,
  126  101.171, 101.20, 101.6103, 101.62, 101.64, 101.65, 101.657,
  127  105.031, 106.023, and 106.087.
  128         Section 28. Effective upon this act becoming a law, the
  129  Secretary of State is authorized, and all conditions are deemed
  130  to be met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4),
  131  Florida Statutes, for the purpose of administering the
  132  provisions of this act. This section expires July 1, 2020.
  133         Section 29. This act applies to all revisions or amendments
  134  to the State Constitution which are proposed by initiative for
  135  the 2020 general election. However, this act does not affect the
  136  validity of any initiative petition that is gathered and
  137  submitted to a supervisor of elections within 60 days after this
  138  act becomes a law. This section shall take effect upon becoming
  139  a law.
  140         Section 30. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
  141  act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon
  142  becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 2019.
  143  
  144  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  145  And the title is amended as follows:
  146         Delete line 1158
  147  and insert:
  148         Code; amending s. 100.371, F.S.; requiring initiative
  149         sponsors to submit signed petition forms to the
  150         supervisor of elections within a specified timeframe;
  151         modifying the conditions upon which the supervisor may
  152         verify the signature on a petition form; creating s.
  153         100.372, F.S.; prohibiting the collection of
  154         signatures or initiative petitions for compensation
  155         absent registration with the Secretary of State;
  156         prescribing requirements for registration as a paid
  157         petition circulator; requiring circulated petitions to
  158         contain certain disclosures; specifying conditions
  159         under which petitions may be invalidated; requiring
  160         paid petition circulators to display certain
  161         identifying credentials; providing a penalty; amending
  162         s. 97.026, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes
  163         made by the act; authorizing emergency rulemaking for
  164         a specified timeframe; providing for applicability;
  165         providing effective dates.