Florida Senate - 2022                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. PCS (502578) for SB 524
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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       The Committee on Ethics and Elections (Taddeo) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 175 and 176
    4  insert:
    5         Section 4. Effective January 1, 2024, section 97.057,
    6  Florida Statutes, as amended by section 3 of this act, is
    7  amended to read:
    8         97.057 Voter registration by the Department of Highway
    9  Safety and Motor Vehicles.—
   10         (1) Each of the following serves as an application The
   11  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall provide
   12  the opportunity to register to vote or to update a voter
   13  registration record when submitted to the Department of Highway
   14  Safety and Motor Vehicles to each individual who comes to an
   15  office of that department to:
   16         (a) An application Apply for a driver license or a renewal
   17  of renew a driver license;
   18         (b) An application Apply for an identification card
   19  pursuant to chapter 322 or a renewal of renew an identification
   20  card pursuant to chapter 322; or
   21         (c) An application for a change of an address on an
   22  existing driver license or identification card.
   23  
   24  Unless the applicant declines to register to vote, he or she is
   25  deemed to have consented to the use of the signature from his or
   26  her driver license or identification card application for voter
   27  registration purposes.
   28         (2) An application for a driver license or an
   29  identification card must include a voter registration component.
   30  The voter registration component must be approved by the
   31  Department of State. The voter registration component of a
   32  driver license or identification card application must contain
   33  all of the following:
   34         (a) The minimum amount of information necessary to prevent
   35  duplicate voter registrations and preserve the ability of the
   36  department and supervisors of elections to assess the
   37  eligibility of the applicant and administer voter registration
   38  and other provisions of this code.
   39         (b) A statement setting forth voting eligibility
   40  requirements.
   41         (c) An explanation that the applicant is consenting to the
   42  use of his or her signature from the applicant’s driver license
   43  or identification card application for voter registration
   44  purposes. By consenting to the use of his or her signature, the
   45  applicant is deemed to have subscribed to the oath required by
   46  s. 3, Art. VI of the State Constitution and s. 97.051 and to
   47  have sworn and affirmed that the voter registration information
   48  contained in the application is true under penalty for false
   49  swearing pursuant to s. 104.011.
   50         (d) An option that allows the applicant to choose or update
   51  a party affiliation; otherwise, an applicant who is initially
   52  registering to vote and does not exercise such option shall be
   53  registered without party affiliation in accordance with s.
   54  97.053(5)(b).
   55         (e) An option that allows the applicant to decline to
   56  register to vote. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
   57  Vehicles shall note any such declination in its records and
   58  forward the declination to the Department of State. Any
   59  declination may be used only for voter registration purposes and
   60  is confidential and exempt from public records requirements as
   61  provided in s. 97.0585.
   62         (3) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
   63  shall:
   64         (a) Develop a voter registration component for applications
   65  which meets the requirements set forth in subsection (2) Notify
   66  each individual, orally or in writing, that:
   67         1. Information gathered for the completion of a driver
   68  license or identification card application, renewal, or change
   69  of address can be automatically transferred to a voter
   70  registration application;
   71         2. If additional information and a signature are provided,
   72  the voter registration application will be completed and sent to
   73  the proper election authority;
   74         3. Information provided can also be used to update a voter
   75  registration record;
   76         4. All declinations will remain confidential and may be
   77  used only for voter registration purposes; and
   78         5. The particular driver license office in which the person
   79  applies to register to vote or updates a voter registration
   80  record will remain confidential and may be used only for voter
   81  registration purposes.
   82         (b) Require a driver license examiner to inquire orally or,
   83  if the applicant is hearing impaired, inquire in writing whether
   84  the applicant wishes to register to vote or update a voter
   85  registration record during the completion of a driver license or
   86  identification card application, renewal, or change of address.
   87         1. If the applicant chooses to register to vote or to
   88  update a voter registration record:
   89         a. All applicable information received by the Department of
   90  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the course of filling out
   91  the forms necessary under subsection (1) must be transferred to
   92  a voter registration application.
   93         b. The additional necessary information must be obtained by
   94  the driver license examiner and must not duplicate any
   95  information already obtained while completing the forms required
   96  under subsection (1).
   97         c. A voter registration application with all of the
   98  applicant’s voter registration information required to establish
   99  the applicant’s eligibility pursuant to s. 97.041 must be
  100  presented to the applicant to review and verify the voter
  101  registration information received and provide an electronic
  102  signature affirming the accuracy of the information provided.
  103         2. If the applicant declines to register to vote, update
  104  the applicant’s voter registration record, or change the
  105  applicant’s address by either orally declining or by failing to
  106  sign the voter registration application, the Department of
  107  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must note such declination on
  108  its records and shall forward the declination to the statewide
  109  voter registration system.
  110         (3) For the purpose of this section, the Department of
  111  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, with the approval of the
  112  Department of State, shall prescribe:
  113         (a) A voter registration application that is the same in
  114  content, format, and size as the uniform statewide voter
  115  registration application prescribed under s. 97.052; and
  116         (b) A form that will inform applicants under subsection (1)
  117  of the information contained in paragraph (2)(a).
  118         (4)The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  119  must Electronically transmit the voter registration component of
  120  an applicant’s driver license or identification card application
  121  to the Department of State completed voter registration
  122  applications within 24 hours after receipt to the statewide
  123  voter registration system. Upon receipt of the voter
  124  registration component, the Department of State shall provide
  125  the information to the supervisor of the county in which the
  126  applicant is registering Completed paper voter registration
  127  applications received by the Department of Highway Safety and
  128  Motor Vehicles shall be forwarded within 5 days after receipt to
  129  the supervisor of the county where the office that processed or
  130  received that application is located.
  131         (5) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  132  must send, with each driver license renewal extension
  133  application authorized pursuant to s. 322.18(8), a uniform
  134  statewide voter registration application, the voter registration
  135  application prescribed under paragraph (3)(a), or a voter
  136  registration application developed especially for the purposes
  137  of this subsection by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
  138  Vehicles, with the approval of the Department of State, which
  139  must meet the requirements of s. 97.052.
  140         (4)(6) A person providing voter registration services for a
  141  driver license office may not:
  142         (a) Seek to influence an applicant’s political preference
  143  or party registration;
  144         (b) Display any political preference or party allegiance;
  145         (c) Make any statement to an applicant or take any action
  146  the purpose or effect of which is to discourage the applicant
  147  from registering to vote; or
  148         (d) Disclose any applicant’s voter registration information
  149  except as needed for the administration of voter registration.
  150         (5)(7) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  151  shall collect data determined necessary by the Department of
  152  State for program evaluation and reporting to the Election
  153  Assistance Commission pursuant to federal law.
  154         (6)(8) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  155  shall must ensure that all voter registration services provided
  156  by driver license offices are in compliance with the Voting
  157  Rights Act of 1965.
  158         (7)(9) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  159  shall retain complete records of voter registration information
  160  received, processed, and submitted to the Department of State
  161  statewide voter registration system by the Department of Highway
  162  Safety and Motor Vehicles. The maintenance of such These records
  163  is shall be for the explicit purpose of supporting audit and
  164  accounting controls established to ensure accurate and complete
  165  electronic transmission of records between the Department of
  166  State statewide voter registration system and the Department of
  167  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
  168         (8)(10) The Department of State shall provide the
  169  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles with an
  170  electronic database of street addresses valid for use as the
  171  address of legal residence as required in s. 97.053(5). The
  172  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall compare
  173  the address provided by the applicant against the database of
  174  valid street addresses. If the address provided by the applicant
  175  does not match a valid street address in the database, the
  176  applicant will be asked to verify the address provided. The
  177  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles may shall not
  178  reject any application for voter registration for which a valid
  179  match cannot be made.
  180         (9)(11) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  181  shall enter into an agreement with the Department of State to
  182  match information in the statewide voter registration system
  183  with information in the database of the Department of Highway
  184  Safety and Motor Vehicles to the extent required to verify the
  185  accuracy of the driver license number, Florida identification
  186  number, or last four digits of the social security number
  187  provided on applications for voter registration as required in
  188  s. 97.053.
  189         (10)(12) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
  190  Vehicles shall enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of
  191  Social Security as required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002
  192  to verify the last four digits of the social security number
  193  provided in applications for voter registration as required in
  194  s. 97.053.
  195         (11)(13) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
  196  Vehicles must assist the Department of State in regularly
  197  identifying changes in residence address on the driver license
  198  or identification card of a voter. The Department of State must
  199  report each such change to the appropriate supervisor of
  200  elections who must change the voter’s registration records in
  201  accordance with s. 98.065(5).
  202         Section 5. Effective January 1, 2024, paragraph (b) of
  203  subsection (4) of section 98.045, Florida Statutes, is amended
  204  to read:
  205         98.045 Administration of voter registration.—
  206         (4) STATEWIDE ELECTRONIC DATABASE OF VALID RESIDENTIAL
  207  STREET ADDRESSES.—
  208         (b) The department shall make the statewide database of
  209  valid street addresses available to the Department of Highway
  210  Safety and Motor Vehicles as provided in s. 97.057(8) s.
  211  97.057(10). The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  212  shall use the database for purposes of validating the legal
  213  residential addresses provided in voter registration
  214  applications received by the Department of Highway Safety and
  215  Motor Vehicles.
  216  
  217  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  218  And the title is amended as follows:
  219         Delete line 13
  220  and insert:
  221         F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; revising
  222         procedures governing voter registration by the
  223         Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles;
  224         providing that driver license or identification card
  225         applications, driver license or identification card
  226         renewal applications, and applications for changes of
  227         address for existing driver licenses or identification
  228         cards submitted to the department serve as voter
  229         registration applications; specifying that an
  230         applicant is deemed to have consented to the use of
  231         his or her signature for voter registration purposes,
  232         unless a declination is made; requiring specified
  233         applications to include a voter registration
  234         component, subject to approval by the Department of
  235         State; specifying requirements for the voter
  236         registration component; providing for the transmittal
  237         of voter registration information to the Department of
  238         State and supervisors of elections; amending s.
  239         98.045, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; amending
  240         s.