Florida Senate - 2025 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS/HB 1205, 1st Eng.
Ì369878rÎ369878
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: 1b/F/2R .
04/30/2025 12:09 PM .
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Senator Polsky moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment to Amendment (842060) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete lines 567 - 826
5 and insert:
6 (f) Beginning October 1, 2025, if the signature on a
7 petition form is unable to be verified as valid, including if
8 the form does not meet the requirements of paragraph (c), the
9 supervisor must, as soon as practicable, notify the voter by
10 mail at the mailing address on file in the Florida Voter
11 Registration System, provided the form contains enough
12 information to identify the voter. Such notice must be sent by
13 forwardable mail. The notice must include contact information
14 for the supervisor and the Office of Election Crimes and
15 Security, including the telephone number, fax number, mailing
16 address, and e-mail address. The notice must include all of the
17 following statements or information, in substantially the
18 following form:
19
20 NOTICE
21
22 A petition to place a proposed constitutional
23 amendment on the ballot for the next general election,
24 bearing your name, has been received by the Supervisor
25 of Elections Office in ... (insert county)....
26
27 The petition is for ...(insert the petition serial
28 number and ballot title)... and was signed on
29 ...(insert the date the voter signed the petition)....
30
31 The signature on the petition form was unable to be
32 verified due to a deficiency on the form. If you
33 intended to sign the petition, please submit a new
34 petition form.
35
36 Please notify the Office of Election Crimes and
37 Security if you believe your signature has been
38 misrepresented or forged on a petition.
39
40 ...(Insert the voter’s Florida voter registration
41 number and, if applicable, the petition circulator’s
42 number)....
43
44 (g) Each supervisor shall post the actual cost of signature
45 verification for petition forms received more than 60 days
46 before February 1 of an even-numbered year and for petition
47 forms received less than 60 days before February 1 of an even
48 numbered year on his or her website, and may increase such cost,
49 as necessary, annually on March 1 February 2 of each even
50 numbered year. These costs include operating and personnel costs
51 associated with comparing signatures, printing and all postage
52 costs related to the verification notice required by paragraph
53 (e), and transmitting petition forms to the division. The
54 division shall also publish each county’s current cost on its
55 website. The division and each supervisor shall biennially
56 review available technology aimed at reducing verification
57 costs.
58 (h)(c) On the last day of each month, or on the last day of
59 each week from December 1 of an odd-numbered year through
60 February 1 of the following year, each supervisor shall post on
61 his or her website the total number of signatures submitted, the
62 total number of invalid signatures, the total number of
63 signatures processed, and the aggregate number of verified valid
64 signatures and the distribution of such signatures by
65 congressional district for each proposed amendment proposed by
66 initiative, along with the following information specific to the
67 reporting period: the total number of signed petition forms
68 received, the total number of signatures verified, the
69 distribution of verified valid signatures by congressional
70 district, and the total number of verified petition forms
71 forwarded to the Secretary of State. For any reporting period in
72 which the percentage of petition forms deemed invalid by the
73 supervisor exceeds a total of 25 percent of the petition forms
74 received by the supervisor for that reporting period, the
75 supervisor shall notify the Office of Election Crimes and
76 Security. The Office of Election Crimes and Security shall
77 conduct a preliminary investigation into the activities of the
78 sponsor, one or more petition circulators, or a person
79 collecting petition forms on behalf of a sponsor, to determine
80 whether the invalidated petitions are a result of fraud or any
81 other violation of this section. As authorized by ss. 97.012(15)
82 and 97.022(1), the Office of Elections Crimes and Security may,
83 if warranted, report findings to the statewide prosecutor or the
84 state attorney for the judicial circuit in which the alleged
85 violation occurred for prosecution.
86 (i) A signed petition form submitted by an ineligible or
87 unregistered petition circulator must be invalidated and may not
88 be counted toward the number of necessary signatures for
89 placement on the ballot.
90 (15)(12) The Secretary of State shall determine from the
91 signatures verified by the supervisors of elections the total
92 number of verified valid signatures, less any signatures that
93 were invalidated pursuant to subsection (14), and the
94 distribution of such signatures by congressional districts, and
95 the division shall post such information on its website at the
96 same intervals specified in paragraph (14)(h) (11)(c). Upon a
97 determination that the requisite number and distribution of
98 valid signatures have been obtained, the secretary shall issue a
99 certificate of ballot position for that proposed amendment and
100 shall assign a designating number pursuant to s. 101.161. The
101 secretary must rescind the certificate of ballot position if an
102 advisory opinion issued by the Supreme Court pursuant to s.
103 16.061(1) deems the initiative petition invalid.
104 (16)(a)(13)(a) Upon receipt of a proposed revision or
105 amendment from the Secretary of State, the coordinator of the
106 Office of Economic and Demographic Research shall contact the
107 person identified as the sponsor to request an official list of
108 all persons authorized to speak on behalf of the named sponsor
109 and, if there is one, the sponsoring organization at meetings
110 held by the Financial Impact Estimating Conference. All other
111 persons must be deemed interested parties or proponents or
112 opponents of the initiative. The Financial Impact Estimating
113 Conference shall provide an opportunity for any representative
114 of the sponsor, interested parties, and proponents or opponents
115 of the initiative to submit information and may solicit
116 information or analysis from any other entities or agencies,
117 including the Office of Economic and Demographic Research At the
118 same time the Secretary of State submits an initiative petition
119 to the Attorney General pursuant to s. 15.21, the secretary
120 shall submit a copy of the initiative petition to the Financial
121 Impact Estimating Conference.
122 (b) Within 75 days after receipt of a proposed revision or
123 amendment to the State Constitution by initiative petition from
124 the Secretary of State, the Financial Impact Estimating
125 Conference shall complete an analysis and financial impact
126 statement to be placed on the ballot of the estimated increase
127 or decrease in any revenues or costs to state or local
128 governments and the overall impact to the state budget resulting
129 from the proposed initiative. The 75-day time limit is tolled
130 when the Legislature is in session. The Financial Impact
131 Estimating Conference shall submit the financial impact
132 statement to the Attorney General and Secretary of State. If the
133 initiative petition has been submitted to the Financial Impact
134 Estimating Conference but the validity of signatures has expired
135 and the initiative petition no longer qualifies for ballot
136 placement at the ensuing general election, the Secretary of
137 State must notify the Financial Impact Estimating Conference.
138 The Financial Impact Estimating Conference does is not required
139 to complete an analysis and financial impact statement for an
140 initiative petition that fails to meet the requirements of
141 subsection (1) for placement on the ballot before the 75-day
142 time limit, including any tolling period, expires, the ballot
143 must include the statement required by s. 101.161(1)(e). The
144 initiative petition may be resubmitted to the Financial Impact
145 Estimating Conference if the initiative petition meets the
146 requisite criteria for a subsequent general election cycle. A
147 new Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall be established
148 at such time as the initiative petition again satisfies the
149 criteria in s. 15.21(1).
150 (b) Immediately upon receipt of a proposed revision or
151 amendment from the Secretary of State, the coordinator of the
152 Office of Economic and Demographic Research shall contact the
153 person identified as the sponsor to request an official list of
154 all persons authorized to speak on behalf of the named sponsor
155 and, if there is one, the sponsoring organization at meetings
156 held by the Financial Impact Estimating Conference. All other
157 persons shall be deemed interested parties or proponents or
158 opponents of the initiative. The Financial Impact Estimating
159 Conference shall provide an opportunity for any representatives
160 of the sponsor, interested parties, proponents, or opponents of
161 the initiative to submit information and may solicit information
162 or analysis from any other entities or agencies, including the
163 Office of Economic and Demographic Research.
164 (c) The Financial Impact Estimating Conference may be
165 convened only by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
166 the House of Representatives, jointly. All meetings of the
167 Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall be open to the
168 public. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
169 of Representatives, jointly, shall be the sole judge for the
170 interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of this
171 subsection.
172 1. The Financial Impact Estimating Conference is
173 established to review, analyze, and estimate the financial
174 impact of amendments to or revisions of the State Constitution
175 proposed by initiative. The Financial Impact Estimating
176 Conference shall be composed consist of four principals: one
177 person from the professional staff of the Executive Office of
178 the Governor or from a state agency, designated by the Governor;
179 the coordinator of the Office of Economic and Demographic
180 Research, or his or her designee; one person from the
181 professional staff of the Senate, designated by the President of
182 the Senate; and one person from the professional staff of the
183 House of Representatives, designated by the Speaker of the House
184 of Representatives. Each principal shall have appropriate fiscal
185 expertise in the subject matter of the initiative. A Financial
186 Impact Estimating Conference may be appointed for each
187 initiative.
188 2. Principals of the Financial Impact Estimating Conference
189 shall reach a consensus or majority concurrence on a clear and
190 unambiguous financial impact statement, no more than 150 words
191 in length, and immediately submit the statement to the Attorney
192 General. Nothing in this subsection prohibits the Financial
193 Impact Estimating Conference from setting forth a range of
194 potential impacts in the financial impact statement. Any
195 financial impact statement that a court finds not to be in
196 accordance with this section shall be remanded solely to the
197 Financial Impact Estimating Conference for redrafting. The
198 Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall redraft the
199 financial impact statement within 15 days.
200 3. If the Supreme Court has rejected the initial submission
201 by the Financial Impact Estimating Conference and no redraft has
202 been approved by the Supreme Court by 5 p.m. on the 75th day
203 before the election, the following statement shall appear on the
204 ballot: “The impact of this measure, if any, has not been
205 determined at this time.”
206 (d) The financial impact statement must be separately
207 contained on the petition form and the ballot and be set forth
208 after the ballot summary as required in s. 101.161(1).
209 1. If the financial impact statement projects a net
210 negative impact on the state budget, the ballot must include the
211 statement required by s. 101.161(1)(b).
212 2. If the financial impact statement projects a net
213 positive impact on the state budget, the ballot must include the
214 statement required by s. 101.161(1)(c).
215 3. If the financial impact statement estimates an
216 indeterminate financial impact or if the members of the
217 Financial Impact Estimating Conference are unable to agree on
218 the statement required by this subsection, the ballot must
219 include the statement required by s. 101.161(1)(d).
220 4. If the financial impact statement was not produced or if
221 the Financial Impact Estimating Conference did not meet to
222 produce the financial statement, the ballot must include the
223 statement required by s. 101.161(1)(e).
224 (e)1. Any financial impact statement that the Supreme Court
225 finds not to be in accordance with this subsection shall be
226 remanded solely to the Financial Impact Estimating Conference
227 for redrafting, provided the court’s advisory opinion is
228 rendered at least 75 days before the election at which the
229 question of ratifying the amendment will be presented. The
230 Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall prepare and adopt a
231 revised financial impact statement no later than 5 p.m. on the
232 15th day after the date of the court’s opinion. The sponsor of
233 the initiative must refile the petition with the revised
234 financial impact statement with the Secretary of State as a new
235 petition.
236 2. If, by 5 p.m. on the 75th day before the election, the
237 Supreme Court has not issued an advisory opinion on the initial
238 financial impact statement prepared by the Financial Impact
239 Estimating Conference for an initiative amendment that otherwise
240 meets the legal requirements for ballot placement, the financial
241 impact statement shall be deemed approved for placement on the
242 ballot.
243 (f)3. In addition to the financial impact statement
244 required by this subsection, the Financial Impact Estimating
245 Conference shall draft an initiative financial information
246 statement. The initiative financial information statement should
247 describe in greater detail than the financial impact statement
248 any projected increase or decrease in revenues or costs that the
249 state or local governments would likely experience if the ballot
250 measure were approved. If appropriate, the initiative financial
251 information statement may include both estimated dollar amounts
252 and a description placing the estimated dollar amounts into
253 context. The initiative financial information statement must
254 include both a summary of not more than 500 words and additional
255 detailed information that includes the assumptions that were
256 made to develop the financial impacts, workpapers, and any other
257 information deemed relevant by the Financial Impact Estimating
258 Conference.
259 (g)4. The Department of State shall have printed, and shall
260 furnish to each supervisor of elections, a copy of the summary
261 from the initiative financial information statements. The
262 supervisors shall have the summary from the initiative financial
263 information statements available at each polling place and at
264 the main office of the supervisor of elections upon request.
265 (h)5. The Secretary of State and the Office of Economic and
266 Demographic Research shall make available on the Internet each
267 initiative financial information statement in its entirety. In
268 addition, each supervisor of elections whose office has a
269 website shall post the summary from each initiative financial
270 information statement on the website. Each supervisor shall
271 include a copy of each summary from the initiative financial
272 information statements and the Internet addresses for the
273 information statements on the Secretary of State’s and the
274 Office of Economic and Demographic Research’s websites in the
275 publication or mailing required by s. 101.20.
276 (17)(14) The Department of State may adopt rules in
277 accordance with s. 120.54 to implement this section carry out
278 the provisions of subsections (1)-(14).
279 (18)(15) No provision of this code shall be deemed to
280 prohibit a private person exercising lawful control over
281 privately owned property, including property held open to the
282 public for the purposes of a commercial enterprise, from
283 excluding from such property persons seeking to engage in
284 activity supporting or opposing initiative amendments.
285 Section 7. (1) By July 1, 2025, the Department of State
286 shall update the forms as required by the amendments made to s.
287 100.371(3), Florida Statutes, for any proposed amendments
288 received before July 1, 2025.
289 (2)(a) By June 1, 2025, the Department of State shall make
290 available a new petition circulator application to incorporate
291 the amendments made to s. 100.371(4), Florida Statutes.
292 (b)1. Effective July 1, 2025, the registration of each
293 petition circulator expires.
294 2. No later than 7 days after this section becomes law, the
295 Department of State shall notify each petition circulator that
296 his or her registration expires on July 1, 2025, and that he or
297 she may reregister by completing a new application that will be
298 available before the current registration expires.
299 (c) By June 1, 2025, the Department of State shall develop
300 the training required by s. 100.371(4)(f), Florida Statutes.
301 (3) No later than October 1, 2025, a supervisor of
302 elections may increase the cost of signature verification
303 pursuant to the amendments made to s. 100.371(14)(g), Florida
304
305 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
306 And the title is amended as follows:
307 Delete line 1213
308 and insert:
309 completed notice is received; requiring supervisors to
310 mail a notice to voters if their petition form cannot
311 be verified or does not meet certain requirements,
312 beginning on a specified date; providing requirements
313 for such notice; providing that