Florida Senate - 2007 SB 900
By Senator Posey
24-800-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to initiative petitions;
3 amending s. 100.371, F.S.; prescribing
4 information that must be on a petition
5 initiative form, and conditions with which the
6 elector signing it must comply, before the form
7 may be verified; providing procedures for
8 revocation of a signature on a petition form;
9 requiring certain information relating to
10 petition circulators, as defined, to be
11 included on forms; requiring paid petition
12 circulators, as defined, to identify themselves
13 as such; prohibiting a supervisor from counting
14 a petition or petition-revocation form that
15 does not comply with statutory requirements;
16 providing for rules; providing for verification
17 of certain petition forms; providing
18 severability; providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 100.371,
23 Florida Statutes, are amended, present subsection (6) of that
24 section is renumbered as subsection (9) and amended, and new
25 subsections (6), (7), and (8) are added to that section to
26 read:
27 100.371 Initiatives; procedure for placement on
28 ballot.--
29 (1) Constitutional amendments proposed by initiative
30 shall be placed on the ballot for the general election,
31 provided the initiative petition has been filed with the
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 900
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1 Secretary of State no later than February 1 of the year the
2 general election is held. A petition shall be deemed to be
3 filed with the Secretary of State upon the date the secretary
4 determines that valid and verified the petition forms have has
5 been signed by the constitutionally required number and
6 distribution of electors pursuant to the election code,
7 subject to the right of revocation established in this
8 section.
9 (3) Each signature shall be dated when made and shall
10 be valid for a period of 4 years following such date, provided
11 all other requirements of law are met. The sponsor shall
12 submit signed and dated forms to the appropriate supervisor of
13 elections for verification as to the number of registered
14 electors whose valid signatures appear thereon. The supervisor
15 shall promptly verify the signatures upon payment of the fee
16 required by s. 99.097. The supervisor shall promptly record
17 each valid signature in the statewide voter registration
18 system, in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of State,
19 the date each form is received by the supervisor and the date
20 the signature on the form is verified as valid. The supervisor
21 may verify that the signature on a form is valid only if:
22 (a) The form contains the original signature of the
23 purported elector.
24 (b) The purported elector has accurately recorded on
25 the form the date on which he or she signed the form.
26 (c) The date the elector signed the form, as recorded
27 by the elector, is no more than 20 days before the date the
28 form is received by the supervisor of elections.
29 (d) The form accurately sets forth the purported
30 elector's name, street address, county, and voter registration
31 number or date of birth.
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1 (e) The purported elector is, at the time he or she
2 signs the form, a duly qualified and registered elector
3 authorized to vote in the county in which his or her signature
4 is submitted.
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6 The supervisor shall retain the signature forms for at least 1
7 year following the election in which the issue appeared on the
8 ballot or until the Division of Elections notifies the
9 supervisors of elections that the committee which circulated
10 the petition is no longer seeking to obtain ballot position.
11 (6) An elector's signature on a petition form may be
12 revoked by submitting to the appropriate supervisor of
13 elections a signed petition-revocation form adopted by rule
14 for this purpose by the division. The petition-revocation form
15 is subject to the same relevant requirements as the
16 corresponding petition form under the election code and must
17 be approved by the Secretary of State before any signature is
18 obtained. The petition-revocation form shall be filed with the
19 supervisor of elections no later than the February 1 preceding
20 the next general election or, if the initiative amendment is
21 not certified for ballot position in that election, no later
22 than the February 1 preceding the next successive general
23 election. The supervisor of elections shall promptly verify
24 the signature on the petition-revocation form and process such
25 revocation upon payment, in advance, of a fee of 10 cents or
26 the actual cost of verifying such signature, whichever is
27 less. The supervisor shall promptly record each valid and
28 verified petition-revocation form in the statewide voter
29 registration system in the manner prescribed by the Secretary
30 of State.
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1 (7)(a) If a person is presented with a petition form
2 or petition-revocation form for his or her possible signature
3 by a petition circulator, the person must record this fact on
4 the form, and the name and address of the petition circulator
5 must legibly appear on the form before the signature on the
6 form may be verified by the supervisor. For purposes of this
7 subsection, the term "petition circulator" means any person
8 who, in the context of a direct face-to-face conversation,
9 presents to another person for his or her possible signature a
10 petition form or petition-revocation form regarding ballot
11 placement for an initiative.
12 (b) A paid petition circulator shall, when engaged in
13 the activities described in paragraph (a), wear a prominent
14 badge, in a form and manner prescribed by rule by the
15 division, identifying him or her as a "PAID PETITION
16 CIRCULATOR." For purposes of this subsection, the term "paid
17 petition circulator" means a petition circulator who receives
18 any compensation as a direct or indirect consequence of these
19 activities.
20 (8) A signed petition form or petition-revocation form
21 regarding ballot placement for an initiative which does not
22 fully comply with the applicable provisions of the elections
23 code and the rules adopted thereunder, or which was obtained
24 in violation of the applicable provisions of the elections
25 code or the rules thereunder, may be verified by the
26 supervisor of elections and counted toward the number of valid
27 signatures required for ballot placement only after those
28 deficiencies or violations are corrected.
29 (9)(6) The Department of State may adopt rules in
30 accordance with s. 120.54 to carry out the provisions of
31 subsections (1)-(8) (1)-(5).
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 900
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1 Section 2. Any signature gathered on a previously
2 approved initiative petition form that has been submitted for
3 verification before August 1, 2008, may be verified and
4 counted if otherwise valid. However, any initiative petition
5 form that is submitted for verification on or after that date
6 may be verified and counted only if it complies with this act
7 and has been approved by the Secretary of State before
8 obtaining elector signatures.
9 Section 3. If any provision of this act or its
10 application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
11 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
12 the act which can be given effect without the invalid
13 provision or application, and to this end the provisions of
14 this act are declared severable.
15 Section 4. Except as otherwise expressly provided in
16 this act, this act shall take effect August 1, 2008.
17
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19 SENATE SUMMARY
20 Provides requirements for initiative petition forms,
including information that must be included on the form
21 before it may be verified and counted and qualifications
of electors signing such forms. Provides for an elector's
22 signature to be revoked. Requires a "paid petition
circulator" to identify himself or herself as such.
23 Provides for verification of and counting a signature on
a previously approved form that has been submitted for
24 verification before the effective date of the act.
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