Constitutional Amendment by Initiative Petition

 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Division of Elections

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

1S-2.009Constitutional Amendment by Initiative Petition

NOTICE OF CHANGE

Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 40, No. 20, January 30, 2014 issue of the Florida Administrative Register.

 

1S-2.009 Constitutional Amendment by Initiative Petition.

(1) Submission of Initiative Petition. Before a petition to place a proposed amendment to the State Constitution on the ballot by initiative can be circulated for signatures, the sponsoring political committee must receive approval of the format of the proposed form from the Secretary of State Division of Elections. The sponsoring committee shall submit a written request for review, along with a copy of the proposed form, to the Secretary of State Division of Elections.

(2) Requirements and Approval of Initiative Petition Form.

(a) The Secretary of State Division shall review the initiative petition form solely for sufficiency of the format and shall render a decision within seven (7) days following receipt.

(b) The format of an initiative petition submitted for review and approval by the Secretary of State Division of Elections shall be in accordance with Form DS-DE 19 (effective ______), entitled “Constitutional Amendment Petition Form” and the requirements of this rule. Form DS-DE 19 is hereby incorporated by reference and is available from the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, Room 316, R.A. Gray Building, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250, [phone], or by download from the Division of Elections’ rules webpage at: http://election.dos.state.fl.us.  The format of the petition form is deemed sufficient only if the petition form:

1. No change.

2. Clearly and conspicuously contains in the following order:

a. through i. No change.

j. Adequate blank lines for the date of the voter’s signature and the voter’s signature. The petition shall contain a blank line for only one voter’s signature. The Secretary of State Division will not approve petition forms providing for multiple signatures per page.

k. No change.

l., Adequate blank lines in accordance with Section 106.19(3), F.S., for the name and address of a paid petition circulator, if one is used.

m. No change.

(c) No change.

(3) through (4) No change.

(5) Assignment of a Serial Number. The Secretary of State Division shall assign a serial number to each approved petition form. The serial number shall begin with the last two digits of the calendar year in which the petition form is approved followed by a number in numerical sequence. For example, the first petition form approved in 2006 is assigned the serial number 06-1. The serial number assigned must be printed in the lower right hand corner of the petition form.

(6) Changes. Any change to a previously approved petition form shall be submitted to the Secretary of State Division of Elections for review. No person or entity other than the sponsoring political committee of the previously approved petition form can submit a change or changes to the previously approved petition form. The Secretary of State Division of Elections must approve any material change to a previously approved petition form. A material change constitutes a change in the wording of the text of the proposed amendment, the ballot title, or ballot summary, or a change in punctuation or layout, or a change in the name of the sponsoring political committee. A translation into another language does not constitute a material change to an initiative petition form.  If translated into another language, the translation must not add or subtract from the approved English language and format of the petition and its blank entries. Any material change submitted for approval to a previously approved initiative petition constitutes a request for approval of a new petition form and shall be  assigned a different serial number upon approval by the Secretary of State Division of Elections.

(7) Reproduction. Petition forms may be reproduced in newspapers, magazines, and other forms of printed mass media or made available through the internet for download printing, provided such forms are reproduced in the same format as approved by the Secretary of State Division. The petition forms may be included within a larger advertisement, provided the forms are clearly defined by a solid or broken line border.

(8) No change.

(9) Effect on Previously Approved Petition Form. Any petition form approved by the Secretary of State Division of Elections prior to the effective date of this rule may continue to be used and circulated for signature gathering unless a material change to the previously approved petition form has been approved by the Secretary of State Division of Elections or until the sponsoring political committee notifies the Secretary of State Division of Elections that the committee is no longer seeking to obtain ballot position, or the registration of the sponsoring political committee has been revoked in accordance with Rule 1S-2.021, F.A.C.

Rulemaking Specific Authority 20.10(3), 97.012(1), 100.371(2), (7), 101.161(2) FS. Law Implemented Art. XI, Fla. Const., 100.371, 101.161 FS. History–New 7-2-79, Formerly 1C-7.09, Amended 7-7-86, Formerly 1C-7.009, Amended 3-5-96, 7-31-02, 3-16-06, 10-15-07, 10-13-08,___________.

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Jordan Jones

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Kenneth W. Detzner, Secretary of State

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: January 27, 2014

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: August 28, 2013