The purpose of rulemaking is to conform the rules to statutory changes in HB 5 (Chapter 2019-64, Laws of Florida), and as further modified by SB 1794 (Chapter 2020-15, Laws of Florida), which collectively amend sections ....

 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Division of Elections

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

1S-2.0091Constitutional Amendment Initiative Petition; Submission Deadline; Signature Verification

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of rulemaking is to conform the rules to statutory changes in HB 5 (Chapter 2019-64, Laws of Florida), and as further modified by SB 1794 (Chapter 2020-15, Laws of Florida), which collectively amend sections 97.021 and 100.371, Florida Statutes. The laws, among other things, require paid petition circulators to register with the Secretary; require petition forms to be made available to constitutional amendment initiative petition sponsors; require the Secretary to maintain a paid petition circulator database; require supervisors of elections to provide specified information to the Division of Elections; provide requirements for gathering petition forms; provide for the imposition of fines for failure to deliver petition forms within a specified time period and provide for defenses; allow the Secretary of State to refer petition form violations to the Attorney General for enforcement; require the Division of Elections to adopt rules; and provide that the date the elector signs a petition form is presumed to be the date the sponsor collected the form. The changes to the rules are to incorporate these and other changes in the law.

SUMMARY: Constitutional amendment by initiative petition and related processes for petition circulators, supervisors, and the division of elections.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:

The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the Agency.

The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: This rule will not require legislative ratification pursuant to Section 120.541(3), F.S., because the rule applies only to election-related activities. Based upon past experiences with rules of this nature, this rule will not have an adverse effect on businesses or private-sector economic growth, job-creation, employment or investment; it is not likely to have an adverse impact on business competitiveness nor innovation in excess of the statutory threshold; nor will it increase regulatory costs in excess of the threshold mandating legislative ratification. No other statute requires legislative ratification for this rule.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 20.10, 97.012(1), (2), 97.052, FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 97.021, 100.371, FS.

A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

DATE AND TIME: June 10, 2021, 2:00 p.m.

PLACE: Heritage Hall (Department of State Auditorium), R.A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399.

Call-in also available at: 1(888)585-9008; Conference Room # 659-459-077.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 3 days before the workshop/meeting by contacting: Colleen O’Brien at [phone] or [e-mail].. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Colleen O'Brien, Assistant General Counsel, at [e-mail] or [phone].

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

1S-2.0091 Constitutional Amendment Initiative Petition; Submission Deadline; Signature Verification.

(1) Application and Forms. The process in this rule applies solely to constitutional amendments proposed by initiative. The form referenced herein is incorporated by reference and is available online on the Division of Elections’ website at https://www.dos.myflorida.com/elections under header for forms, through the rule as adopted under www.flrules.org, or from the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, Room 316, R.A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough Street, Tallahassee, 32399-0250, [phone].

(2) Submission.

(a) Signed initiative petition forms proposing amendments to the Florida Constitution shall be submitted by the sponsoring political committee (hereinafter “petition sponsor”) to the Supervisor of Elections for the county of residence listed by the person signing the form.

(b) If a form submitted by a paid petition circulator is not timely submitted within 30 days after the voter signs the form, the petition sponsor is liable for the fines set forth in section 100.371(7)(a)1. and 2., F.S.. If the 30th day falls on a weekend, holiday, or other day on which the Supervisor of Elections office is closed, the petition form must be delivered to the Supervisor of Elections by the following business day. Supervisors shall submit copies of untimely filed petitions filed by paid petition circulators to the Division of Elections, along with an indication of date received for each, such that the Division may provide notification to petition sponsors and impose statutory fines. The untimely filing of a form does not invalidate the signature on the form.

(c) If the Supervisor of Elections determines that the signer of the petition is a registered voter in another county, the Supervisor of Elections shall notify the petition sponsor that the petition has been misfiled. It is the responsibility of the petition sponsor sponsoring political committee thereafter to ensure that the misfiled petition form is properly filed with the Supervisor of Elections for the county in which the signer signee is a registered voter. In the case of a misfiled petition by a paid petition circulator, the filing date of the petition is the date such petition is filed with the proper county., except that for purposes of determining fines on a petition sponsor pursuant to section 100.371(7)(a)1. and 2., the 30-day clock is reset when the Supervisor of Elections returns the misfiled form to the petition sponsor. If a misfiled form is returned to the petition sponsor, the Supervisor of Elections shall notate the return date on the form.

(d) For petition forms submitted less than 60 days before February 1, of an even-numbered year, the petition sponsor shall ensure that the forms are bundled or separated in some manner by circulator prior to submitting the forms to the Supervisor of Elections.

(3)(2) Signature Verification.

(a) In accordance with the signature verification fee provisions in section 99.097(4), F.S., the petition sponsor must pay in advance the signature verification fee posted on the respective Supervisor of Elections website unless an affidavit of undue burden has been filed,

(b) The the Supervisor of Elections for the county in which the signee is a registered voter shall verify the signatures on each initiative petition form within 60 30 days, except for a petition form submitted less than 60 days before February 1 of an even-numbered year, which must be verified within 30 days, after receipt of the form to ensure that each person signing the petition form petition signer:

1. Was, at the time of signing and verification of the petition, a registered voter in the state,

2. For petition forms signed prior to April 8, 2020, has Except as provided in paragraph (4)(b), below, had not signed the petition form more than two years prior to the date the Supervisor verified the petition. For petition forms signed on or after April 8, 2020, has not signed the petition form more than two years prior to the next February 1 occurring in an even-numbered year, date the Supervisor verified the petition, and

3. Had not ever previously signed a petition form containing the identical initiative which had been verified as valid.

(b) The Supervisor shall not verify as valid a signature on an initiative petition form unless the petition is on the proper form prescribed by the Division of Elections as specified in Rule 1S-2.009, F.A.C. and all of the following information is contained on the petition form:

1. The voter’s name,

2. The voter’s address (including city and county),

3. The voter’s date of birth or voter registration number,

4. The voter’s original signature, and

5. The date the voter signed the petition, as recorded by the voter., and

6. For forms circulated by a paid petition circulator, a signed Petition Circulator’s Affidavit as required by section 100.371(5), Florida Statutes. Additionally, the paid petition circulator must have been registered with the Division of Elections to collect petitions on the date of the voter’s signature.

(4)(3) Random Sampling Not Permitted. Supervisors of Elections may not use random sampling as a method for verifying signatures on constitutional amendment initiative petitions.

(5)(4)(a) Recordation of Verification.

(a) After completing the signature verification process pursuant to subsection (3), the Supervisor of Elections shall report to the Division of Elections the following information: 

1. The assigned serial number for the applicable initiative petition,

2. The date the signature was verified,

3. The number of valid verified signatures, by congressional district in the county,

4. The number of invalid signatures, and

5. For forms gathered by a paid petition circulator, the circulator’s registration number.

(b) This information shall be submitted to the Division via data entry on the Supervisor of Elections application portal no later than 60 days after receipt of the petition by the Supervisor of Elections and payment of the fee for signature verification, except that for petition forms submitted less than 60 days before February 1 of an even-numbered year, the information must be submitted within 30 days after receipt and payment.

The appropriate supervisor of elections for each respective voter whose signature is verified as valid shall record the date the form was received, the date of the signature, the date the signature was verified, and the assigned serial number for the applicable initiative petition. Upon completion of the verifications as set forth in subsection (2), the Supervisors of Elections shall submit to the Division of Elections a certificate indicating the total number of signatures verified as valid and the distribution by congressional district. In conjunction with each certificate submitted, each Supervisor shall submit a copy of one petition showing the text of the constitutional amendment to which the verified signatures relate. Certificates may be submitted by the Supervisor via facsimile in order to meet the filing deadline, followed by the original certificates sent by mail.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (2)(a)2., above, a signature on a petition by a registered voter who signed the petition on or before May 19, 2011, is valid for four years. The Supervisor of Elections shall separately certify to the Division of Elections any signatures on a petition that were signed on or before May 19, 2011 by clearly annotating that the certification represents signatures on or before May 19, 2011.

(6) Complaints. Any person claiming to have had his or her signature on an initiative petition form misrepresented, forged, or not delivered to a Supervisor of Elections shall use Form DS-DE 153 (eff. XX/XXXX), entitled “Form for Complaint Against Petition Circulator” to file the complaint with the Division.

(7)(5) Filing Deadline. In order for the initiative petition to be timely filed for appearance on the ballot for the next general election, the constitutionally requisite number of verified signatures must be verified and reported to the Division no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 1 of the year in which the general election is held.

(8) Within ten days of a petition sponsor being notified that an initiative has made ballot position, the committee shall notify the Division as to whether it intends for Supervisors of Elections to continue verifying signatures on initiative petition forms.

(6) Limitation on Use of Verified Signatures. Verified signatures used successfully to place a proposed amendment by initiative on the ballot that subsequently fails to be approved by the electors at the general election shall not be used again in support of any future initiative petition. An identical initiative petition means an initiative petition that is circulated on an initiative petition form which contains the same serial number assigned to it pursuant to Rule 1S-2.009, F.A.C.

(9)(7) Nothing in this rule prohibits a voter from signing a successive initiative petition form containing the text of a former petition if the successive petition form has a different serial number assigned to it pursuant to Rule 1S-2.009, F.A.C.

Rulemaking Authority 20.10(3), 97.012(1), 100.371(6) FS. Law Implemented Art. XI, Fla. Const., 100.371 FS. History–New 1-6-80, Amended 12-20-83, Formerly 1C-7.091, 1C-7.0091, Amended 2-13-90, 3-5-96, 1-5-04, 3-16-06, 10-15-07, 10-13-08, 7-18-10, 9-7-11,_______.

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Maria Matthews, Director, Division of Elections

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Laurel M. Lee, Secretary of State

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: May 05, 2021

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: May 4, 2021