Florida Senate - 2025                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SPB 7016
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì939772JÎ939772                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       The Committee on Ethics and Elections (Gaetz and Grall)
       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 447 - 468
    4  and insert:
    5  petition forms: prior to obtaining any signatures,
    6         (a) Register as a political committee pursuant to s. 106.03
    7  and submit the ballot title, ballot summary, article and section
    8  of the State Constitution being amended, and the full text of
    9  the proposed amendment to the Secretary of State. The proposed
   10  amendment and all forms filed in connection with this section
   11  must, upon request, be made available in alternative formats,
   12  with the form on which the signatures will be affixed, and shall
   13  obtain the approval of the Secretary of State of such form. Upon
   14  receipt, the Secretary of State shall assign the initiative
   15  petition a petition number and submit a copy of the proposed
   16  amendment to the Financial Impact Estimating Conference for
   17  review, analysis, and estimation of the financial impact of the
   18  proposed amendment. After the review by the Financial Impact
   19  Estimating Conference, the division shall publish the form with
   20  the information provided for in subsection (3) and on which
   21  signatures for the initiative petition will be affixed The
   22  Secretary of State shall adopt rules pursuant to s. 120.54
   23  prescribing the style and requirements of such form. Upon filing
   24  with the Secretary of State, the text of the proposed amendment
   25  and all forms filed in connection with this section must, upon
   26  request, be made available in alternative formats.
   27         (b)1. Post a $1 million bond payable to the division. Such
   28  bond must be conditioned upon the payment of all fines adjudged
   29  against the sponsor. This requirement may be waived if a sponsor
   30  cannot post such a bond without imposing an undue burden on the
   31  sponsor’s resources and provides a written certification of such
   32  inability given under oath to the division. However, a person
   33  may not be paid to circulate petitions if an undue burden oath
   34  has been filed pursuant to this paragraph. If a person is
   35  subsequently paid to circulate petitions, the waiver of the bond
   36  must be immediately rescinded, and signatures may not be
   37  validated until the bond is posted and any outstanding fines
   38  have been paid. If the sponsor receives a contribution as
   39  defined in s. 106.011:
   40         a. Monetary contributions must first be used to reimburse
   41  the supervisor of elections for any verification fees that were
   42  not paid because of the filing of an undue burden oath pursuant
   43  to s. 99.097(4).
   44         b. After the sponsor satisfies the obligation in sub
   45  subparagraph a., contributions must be used to secure a bond as
   46  required by this subsection.
   47         c. After the sponsor satisfies the obligations in
   48  subparagraphs a. and b., contributions may be used to pay
   49  petition circulators.
   50         2. In lieu of a bond, the division may accept a cashier’s
   51  check, official bank check, or money order in the amount of the
   52  bond.
   53  
   54  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   55  And the title is amended as follows:
   56         Delete line 48
   57  and insert:
   58         adopt certain rules; requiring a sponsor to post a
   59         certain bond before circulating petition forms;
   60         authorizing the waiver of such requirement if the
   61         sponsor provides a certain written certification under
   62         oath to the division; prohibiting sponsors from paying
   63         petition circulators if granted a waiver; providing
   64         that the waiver is rescinded and signatures may not be
   65         verified under a specified circumstance; requiring
   66         that monetary contributions received by the sponsor be
   67         used for specified purposes, in a specified order;
   68         authorizing the division to accept a cashier’s check,
   69         official bank check, or money order in lieu of a bond;
   70         providing the requirements for