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Democracy and Environment:
Anti-Citizen Initiative bills

Our Position: oppose
Bill Number: HB7009/SB736/SB900/HB233/SB1920/HB559
Sponsor:
Legislative Session: 2007

GOVERNOR SIGNED HB537 & SB1920 INTO LAW AND VETOED SB900

5/4/07: HB537 and SB900  and SB1920 are ordered enrolled.

 PAPER TRAIL LEGISLATION AND ANTI CITIZEN INITIATIVE BILLS MERGED AS TWO BILLS PASS THE LEGISLATURE, SENT TO GOVERNOR

HB537 Paper Ballots mixed with initiative deforms and  SB 900 citizen initiative deforms and SB1920 Property Rights allows a Publix to pick who is allowed to set up for signature gatherings; these bills passed during the final two days of floor action by the Florida Legislature May 3-4.      SB1920 passed 4/30/07.

            On Thursday 5/3, the House unanimously accepted the “Election Reform” train which included the HB537 Paper Trail reforms and SB900 restrictions against citizens’ initiatives.    On the last day of session, the House backed down from its even more anti-citizen version of Initiative Reforms and accepted the Senate’s version, and both bills are heading for the Governor’s desk.    At first glance, the two so-called “good government” bills are opposites, with the latter bill including changes to only a single statute and the former boasting comprehensive (and expensive) reforms to a variety of elections related subjects:

• “Paper Trail” voting machines; funding and requirement of optical scan machines and marksense technology replacing touchscreens in the fifteen counties where they currently exist (and twenty-nine counties authorized for ballot-on-demand for early voting sites);  CONGRATULATIONS TO SO MANY ALLIES ON THE ONGOING VOTING MACHINES’ PAPER TRAIL!!
•  Third party Voter Registration Organizations (similar to the legislation declared unconstitutional previously);
• Citizens’ Initiative restrictions against petition drives, including an onerous and expensive, new process for gathering signatures AGAINST petitions signed by citizens who would be singled out and lobbied to subsequently “Revoke”  the original petition signature;
• The earlier Presidential Primary date for the last Tuesday in January 2008;
• various Elections Commission changes, including weakening citizen’s complaints against possible violators;
• internal changes for political parties;
• changes in campaign contribution restrictions;
• streamlining the transfer of campaign contributions for political committees and “committees of continuous existence,” but also requiring unions to list all dues-paying members in their reports;  
• changes in eligibility and timing for different levels of political candidates, including municipal, special district and federal candidates;
• changes in early registration for young voters;
• removal of two of the identification documents to allow voters to vote;
• NO Severability Clause, which appeared in earlier versions, and which usually are necessary in legislative “trains” in order to protect the other provisions if one or more sections of the bill are later found to be Unconstitutional.    This decision was deliberate to intimidate supporters of Paper Trail legislation from participating in ANY legal challenge to the remaining anti-citizen provisions of the bill.
• Effective date of January 1, 2008, unless otherwise indicated in specific sections.

So, is this 80-page bill a Legislative TRAIN?    You betcha.      Parts of this bill (there are 57 “sections”) came from various bills and amendments from both the Senate and House;  the final bill looks very little like the original HB 537 which passed the House floor on March 21 by a vote of 115-1;  and, for example, when the bill was substituted for SB 960, which had already become a train in the Senate, the legislation faced 20 floor amendments during the last six days of session.  The bill now changes or creates 52 sections of Florida Statutes, ranging across 13 different Chapters of Florida law.  

This bill makes all future initiative campaigns very difficult to even put new changes on the ballot anywhere in Florida (besides proposed constitutional amendments).     This restrictive new structure will apply to Florida Hometown Democracy, as well as any future reemergence of Redistricting Initiatives, or clarifications or strengthening of Constitutional Rights, citizen-sponsored proposals for changes in government financing or election opportunities, etc.  The so called good government bill changed dramatically for the worse on a 3-2 vote on April 24 when Senators Fasano, Diaz de la Portilla and Webster voted to use the paper trail bill against citizen initiatives.   

SB 900 ANTI-CITIZEN INITIATIVE BILL PASSED ON FINAL DAY OF LEGISLATIVE SESSION

This bill was stripped of several Bad provisions which had been passed by the House.   Since sponsor Joe Pickens and other supporters knew the session was winding down, they chose to accept the Senate version rather than get only the provisions in the HB 537 Elections Train which already passed the previous day.  Under statutory construction rules, the later-passed bill supersedes, so the language in SB 900 would replace the new sections in Florida Statute 100.371 as changed in HB 537.    Significantly, the new language in SB900 would go into effect on August 1, 2007  (as opposed to 1/1/08 in HB537).

          This bill clearly deserves a Gubernatorial Veto, since it restricts Citizens’ ability to place initiatives on the ballot.   The bills (SB 900 and HB 7009) did record opposition votes in both chambers:   SB900 passed the Senate 27-9 on 4/27,  82-35 on the House floor 5/2, and again 96-22 on 5/4.  HB 7009 came out of its Council of origin March 8 (Economic Expansion & Infrastructure) on a vote of 11-2.    (SEE Vote Sheets). Thanks to Senators Hill and Margolis, and Representatives Bucher and Cusack for consistent votes against the Initiative restrictions.

SB 1920 SENT TO GOVERNOR MONDAY April 30

After the Senate passed the Publix/ Chamber’s  so-called private property rights bill allowing mall owners to prohibit citizen petitioners on 4/27 (see last week’s TR), the House unanimously sent the bill on to the Governor at the beginning of Week 9 by a vote of 119-0.      

Overall, not a good week for issues critical to Democracy and the Environment.

4/28/07:  Anti-Citizen Petition Bills Pass Senate Limiting Petition Drives

 On Friday 4/27, the Senate floor passed two anti-petition bills, sending to the House the bills which allow Publix and other “private” property owners to prohibit citizen petitioners (SB 1920 by Fasano)  and which set up a new, expensive system of “Revocation” of signatures on petitions for proposed Citizen Initiatives (SB 900 by Posey).   SB 1920 passed 38-0 and SB 900 passed by 27-9.

4/21/07: Two Senate Bills Continue to Threaten Floridian's Right to Free Speech and Assembly.

SB736:  Click here to read about the bill.

There are several bills that are moving rather quickly that would prevent citizens from amending our constitution. Collectively these bills would make it harder for the paid petition gatherer and lock up our access to public places.

Don't let corporate lobbyists from Wal-Mart and Publix take away your rights to free speech!

Court cases have upheld Floridians' rights to  engage in political activity inside shopping malls, but industry lobbyists want to ban these rights outside of stand alone mega-stores and strip malls. In today's environment of gated communities and suburbs these shopping centers are hubs of social interaction. Citizens should be free to engage in their first amendment rights where people gather and socialize.

 

The following bills would 1. make it harder for citizens to engage in direct democracy through petition initiatives, 2. allow commercial property owners like Publix and Wal-mart to pick and choose which activities may take place on their property and 3. unconstitutionally ban first amendment rights.




Economic Expansion and Infrastructure Council
Oppose Committee Bill EEIC 07-01: NOW 7009
Creates extreme barriers for citizens who wish to sign petition initiatives and grassroots organizations engaging in direct democracy.

Let's shopping center and grocery store owners pick and choose permissible political speech on property.

 

Link to Council Members for contact information

 

 

House Ethics & Elections Committee

Oppose HB 559 Rep. Brown

Let's shopping center and grocery store owners pick and choose permissible political speech on property.

 

Link to Committee Members for contact information

 

 

Senate Ethics & Elections Committee

Oppose SB 900- Sen. Posey

Places barriers on petition initiative process, unfairly denying citizens the right to engage in direct democracy.

 

Link to Committee Members for contact information

 

Status

GOVERNOR SIGNED HB537 & SB1920 INTO LAW AND VETOED SB900

5/4/07: HB537 and SB900 are ordered enrolled.

4/28/07: On Friday 4/27, the Senate floor passed two anti-petition bills, sending to the House the bills which allow Publix and other “private” property owners to prohibit citizen petitioners (SB 1920 by Fasano)  and which set up a new, expensive system of “Revocation” of signatures on petitions for proposed Citizen Initiatives (SB 900 by Posey).   SB 1920 passed 38-0 and SB 900 passed by 27-9.

4/21/07:

HB233 was temporaily postponed:  Rep Brown & the Retail Federation’s anti-political speech/ Trespass bill (HB 233) didn’t make it out of the Courts committee this morning largely due to the behind the scenes lobbying efforts of the AFL-CIO.  

Action Needed

More information

S900     GENERAL BILL by Posey
  Initiative Petitions [LPCC]; prescribes information that must be on
  petition initiative form, & conditions with which elector signing it
  must comply, before form may be verified; provides procedures for
  revocation of signature on said form; requires paid petition
  circulators, as defined, to identify themselves as such; prohibits
supervisor of elections from counting petition or petition-revocation
  form that does not comply with statutory requirements, etc. Amends

  100.371.  EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/01/2008 except as otherwise provided.
  01/25/07 SENATE Filed
  02/08/07 SENATE Referred to Ethics and Elections; Judiciary
  03/05/07 SENATE On Committee agenda-- Ethics and Elections, 03/08/07, 9:30
                  am, 412-K
  03/06/07 SENATE Introduced, referred to Ethics and Elections; Judiciary
                  -SJ 00054; On Committee agenda-- Ethics and Elections,
                  03/08/07, 9:30 am, 412-K
  03/08/07 SENATE Favorable with 4 amendment(s) by Ethics and Elections;
                  YEAS  6  NAYS  3
  03/09/07 SENATE Now in Judiciary

Click here to learn more. S1920    GENERAL BILL by Fasano 

 HB559:  Ballot Initiatives [LPCC]; authorizes private property owners & others
  to prohibit or regulate activity on their property which opposes or
  supports ballot initiatives. Amends 100.371.