Florida Senate - 2020                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1794
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì6418903Î641890                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  02/27/2020           .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       The Committee on Rules (Hutson) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 248 - 538
    4  and insert:
    5         2. If the financial impact statement estimates an
    6  indeterminate financial impact, the ballot must include the
    7  statement required by s. 101.161(1)(c).
    8         3. If the members of the Financial Impact Estimating
    9  Conference are unable to agree on the statement required by this
   10  subsection, the ballot must include the statement required by s.
   11  101.161(1)(d).
   12         (e)1. Any financial impact statement that the Supreme Court
   13  finds not to be in accordance with this subsection shall be
   14  remanded solely to the Financial Impact Estimating Conference
   15  for redrafting, provided the court’s advisory opinion is
   16  rendered at least 75 days before the election at which the
   17  question of ratifying the amendment will be presented. The
   18  Financial Impact Estimating Conference shall prepare and adopt a
   19  revised financial impact statement no later than 5 p.m. on the
   20  15th day after the date of the court’s opinion.
   21         2. If, by 5 p.m. on the 75th day before the election, the
   22  Supreme Court has not issued an advisory opinion on the initial
   23  financial impact statement prepared by the Financial Impact
   24  Estimating Conference for an initiative amendment that otherwise
   25  meets the legal requirements for ballot placement, the financial
   26  impact statement shall be deemed approved for placement on the
   27  ballot.
   28         3. In addition to the financial impact statement required
   29  by this subsection, the Financial Impact Estimating Conference
   30  shall draft an initiative financial information statement. The
   31  initiative financial information statement should describe in
   32  greater detail than the financial impact statement any projected
   33  increase or decrease in revenues or costs that the state or
   34  local governments would likely experience and the estimated
   35  economic impact on the state and local economy if the ballot
   36  measure were approved. If appropriate, the initiative financial
   37  information statement may include both estimated dollar amounts
   38  and a description placing the estimated dollar amounts into
   39  context. The initiative financial information statement must
   40  include both a summary of not more than 500 words and additional
   41  detailed information that includes the assumptions that were
   42  made to develop the financial impacts, workpapers, and any other
   43  information deemed relevant by the Financial Impact Estimating
   44  Conference.
   45         4. The Department of State shall have printed, and shall
   46  furnish to each supervisor of elections, a copy of the summary
   47  from the initiative financial information statements. The
   48  supervisors shall have the summary from the initiative financial
   49  information statements available at each polling place and at
   50  the main office of the supervisor of elections upon request.
   51         5. The Secretary of State and the Office of Economic and
   52  Demographic Research shall make available on the Internet each
   53  initiative financial information statement in its entirety. In
   54  addition, each supervisor of elections whose office has a
   55  website shall post the summary from each initiative financial
   56  information statement on the website. Each supervisor shall
   57  include a copy of each summary from the initiative financial
   58  information statements and the Internet addresses for the
   59  information statements on the Secretary of State’s and the
   60  Office of Economic and Demographic Research’s websites in the
   61  publication or mailing required by s. 101.20.
   62         (f) When the Secretary of State submits a proposed
   63  initiative petition to the President of the Senate and the
   64  Speaker of the House of Representatives pursuant to s. 15.21,
   65  the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
   66  Representatives may direct legislative staff to prepare an
   67  analysis of the petition. Such analysis may include, but is not
   68  limited to, whether the amendment has undefined terms, conflicts
   69  with an existing provision of the State Constitution, or will
   70  cause unintended consequences or economic impacts.
   71         Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 101.161, Florida
   72  Statutes, is amended to read:
   73         101.161 Referenda; ballots.—
   74         (1) Whenever a constitutional amendment or other public
   75  measure is submitted to the vote of the people, a ballot summary
   76  of such amendment or other public measure shall be printed in
   77  clear and unambiguous language on the ballot after the list of
   78  candidates, followed by the word “yes” and also by the word
   79  “no,” and shall be styled in such a manner that a “yes” vote
   80  will indicate approval of the proposal and a “no” vote will
   81  indicate rejection. The ballot summary of the amendment or other
   82  public measure and the ballot title to appear on the ballot
   83  shall be embodied in the constitutional revision commission
   84  proposal, constitutional convention proposal, taxation and
   85  budget reform commission proposal, or enabling resolution or
   86  ordinance. The ballot summary of the amendment or other public
   87  measure shall be an explanatory statement, not exceeding 75
   88  words in length, of the chief purpose of the measure. In
   89  addition, for every constitutional amendment proposed by
   90  initiative, the ballot shall include, following the ballot
   91  summary, in the following order:
   92         (a) A separate financial impact statement concerning the
   93  measure prepared by the Financial Impact Estimating Conference
   94  in accordance with s. 100.371(13) s. 100.371(5).
   95         (b) If the financial impact statement projects a net
   96  negative impact on the state budget, the following statement in
   97  bold print:
   98  
   99         THIS PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IS ESTIMATED TO
  100         HAVE A NET NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE STATE BUDGET. THIS
  101         IMPACT MAY RESULT IN HIGHER TAXES OR A LOSS OF
  102         GOVERNMENT SERVICES IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A BALANCED
  103         STATE BUDGET AS REQUIRED BY THE CONSTITUTION.
  104  
  105         (c) If the financial impact statement is indeterminate, the
  106  following statement in bold print:
  107  
  108         THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THIS AMENDMENT CANNOT BE
  109         DETERMINED DUE TO AMBIGUITIES AND UNCERTAINTIES
  110         SURROUNDING THE AMENDMENT’S IMPACT.
  111  
  112         (d) If the members of the Financial Impact Estimating
  113  Conference are unable to agree on the financial impact
  114  statement, the following statement in bold print:
  115  
  116         THE FINANCIAL IMPACT ESTIMATING CONFERENCE WAS UNABLE
  117         TO AGREE ON THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THIS PROPOSED
  118         CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. THIS AMENDMENT MAY RESULT IN
  119         HIGHER TAXES OR A LOSS OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES IN ORDER
  120         TO MAINTAIN A BALANCED STATE BUDGET AS REQUIRED BY THE
  121         CONSTITUTION.
  122  
  123  The ballot title shall consist of a caption, not exceeding 15
  124  words in length, by which the measure is commonly referred to or
  125  spoken of. This subsection does not apply to constitutional
  126  amendments or revisions proposed by joint resolution.
  127         Section 5. Section 101.171, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  128  read:
  129         101.171 Copy of constitutional amendment to be available at
  130  voting locations.—Whenever any amendment to the State
  131  Constitution is to be voted upon at any election, the Department
  132  of State shall have printed and shall furnish to each supervisor
  133  of elections a sufficient number of copies of the amendment
  134  either in poster or booklet form, and the supervisor shall
  135  provide have a copy in a designated area of each polling
  136  location as determined by the supervisor thereof conspicuously
  137  posted or available at each polling room or early voting area
  138  upon the day of election.
  139         Section 6. The provisions of this act apply to revisions or
  140  amendments to the State Constitution proposed by initiative
  141  which are proposed for the
  142  
  143  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  144  And the title is amended as follows:
  145         Delete lines 34 - 58
  146  and insert:
  147         constitutional amendments proposed by initiative
  148         include certain disclosures and statements, in a
  149         specified order; amending s.