Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 90
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì105356.Î105356                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  04/20/2021           .                                
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       The Committee on Rules (Thurston) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (262784) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 185 - 195
    5  and insert:
    6         Section 4. Section 97.057, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    7  read:
    8         97.057 Voter registration by the Department of Highway
    9  Safety and Motor Vehicles.—
   10         (1) Each of the following serves as an application The
   11  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall provide
   12  the opportunity to register to vote or to update a voter
   13  registration record when submitted to the Department of Highway
   14  Safety and Motor Vehicles to each individual who comes to an
   15  office of that department to:
   16         (a) An application Apply for a driver license or a renewal
   17  of renew a driver license;
   18         (b) An application Apply for an identification card
   19  pursuant to chapter 322 or a renewal of renew an identification
   20  card pursuant to chapter 322; or
   21         (c) An application for a change of an address on an
   22  existing driver license or identification card.
   23  
   24  Unless the applicant declines to register to vote or to update
   25  his or her voter registration record, he or she is deemed to
   26  have consented to the use of the signature from his or her
   27  driver license or identification card application for voter
   28  registration purposes.
   29         (2) An application for a driver license or an
   30  identification card must include a voter registration component.
   31  The voter registration component must be approved by the
   32  Department of State. The voter registration component of a
   33  driver license or identification card application must contain:
   34         (a) The minimum amount of information necessary to prevent
   35  duplicate voter registrations and preserve the ability of the
   36  department and supervisors of elections to assess the
   37  eligibility of the applicant and administer voter registration
   38  and other provisions of this code.
   39         (b) A statement setting forth voting eligibility
   40  requirements.
   41         (c) An explanation that the applicant is consenting, for
   42  voter registration purposes, to the use of his or her signature
   43  from the applicant’s driver license or identification card
   44  application. By consenting to the use of his or her signature,
   45  the applicant is deemed to have subscribed to the oath required
   46  by s. 3, Art. VI of the State Constitution and s. 97.051 and to
   47  have sworn and affirmed that the voter registration information
   48  contained in the application is true under penalty for false
   49  swearing pursuant to s. 104.011.
   50         (d) An option that allows the applicant to choose or update
   51  a party affiliation; otherwise, an applicant who is initially
   52  registering to vote and does not exercise such option shall be
   53  registered without party affiliation in accordance with s.
   54  97.053(5)(b).
   55         (e) An option that allows the applicant to decline to
   56  register to vote or to decline to update his or her voter
   57  registration record. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
   58  Vehicles shall note any such declination in its records and
   59  forward the declination to the Department of State. Any
   60  declination may be used only for voter registration purposes and
   61  is confidential and exempt from public records requirements as
   62  provided in s. 97.0585.
   63         (3) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
   64  shall:
   65         (a) Develop a voter registration component for applications
   66  which meets the requirements set forth in subsection (2). Notify
   67  each individual, orally or in writing, that:
   68         1. Information gathered for the completion of a driver
   69  license or identification card application, renewal, or change
   70  of address can be automatically transferred to a voter
   71  registration application;
   72         2. If additional information and a signature are provided,
   73  the voter registration application will be completed and sent to
   74  the proper election authority;
   75         3. Information provided can also be used to update a voter
   76  registration record;
   77         4. All declinations will remain confidential and may be
   78  used only for voter registration purposes; and
   79         5. The particular driver license office in which the person
   80  applies to register to vote or updates a voter registration
   81  record will remain confidential and may be used only for voter
   82  registration purposes.
   83         (b) Require a driver license examiner to inquire orally or,
   84  if the applicant is hearing impaired, inquire in writing whether
   85  the applicant wishes to register to vote or update a voter
   86  registration record during the completion of a driver license or
   87  identification card application, renewal, or change of address.
   88         1. If the applicant chooses to register to vote or to
   89  update a voter registration record:
   90         a. All applicable information received by the Department of
   91  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the course of filling out
   92  the forms necessary under subsection (1) must be transferred to
   93  a voter registration application.
   94         b. The additional necessary information must be obtained by
   95  the driver license examiner and must not duplicate any
   96  information already obtained while completing the forms required
   97  under subsection (1).
   98         c. A voter registration application with all of the
   99  applicant’s voter registration information required to establish
  100  the applicant’s eligibility pursuant to s. 97.041 must be
  101  presented to the applicant to review and verify the voter
  102  registration information received and provide an electronic
  103  signature affirming the accuracy of the information provided.
  104         2. If the applicant declines to register to vote, update
  105  the applicant’s voter registration record, or change the
  106  applicant’s address by either orally declining or by failing to
  107  sign the voter registration application, the Department of
  108  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must note such declination on
  109  its records and shall forward the declination to the statewide
  110  voter registration system.
  111         (3) For the purpose of this section, the Department of
  112  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, with the approval of the
  113  Department of State, shall prescribe:
  114         (a) A voter registration application that is the same in
  115  content, format, and size as the uniform statewide voter
  116  registration application prescribed under s. 97.052; and
  117         (b) A form that will inform applicants under subsection (1)
  118  of the information contained in paragraph (2)(a).
  119         (4)The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  120  must Electronically transmit the voter registration component of
  121  an applicant’s driver license or identification card application
  122  to the Department of State completed voter registration
  123  applications within 24 hours after receipt to the statewide
  124  voter registration system. Upon receipt of the voter
  125  registration component, the Department of State shall provide
  126  the information to the supervisor of the county in which the
  127  applicant is registering Completed paper voter registration
  128  applications received by the Department of Highway Safety and
  129  Motor Vehicles shall be forwarded within 5 days after receipt to
  130  the supervisor of the county where the office that processed or
  131  received that application is located.
  132         (5) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  133  must send, with each driver license renewal extension
  134  application authorized pursuant to s. 322.18(8), a uniform
  135  statewide voter registration application, the voter registration
  136  application prescribed under paragraph (3)(a), or a voter
  137  registration application developed especially for the purposes
  138  of this subsection by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
  139  Vehicles, with the approval of the Department of State, which
  140  must meet the requirements of s. 97.052.
  141         (4)(6) A person providing voter registration services for a
  142  driver license office may not:
  143         (a) Seek to influence an applicant’s political preference
  144  or party registration;
  145         (b) Display any political preference or party allegiance;
  146         (c) Make any statement to an applicant or take any action
  147  the purpose or effect of which is to discourage the applicant
  148  from registering to vote; or
  149         (d) Disclose any applicant’s voter registration information
  150  except as needed for the administration of voter registration.
  151         (5)(7) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  152  shall collect data determined necessary by the Department of
  153  State for program evaluation and reporting to the Election
  154  Assistance Commission pursuant to federal law.
  155         (6)(8) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  156  shall must ensure that all voter registration services provided
  157  by driver license offices are in compliance with the Voting
  158  Rights Act of 1965.
  159         (7)(9) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  160  shall retain complete records of voter registration information
  161  received, processed, and submitted to the Department of State
  162  statewide voter registration system by the Department of Highway
  163  Safety and Motor Vehicles. The maintenance of such These records
  164  is shall be for the explicit purpose of supporting audit and
  165  accounting controls established to ensure accurate and complete
  166  electronic transmission of records between the Department of
  167  State statewide voter registration system and the Department of
  168  Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
  169         (8)(10) The Department of State shall provide the
  170  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles with an
  171  electronic database of street addresses valid for use as the
  172  address of legal residence as required in s. 97.053(5). The
  173  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall compare
  174  the address provided by the applicant against the database of
  175  valid street addresses. If the address provided by the applicant
  176  does not match a valid street address in the database, the
  177  applicant will be asked to verify the address provided. The
  178  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles may shall not
  179  reject any application for voter registration for which a valid
  180  match cannot be made.
  181         (9)(11) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  182  shall enter into an agreement with the Department of State to
  183  match information in the statewide voter registration system
  184  with information in the database of the Department of Highway
  185  Safety and Motor Vehicles to the extent required to verify the
  186  accuracy of the driver license number, Florida identification
  187  number, or last four digits of the social security number
  188  provided on applications for voter registration as required in
  189  s. 97.053.
  190         (10)(12) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
  191  Vehicles shall enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of
  192  Social Security as required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002
  193  to verify the last four digits of the social security number
  194  provided in applications for voter registration as required in
  195  s. 97.053.
  196         (11) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  197  must assist the Department of State in regularly identifying
  198  changes in residence address on the driver license or
  199  identification card of a voter. The Department of State must
  200  report each such change to the appropriate supervisor of
  201  elections, who must change the voter’s registration records in
  202  accordance with s. 98.065(4).
  203         Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
  204  98.045, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  205         98.045 Administration of voter registration.—
  206         (4) STATEWIDE ELECTRONIC DATABASE OF VALID RESIDENTIAL
  207  STREET ADDRESSES.—
  208         (b) The department shall make the statewide database of
  209  valid street addresses available to the Department of Highway
  210  Safety and Motor Vehicles as provided in s. 97.057(8) s.
  211  97.057(10). The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  212  shall use the database for purposes of validating the legal
  213  residential addresses provided in voter registration
  214  applications received by the Department of Highway Safety and
  215  Motor Vehicles.
  216  
  217  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  218  And the title is amended as follows:
  219         Delete lines 916 - 920
  220  and insert:
  221         revising procedures governing voter registration by
  222         the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles;
  223         providing that driver license or identification card
  224         applications, driver license or identification card
  225         renewal applications, and applications for changes of
  226         address for existing driver licenses or identification
  227         cards submitted to the department serve as voter
  228         registration applications; specifying that an
  229         applicant is deemed to have consented to the use of
  230         his or her signature for voter registration purposes,
  231         unless a declination is made; requiring specified
  232         applications to include a voter registration
  233         component, subject to approval by the Department of
  234         State; specifying requirements for the voter
  235         registration component; providing for the transmittal
  236         of voter registration information to the Department of
  237         State and supervisors of elections; requiring the
  238         Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to
  239         assist the Department of State in identifying certain
  240         residence address changes; requiring the Department of
  241         State to report such changes to supervisors of
  242         elections; amending s. 98.045, F.S.; conforming a
  243         cross-reference; amending s.