Amendment
Bill No. CS/CS/HB 1355

Amendment No. 438367

CHAMBER ACTION
Senate		House
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1	Representative Pafford offered the following:
2
3	Substitute Amendment for Amendment (186541) (with title
4	amendment)
5	Remove lines 508-615 and insert:
6	(3)  A third-party voter registration organization shall
7	turn in each voter registration application received from its
8	authorized registration agents regardless of whether the third-
9	party voter registration organization believes the voter
10	registration application may be invalid or incomplete. If, when
11	submitting a voter registration application, a third-party voter
12	registration organization also submits information stating why
13	the organization believes the application may be invalid or
14	incomplete, the third-party voter registration organization
15	shall be presumed to be in compliance with this section.
16	(1)  Prior to engaging in any voter registration
17	activities, a third-party voter registration organization shall
18	name a registered agent in the state and submit to the division,
19	in a form adopted by the division, the name of the registered
20	agent and the name of those individuals responsible for the day-
21	to-day operation of the third-party voter registration
22	organization, including, if applicable, the names of the
23	entity's board of directors, president, vice president, managing
24	partner, or such other individuals engaged in similar duties or
25	functions. On or before the 15th day after the end of each
26	calendar quarter, each third-party voter registration
27	organization shall submit to the division a report providing the
28	date and location of any organized voter registration drives
29	conducted by the organization in the prior calendar quarter.
30	(2)  The failure to submit the information required by
31	subsection (1) does not subject the third-party voter
32	registration organization to any civil or criminal penalties for
33	such failure, and the failure to submit such information is not
34	a basis for denying such third-party voter registration
35	organization with copies of voter registration application
36	forms.
37	(4)(a)(3)  A third-party voter registration organization
38	that collects voter registration applications serves as a
39	fiduciary to the applicant, ensuring that any voter registration
40	application entrusted to the third-party voter registration
41	organization, irrespective of party affiliation, race,
42	ethnicity, or gender, shall be promptly delivered to the
43	division or the supervisor of elections within 10 calendar days
44	after the applicant completes it or the next business day if the
45	appropriate office is closed for 10 calendar days. If a voter
46	registration application collected by any third-party voter
47	registration organization is not promptly delivered to the
48	division or supervisor of elections, the third-party voter
49	registration organization is shall be liable for the following
50	fines:
51	1.(a)  A fine in the amount of $50 for each application
52	received by the division or the supervisor of elections more
53	than 10 calendar days after the applicant delivered the
54	completed voter registration application to the third-party
55	voter registration organization or any person, entity, or agent
56	acting on its behalf or the next business day, if the office is
57	closed. A fine in the amount of $250 for each application
58	received if the third-party voter registration organization or
59	person, entity, or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully.
60	2.(b)  A fine in the amount of $100 for each application
61	collected by a third-party voter registration organization or
62	any person, entity, or agent acting on its behalf, before prior
63	to book closing for any given election for federal or state
64	office and received by the division or the supervisor of
65	elections after the book-closing book closing deadline for such
66	election. A fine in the amount of $500 for each application
67	received if the third-party registration organization or person,
68	entity, or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully.
69	3.(c)  A fine in the amount of $500 for each application
70	collected by a third-party voter registration organization or
71	any person, entity, or agent acting on its behalf, which is not
72	submitted to the division or supervisor of elections. A fine in
73	the amount of $1,000 for any application not submitted if the
74	third-party voter registration organization or person, entity,
75	or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully.
76
77	The aggregate fine pursuant to this paragraph subsection which
78	may be assessed against a third-party voter registration
79	organization, including affiliate organizations, for violations
80	committed in a calendar year is shall be $1,000.
81	(b)  A showing by the fines provided in this subsection
82	shall be reduced by three-fourths in cases in which the third-
83	party voter registration organization that the failure to
84	deliver the voter registration application within the required
85	timeframe is based upon force majeure or impossibility of
86	performance shall be an affirmative defense to a violation of
87	this subsection has complied with subsection (1). The secretary
88	may shall waive the fines described in this subsection upon a
89	showing that the failure to deliver the voter registration
90	application promptly is based upon force majeure or
91	impossibility of performance.
92	(5)  If the Secretary of State reasonably believes that a
93	person has committed a violation of this section, the secretary
94	may refer the matter to the Attorney General for enforcement.
95	The Attorney General may institute a civil action for a
96	violation of this section or to prevent a violation of this
97	section. An action for relief may include a permanent or
98	temporary injunction, a restraining order, or any other
99	appropriate order.
100	(6)(4)(a)  The division shall adopt by rule a form to
101	elicit specific information concerning the facts and
102	circumstances from a person who claims to have been registered
103	to vote by a third-party voter registration organization but who
104	does not appear as an active voter on the voter registration
105	rolls. The division shall also adopt rules to ensure the
106	integrity of the registration process, including rules requiring
107	third-party voter registration organizations to account for all
108	state and federal registration forms used by their registration
109	agents.
110	(b)  The division may investigate any violation of this
111	section. Civil fines shall be assessed by the division and
112	enforced through any appropriate legal proceedings.
113	(7)(5)  The date on which an applicant signs a voter
114	registration application is presumed to be the date on which the
115	third-party voter registration organization received or
116	collected the voter registration application.
117	(8)(6)  The civil fines provided in this section are in
118	addition to any applicable criminal penalties.
119	(9)(7)  Fines collected pursuant to this section shall be
120	annually appropriated by the Legislature to the department for
121	enforcement of this section and for voter education.
122	(10)(8)  The division may adopt rules to administer this
123	section.
124
125
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127	T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T
128	Remove line 31 and insert:
129	any other appropriate order; requiring submission of all voter
130	registration applications received by a third-party voter
131	registration organization; providing circumstances under which a
132	third-party voter registration organization shall be deemed to
133	be in compliance with the law when submitting voter registration
134	applications; requiring that the division

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.