HJR 785

1
House Joint Resolution
2A joint resolution proposing the creation of Section 8 of
3Article VI of the State Constitution to provide for the
4recall of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a member
5of the Cabinet, or legislator.
6
7Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
9     That the following creation of Section 8 of Article VI of
10the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to
11the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next
12general election or at an earlier special election specifically
13authorized by law for that purpose:
14
ARTICLE VI
15
SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS
16     SECTION 8.  Recall of governor, lieutenant governor, member
17of the cabinet, or legislator.-
18     (a)  Recall is the power of the electors to remove a person
19from elective office before his or her term expires. The
20governor, the lieutenant governor, a member of the cabinet, or a
21legislator may be removed from office by the electors in a
22recall election. However, removal of the governor under this
23section includes removal of the lieutenant governor. This method
24of removing a person from elective office is in addition to any
25other method provided by this constitution or general law.
26     (b)  The recall of a public official under this section is
27initiated by delivering to the chief election officer of the
28state a petition containing the name of the person sought to be
29recalled and the alleged reason for the recall. If the person
30sought to be recalled is the governor, the petition shall
31contain the names of the governor and the lieutenant governor.
32The sufficiency of the reason is not reviewable. Proponents have
33120 days to circulate and file signed petitions, and the chief
34election officer of the state shall maintain a continuous count
35of the signatures certified to that office.
36     (c)  A petition to recall a public official under this
37section other than a legislator must contain signatures from
38each of the 67 counties in the state, and the signatures must
39equal 15 percent of the total votes cast in the last election
40for the office. All electors of the state may sign the petition
41to recall the official. If the recall petition is successful and
42a recall election is held, all electors in the state may vote in
43the recall election.
44     (d)  A petition to recall a legislator must contain
45signatures equal to 20 percent of the total votes cast in the
46last election for the office. Only electors of the district the
47legislator represents may sign the petition to recall the
48legislator. If the recall petition is successful and a recall
49election is held, only electors of the district the legislator
50represents may vote in the recall election.
51     (e)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this
52constitution or law, if the petition to hold a recall election
53under this section is successful, the election for a successor
54to the office shall be held simultaneously with the recall
55election. The election to determine whether to recall a public
56official under this section and elect a successor shall be
57called by the chief election officer of the state and held not
58less than 60 days nor more than 80 days after the date of
59certification of the number of sufficient signatures. However,
60if the next regularly scheduled election is to be held within
61100 days after the date of certification of sufficient
62signatures, the chief election officer of the state may schedule
63the recall election on the same date as the regularly scheduled
64election. The public official who is the subject of the recall
65may not be a candidate for the office.
66     (f)  If the majority vote on the question is to recall the
67public official, the official shall be removed and the candidate
68who receives the highest number of votes cast in the election
69held simultaneously to fill the vacancy in office shall be the
70successor for the remainder of the term. If the public official
71who is the subject of the petition is not recalled, he or she
72shall be reimbursed by the state for any recall election
73expenses that were personally and legally incurred and a
74subsequent recall petition may not be initiated against the
75official during the remainder of his or her term in office.
76     (g)  In any election to fill the offices of governor and
77lieutenant governor under this section, candidates for those
78offices shall form joint candidacies and neither the governor
79nor the lieutenant governor may be a candidate for either
80office.
81     (h)  Additional provisions governing recall under this
82section may be provided by general law.
83     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
84placed on the ballot:
85
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
86
ARTICLE VI, SECTION 8
87     RECALL OF GOVERNOR, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, MEMBER OF THE
88CABINET, OR LEGISLATOR.-Recall is the power of the electors to
89remove a person from elective office before his or her term
90expires. This proposed amendment to the State Constitution
91provides for recall of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor,
92any member of the Cabinet, or any legislator at an election.
93Removal of the Governor by recall includes removal of the
94Lieutenant Governor. The recall process is initiated when a
95petition containing the name of the person sought to be recalled
96and the alleged grounds for the recall is delivered to the chief
97election officer of the state, which is currently the Secretary
98of State. If the person sought to be recalled is the Governor,
99the petition shall contain the names of the Governor and the
100Lieutenant Governor. The sufficiency of the reason for the
101recall is not reviewable. The supporters of the recall measure
102have 120 days to circulate and file signed petitions with the
103Secretary of State.
104     This amendment also specifies who is eligible to sign the
105recall petition and what percentage of the electors must sign
106the petition for a recall election to take place. If the person
107who is the subject of the recall petition is a legislator, only
108electors from the legislator's district may sign the petition.
109If the person who is the subject of the recall petition is a
110public official subject to recall under this amendment other
111than a legislator, any elector of the state may sign the
112petition. The same standards apply to who may vote if a recall
113election is held.
114     Finally, this amendment provides that if enough signatures
115are collected to require a recall election, the election for a
116successor to the office, if vacated, will be held at the same
117time as the recall election. The successor who is elected will
118serve the remainder of the term. This proposed amendment
119specifies when the Secretary of State must call the election and
120provides that the person who is the subject of the recall may
121not be a candidate for the office. Candidates for the offices of
122Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall form joint candidacies,
123and neither the Governor nor the Lieutenant Governor may be a
124candidate for either office. If the person who is the subject of
125the recall petition is not recalled from office, he or she will
126be reimbursed for any recall election expenses that were
127personally and legally incurred. Additionally, if the person is
128not recalled, a subsequent recall may not be initiated against
129the person during the remainder of his or her term in office.
130Additional provisions governing recall under this amendment may
131be provided by general law.


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