Florida Senate - 2012 SJR 422
By Senator Smith
29-00409-12 2012422__
1 Senate Joint Resolution
2 A joint resolution proposing the creation of Section 8
3 of Article VI of the State Constitution to provide for
4 the recall of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor,
5 members of the Cabinet, and legislators.
6
7 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
9 That the following creation of Section 8 of Article VI of
10 the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to
11 the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next
12 general election or at an earlier special election specifically
13 authorized by law for that purpose:
14 ARTICLE VI
15 SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS
16 SECTION 8. Recall of governor, lieutenant governor, members
17 of the cabinet, and legislators.—
18 (a) Recall is the power of the electors to remove a person
19 from elective office before his or her term expires. The
20 governor, lieutenant governor, members of the cabinet, and
21 legislators may be removed from office by the electors in a
22 recall election. This method of removing persons from elective
23 office is in addition to any other method provided by this
24 constitution or general law.
25 (b) The recall of a public official under this section is
26 initiated by delivering to the custodian of state records a
27 petition containing the name of the person sought to be recalled
28 and the alleged reason for the recall. The sufficiency of the
29 reason is not reviewable. Proponents have 120 days to circulate
30 and file signed petitions, and the custodian of state records
31 shall maintain a continuous count of the signatures certified to
32 that office.
33 (c) A petition to recall a public official other than a
34 legislator under this section must contain signatures from each
35 of the 67 counties in the state, and the signatures must equal
36 15 percent of the total votes cast in the last election for the
37 office. All electors of the state may sign the petition to
38 recall the official. If the recall petition is successful and a
39 recall election is held, all electors in the state may vote in
40 the recall election.
41 (d) A petition to recall a legislator must contain
42 signatures equal to 20 percent of the total votes cast in the
43 last election for the office. Only electors of the district the
44 legislator represents may sign the petition to recall the
45 legislator. If the recall petition is successful and a recall
46 election is held, only electors of the district the legislator
47 represents may vote in the recall election.
48 (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
49 constitution or law, if the petition to hold a recall election
50 under this section is successful, the election for a successor
51 to the office shall be held simultaneously with the recall
52 election. The election to determine whether to recall a public
53 official under this section and elect a successor shall be
54 called by the custodian of state records and held not less than
55 60 days nor more than 80 days after the date of certification of
56 the number of sufficient signatures. However, if the next
57 regularly scheduled election is to be held within 100 days after
58 the date of certification of sufficient signatures, the
59 custodian of state records may schedule the recall election on
60 the same date as the regularly scheduled election. The public
61 official who is the subject of the recall may not be a candidate
62 for the office.
63 (f) If the majority vote on the question is to recall the
64 public official, the official shall be removed and the candidate
65 who receives the highest number of votes cast in the election
66 held simultaneously to fill the vacancy in office shall be the
67 successor for the remainder of the term. If the public official
68 who is the subject of the petition is not recalled, he or she
69 shall be reimbursed by the state for any recall election
70 expenses that were personally and legally incurred and a
71 subsequent recall petition may not be initiated against the
72 official during the remainder of his or her term in office.
73 (g) Additional provisions governing recall under this
74 section may be provided by general law.
75 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
76 placed on the ballot:
77 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
78 ARTICLE VI, SECTION 8
79 RECALL OF GOVERNOR, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, MEMBERS OF THE
80 CABINET, AND LEGISLATORS.—Recall is the power of the electors to
81 remove a person from elective office before his or her term
82 expires. This proposed amendment to the State Constitution
83 provides for recall of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor,
84 any member of the Cabinet, or any legislator at an election. The
85 recall process is initiated when a petition containing the name
86 of the person sought to be recalled and the alleged grounds for
87 the recall is delivered to the custodian of state records. The
88 sufficiency of the reason for the recall is not reviewable. The
89 supporters of the recall measure have 120 days to circulate and
90 file signed petitions with the custodian of state records.
91 This amendment also specifies who is eligible to sign the
92 recall petition and what percentage of the electors must sign
93 the petition in order for a recall election to take place. If
94 the person who is the subject of the recall petition is a
95 legislator, only electors from the legislator’s district may
96 sign the petition. If the person who is the subject of the
97 recall petition is a public official subject to recall under
98 this amendment other than a legislator, any elector of the state
99 may sign the petition. The same standards apply to who may vote
100 if a recall election is held.
101 Finally, this amendment provides that if enough signatures
102 are collected to require a recall election, the election for a
103 successor to the office, if vacated, will be held at the same
104 time as the recall election. The successor who is elected will
105 serve the remainder of the term. This proposed amendment
106 specifies when the custodian of state records must call the
107 election and provides that the person who is the subject of the
108 recall may not be a candidate for the office. If the person who
109 is the subject of the recall petition is not recalled from
110 office, he or she will be reimbursed for any recall election
111 expenses that were personally and legally incurred.
112 Additionally, if the person is not recalled, a subsequent recall
113 may not be initiated against the person during the remainder of
114 his or her term in office.