After fierce — and expensive — political battles last year about abortion rights and recreational marijuana, Florida lawmakers Thursday began moving forward with a proposal that would place additional restrictions on the ballot-initiative process.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has made the issue a priority after he led efforts that in November defeated initiatives aimed at enshrining abortion rights in the state Constitution and allowing recreational use of marijuana.
The Republican-controlled House Government Operations Subcommittee on Thursday voted 14-4 along almost-straight party lines to approve a bill (HB 1205) that focuses on the critical process of gathering and submitting petition signatures to place measures on the ballot.
Bill sponsor Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, said the process is “broken,” with out-of-state money flooding into Florida to try to pass initiatives and paid petition circulators committing fraud.
“Now, the process has been taken over by out-of-state fraudsters looking to make a quick buck and by special interests intent on buying their way into our Constitution,” Persons-Mulicka said.
But opponents said the proposed restrictions would prevent citizens from trying to pass ballot initiatives when their wishes are ignored by the Legislature. They pointed to numerous examples of voter-approved initiatives, such as measures that raised the minimum wage, allowed medical marijuana, started the state’s voluntary pre-kindergarten program and sought to prevent political gerrymandering.
Genesis Robinson, executive director for the voting-rights group Equal Ground Education Fund and Action Fund, said the bill would amount to a “death blow to direct democracy here in the state of Florida.”
“Let’s be clear, this bill is not about election integrity,” Robinson told the House panel. “It’s about fear, fear of the people using their constitutional right to act when you fail to deliver on the issues that matter most to them. House Bill 1205 would make the citizen-initiative process nearly impossible.”
Lawmakers during the past two decades have taken a series of steps aimed at making it harder to place initiatives on the ballot and pass them. Persons-Mulicka’s bill would add to those steps.
As examples, it would require that signed petition forms include voters’ driver’s license or Florida identification-card numbers or the last four digits of their Social Security numbers; reduce from 30 days to 10 days the deadline for initiative sponsors to submit petitions to elections supervisors for verification; and increase fines for petitions that are submitted late.
Other examples include requiring sponsors to post $1 million bonds to ensure any fines would be paid; requiring that all petition circulators be Florida residents; and requiring that paid petition circulators have criminal background checks and undergo training.
A crowd jammed the House committee room for Thursday’s meeting, including numerous student political activists who criticized the bill. Meanwhile, groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce supported the bill, while organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida opposed it.
Only one lawmaker crossed party lines, with Rep. Jose Alvarez, D-Kissimmee, joining Republicans in supporting the bill. The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee is slated Monday to take up a Senate bill (SPB 7016) about the ballot-initiative process.
While opponents of the House bill said it would prevent voters from using the initiative process to get their voices heard, Rep. Jeff Holcomb, R-Spring Hill, pushed back against the argument. He said voters have the ability every two years to elect lawmakers to represent them and propose bills.
“That’s your day of democracy, is election day,” Holcomb said.
But Rep. Dotie Joseph, D-North Miami, said the bill is “about who won, and they get to decide what we consider.”
“This bill is about consolidating power in the hands of politicians and special interests,” Joseph said.
To place initiatives on the 2024 ballot, sponsors needed to submit 891,523 petition signatures statewide and also meet signature requirements in congressional districts.
The abortion-rights initiative in November received support from 57.2 percent of voters, while the recreational-marijuana measure received support from 55.9 percent. They fell short of the 60 percent approval needed to pass constitutional amendments.
A political committee that sponsored the abortion amendment raised $111.3 million, while a committee that sponsored the recreational-marijuana amendment raised $152.47 million.
–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida
Pogo says
@Bullshit in = bullshit out
Florida government is a television church revival run by and for grifters — with the support of the suckers.
That’s all there is.
Atwp says
The Republicans are good at making a big mess of everything. They love to hurt the little man.
JC says
All things considered, this bill won’t change too much. With the current laws as is, only special interest money can afford to do the ballot process here in FL. A one million dollar bond is nothing for these groups, when last year they were able to raise over $100+ million dollars (the abortion and weed groups).
Consider this bill still allows for petition gathers (which the senate version of this bill that was introduce will ban them completely ,but there is a “shell bill” that was also filed in the senate with no details that will be discussed next week about the ballot process once again) and some minor improvements on the process (notification of your petition being accepted or not), I don’t 100% think it will change too much. It will still be riddled with special interest money, who can afford the bond and all the costs of getting something to the ballot or not.
The house bill could be so much worse than it should be, and it isn’t even close in want DeSantis wants, but lets keep it that way.
Al says
Most of the funds for the Marijuana initiative came from one company. Just so happens that company had all the infrastructure ready to pounce on the public.
The biggest problem is that as soon as the vote is lost the machine revs up to start again. A month ago I received a petition in the mail to sign for the next go around. I believe anything as important as the state constitution should require a 75% approval to pass. Just think of all the things we could do if the threshold was lowered. Maybe we could outlaw democrats and left-wing rags like this. Just saying , I can dream can’t I.
Nancy N. says
Oh, the Florida Republicans are suddenly concerned about out of jurisdiction money pouring into election efforts? They might want to take a look around the glass house they are living in, and at all the money pouring into their election campaigns in this state from outside the districts of the campaign – and even the state. Or maybe it’s not really about where the money comes from…but about restricting the people’s ability to directly exercise their voice and make laws themselves that the Republicans don’t agree with. Hmm.
JC says
Al, your dream is kind of sick if you want to outlaw Democrats. We do that, and the Democrat states will outlaw Republicans. And you come in FlaglerLive and post you want to outlaw left-wing rags like this (which you mean FlaglerLive)? You need mental help.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Al says… “Maybe we could outlaw democrats and left-wing rags like this. ”
Why are you even here then, nothing more than a troll.
Tired of it says
Because freedom of speech is only for the misinformed maga Republicans?
Skibum says
Why not just cut to the chase and admit that you gerrymandered legislators and govie dictator types are completely fed up with FL citizens lawful efforts to thwart your constitutional overreach, your efforts to crush all dissent, and your wish for a king-like governor who can rule the land by edict and by silencing all opposition using state law enforcement as his political policing authority when all other means to keep the little people in line isn’t working for you?
Al says
I come here because the best way to identify your foe is to meet them head on. It’s also good for a laugh when the facts get convoluted to meet your narrative. I’ll keep trolling but I won’t support this crap of one-sided reporting. Notice I didn’t call it journalism because it doesn’t qualify as such. Sherry take the vibratory out of your butt It’s screwing your brain up.
Skibum says
Al, if you get such a laugh when reading articles such as this and the related comments discussing what is coming out of our state government in Tallahassee that is overreaching and in violation of either the state and/or U.S. Constitution, you may want to freshen up with what exactly those important safeguards actually say. You may laugh and disregard the significance of what those in power in this state are trying to do because you are not, or don’t perceive that you are a target NOW, but if and when they decide to start coming for YOU, who might be left to come to your defense? Constitutional protections and safeguards are designed to protect the minority from the majority. Although it may seem unfathomable in your mind now that you would ever end up in their crosshairs, it could turn out one day to be YOU who they are coming after, so I would suggest you might “take the vibratory out of your butt It’s screwing your brain up.”
Nancy N. says
Of course he’s trolling, Nephew…MAGA folk are nothing but bullies who get their kicks punching others, preferably down.