Florida Florida Statutes

§ 100.371 — Initiatives; procedure for placement on ballot

FS § 100.371Ch. 100

Statute text

(1)(a) Constitutional amendments proposed by initiative shall be placed on the ballot for the general election, provided the initiative petition has been filed with the Secretary of State no later than February 1 of the year the general election is held. A petition shall be deemed to be filed with the Secretary of State upon the date the secretary determines that valid and verified petition forms have been signed by the constitutionally required number and distribution of voters under this code.

(b)A sponsor of an initiative petition must obtain, at least every third election cycle, a letter pursuant to s. 15.21(1)(c). Failure to obtain such letter results in expiration of the initiative petition's signatures and disbanding of the sponsor's political committee.

(c)Initiative petition signatures expire and the sponsor's political committee is disbanded if a constitutional amendment proposed by initiative submitted to the Secretary of State before February 1, 2022, fails to obtain a letter pursuant to s. 15.21(1)(c) on or before February 1, 2026. This paragraph does not preclude such a sponsor from refiling the proposed amendment as a new petition.

(2)The sponsor of an initiative amendment may not sponsor more than one amendment and must, before circulating any petition forms, register as a political committee pursuant to s. 106.03 and submit the ballot title, ballot summary, article and section of the State Constitution being amended, and full text of the proposed amendment to the Secretary of State. The proposed amendment and all forms filed in connection with this section must, upon request, be made available in alternative formats. Upon receipt, the Secretary of State shall assign the initiative petition a petition number and submit a copy of the proposed amendment to the Financial Impact Estimating Conference for review, analysis, and estimation of the financial impact of the proposed amendment. After the review by the Financial Impact Estimating Conference, the division shall publish the forms with the information provided for in subsection (3) and on which signatures for the initiative petition will be affixed. (3)(a) Beginning July 1, 2025, the petition form must prominently display all of the following:1. The petition number. 2. The ballot title. 3. The ballot summary. 4. A notice that the form becomes a public record upon receipt by the supervisor. 5. A notice that it is a misdemeanor of the first degree to knowingly sign the petition more than once. 6. A notice that the form will not be validated if all of the requested information is not completed. 7. For a proposed amendment submitted to the Secretary of State after the effective date of this act, the financial impact statement.

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Legislative history

s. 15, ch. 79-365; s. 12, ch. 83-251; s. 30, ch. 84-302; s. 22, ch. 97-13; s. 9, ch. 2002-281; s. 3, ch. 2002-390; s. 3, ch. 2004-33; s. 28, ch. 2005-278; s. 4, ch. 2006-119; s. 25, ch. 2007-30; s. 1, ch. 2007-231; s. 14, ch. 2008-95; s. 23, ch. 2011-40; s. 3, ch. 2019-64; s. 3, ch. 2020-15; s. 13, ch. 2022-73; s. 6, ch. 2025-21.