Bill > H1035

Introduced Session

An act relating to elections; providing short titles; amending s. 20.32, F.S.; requiring the Florida Commission on Offender Review to develop and maintain a database containing certain information for a certain purpose; requiring certain governmental entities to provide certain information to the commission; requiring the Department of Management Services, acting through the Florida Digital Service, to provide certain technical assistance to the commission; authorizing the department to adopt rules; requiring the commission to make the database available to the public on an Internet website by a certain date; requiring the commission to update the database monthly and publish certain information on the website; requiring the commission to provide a comprehensive plan to the Governor and Legislature by a certain date; providing requirements for such plan; prohibiting certain persons from being charged with certain violations; requiring the commission to adopt rules; amending s. 97.021, F.S.; providing definitions; repealing s. 97.022, F.S., relating to the Office of Election Crimes and Security; repealing s. 97.0291, F.S., relating to a prohibition on the use of private funds for election-related expenses; creating s. 97.0293, F.S.; prohibiting certain governmental entities from taking certain actions relating to elections; providing a rebuttable presumption; prohibiting a local government from employing certain election methods; requiring courts to adhere to certain guidelines when making certain determinations; providing factors that courts may consider when making certain determinations; prohibiting courts from considering certain factors when making certain determinations; requiring a plaintiff to send a certain notification letter to a local government in certain circumstances; providing requirements for such letter; authorizing a local government to adopt a certain resolution in certain circumstances; providing requirements for such resolution; prohibiting a local government from asserting the doctrine of laches as a defense to certain claims; authorizing certain persons to file certain actions; creating s. 97.02935, F.S.; providing a definition; requiring the Florida Voting Rights Acts Commission to designate certain languages for which assistance in voting and elections must be provided in certain circumstances; requiring the commission to find that a significant and substantial need exists in certain circumstances; requiring the commission to annually publish a certain list on its website; requiring a local government to provide certain assistance in voting and elections; providing requirements for such assistance; requiring the commission to adopt certain rules; authorizing certain persons to file certain claims; creating s. 97.0294, F.S.; requiring the commission to enter into an agreement with one or more universities to create the Florida Voting and Elections Database and Institute; providing requirements for the database and institute; authorizing the database and institute to take certain actions; requiring the database and institute to maintain certain data and records in an electronic format and make such data and records available to the public; requiring state agencies and local governments to timely provide the director of the database and institute with certain information; requiring each local government to transmit to the database and institute copies of certain information within a certain period; authorizing certain persons to file certain actions; requiring the database and institute to publish a certain report annually within a certain period; providing a rebuttable presumption; creating s. 97.0295, F.S.; establishing the Florida Voting Rights Act Commission; providing that the commission is not a unit of any other state agency; providing for selection, compensation, terms, and qualifications of commissioners; providing powers of the commission; authorizing the commission to hire staff, make expenditures, and adopt rules; creating s. 97.0296, F.S.; providing that the enactment or implementation of certain policies by a covered jurisdiction is subject to preclearance by the commission; requiring the commission to annually make and publish a certain determination online; requiring a covered jurisdiction to seek preclearance from the commission in a certain manner; authorizing the commission to deny preclearance in certain circumstances; providing requirements for review of certain covered policies; authorizing certain persons to file certain actions; requiring the commission to adopt certain rules; creating s. 97.0297, F.S.; providing construction; prohibiting the assertion of certain immunities and privileges in certain circumstances; creating s. 97.0298, F.S.; authorizing a court to order certain appropriate remedies; authorizing a court to consider certain remedies; requiring a court to grant a temporary injunction or certain other relief in certain circumstances; requiring a court to award certain fees and costs to a prevailing party in certain circumstances; creating s. 97.0299, F.S.; establishing a voter education fund to be administered by the commission; authorizing the commission to expend moneys from the fund for certain purposes; creating s. 97.0556, F.S.; authorizing certain persons to register to vote and immediately thereafter cast a vote in certain circumstances; amending s. 97.057, F.S.; authorizing the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to preregister certain individuals to vote; providing that driver license or identification card applications, driver license or identification card renewal applications, and applications for a change of address for existing driver licenses or identification cards submitted to the department serve as voter registration applications; providing that an applicant is deemed to have consented to the use of his or her signature for voter registration purposes; providing an exception; requiring specified applications to include a voter registration component, subject to approval by the Department of State; specifying requirements for such component; requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to electronically transmit voter registration information to the Department of State within a certain period; requiring the Department of State to provide such information to supervisors of elections; deleting obsolete language; making technical changes; amending s. 97.0575, F.S.; revising information that a third-party voter registration organization must provide to the Division of Elections; removing a provision that provides for the automatic expiration of the registration of such organization; removing a provision that requires such organization to provide a certain receipt to an applicant; removing a provision that requires such organization to deliver a voter registration application to a certain supervisor of elections; revising the period within which such organization must deliver such applications to the division or a supervisor of elections; revising the amounts of certain fines; removing a provision that subjects such organization to certain fines for certain acts committed by a person collecting applications on behalf of such organization; removing a provision that requires the division to adopt by rule a certain form and certain rules; removing a provision that prohibits such organization from prefilling certain information on an application and that provides for certain fines; removing a provision relating to retroactive application of certain requirements; amending s. 98.045, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; creating s. 100.51, F.S.; establishing General Election Day as a paid holiday; authorizing an elector to absent himself or herself from service or employment during a certain period on such day; prohibiting such elector from being penalized or having his or her salary or wages reduced for such absence; creating s. 101.016, F.S.; requiring the Division of Elections to maintain a strategic elections equipment reserve of voting systems for specified purposes; requiring such reserve to include specified equipment; authorizing the division to contract with specified entities rather than maintaining a physical reserve of such equipment; repealing s. 101.019, F.S., relating to a prohibition on ranked-choice voting; amending s. 101.048, F.S.; authorizing a voter to cast a provisional vote at any precinct in the county in which the voter claims to be registered; amending s. 101.62, F.S.; providing that a request for a vote-by-mail ballot is valid until such request is canceled; revising the deadline by which requests for vote-by-mail ballots must be received by a supervisor of elections; removing provisions providing requirements for a person designated by an elector to pick up the elector's vote-by-mail ballot; requiring the extension of deadlines in certain circumstances; amending s. 101.64, F.S.; requiring supervisors of elections to enclose a postage prepaid mailing envelope with each vote-by-mail ballot; authorizing vote-by-mail ballot voter's certificates to be signed with the last four digits of the voter's social security number; amending s. 101.69, F.S.; removing a provision that limits the use of a secure ballot intake station to certain hours and that requires certain monitoring; removing a provision that subjects a supervisor of elections to a civil penalty in certain circumstances; amending s. 104.0515, F.S.; prohibiting a person from deceiving, or attempting to deceive, another person for certain purposes; specifying certain acts that violate a certain prohibition; authorizing certain persons to file certain civil actions; requiring a court to impose certain remedies; amending s. 104.42, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made by the act; providing an effective date.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

LaVon Bracy Davis (D)*,  Dotie Joseph (D)*,  Bruce Antone (D),  Kristen Arrington (D),  Robin Bartleman (D),  Christopher Benjamin (D),  Daryl Campbell (D),  Joe Casello (D),  Hillary Cassel (R),  Kevin Chambliss (D),  Lindsay Cross (D),  Dan Daley (D),  Kimberly Daniels (D),  Fentrice Driskell (D),  Lisa Dunkley (D),  Tae Edmonds (D),  Anna Eskamani (D),  Gallop Franklin (D),  Ashley Gantt (D),  Mike Gottlieb (D),  Rita Harris (D),  Dianne Hart-Lowman (D),  Yvonne Hinson (D),  Christine Hunschofsky (D),  Tom Keen (D),  Johanna López (D),  Angie Nixon (D),  Michele Rayner (D),  Felicia Robinson (D),  David Silvers (D),  Kelly Skidmore (D),  Allison Tant (D),  Susan L. Valdés (R),  Katherine Waldron (D),  Patricia Williams (D),  Marie Woodson (D), 

Died in Ethics, Elections & Open Government Subcommittee (on 03/08/2024)

Official Document