TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Senate Judiciary Committee today voted to pass SB 7096, which would undermine the ability of citizens to directly participate in the democratic process and further complicate Florida’s onerous constitutional amendment process.
SB 7096 would require a petition gatherer to register with the Secretary of State and require the name of the sponsor of an initiative to appear on the ballot with the percentage of donations received from certain in-state donors. It would also prohibit compensation for initiative petition gatherers based on the number of petitions gathered. By complicating the constitutional amendment process, the bill raises First Amendment concerns and adds unnecessary and confusing language to Florida ballots.
Kirk Bailey, political director, ACLU of Florida responded to today’s vote saying:
“The right to petition is inherent to the democratic process and a cornerstone of our freedom of speech. Tampering with this right insults our authority as citizens, yet state lawmakers continue to propose bills like SB 7096 that impose barriers to the ability of Floridians to petition and directly amend our state’s constitution when our state government fails to act.
“In fact, it was through a citizen’s initiative that over a million people signed petitions to place the Voting Restoration Amendment to the 2018 ballot to restore voting rights to those with felony convictions who have completed their sentences. Floridians have used the initiative process in the past to declare common-sense standards for the state concerning land and water conservation and medical marijuana for example. Our Constitution protects citizens’ right to have a say in the direction of our state and this bill entirely undermines that right. We are disappointed this bill has passed this committee and we urge all state legislators to oppose this bill.”