On Feb. 22, HB 773, relating to petition fraud, by Rep. Dudley Goodlette, R-Naples, passed the House Ethics and Elections Committee by a 5-4 vote. While the bill has two more committee stops before going to the House floor for a full vote, some controversy has erupted because of concerns about changes to citizens’ rights. Last week, its Senate companion, SB 1244, by Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, passed the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee by a 4-1 vote. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee is the bill’s next stop.

If passed, the petition-fraud legislation will create a system for law enforcement to identify and prosecute paid signature gatherers who are fraudulently collecting and submitting signatures to the Division of Elections. The bill would not make it harder for citizens to collect signatures but would create basic standards to crack down on fraud and would provide transparency and disclosure in the signature-gathering process.

The FICPA supports efforts to preserve the Florida Constitution as the principal framework defining the lawmaking abilities of the Legislature, the basic rights of Florida citizens, and the structure of state government. We believe these bills will do just that.

To view a copy of each bill and its staff analysis, go to:

SB 1244

Staff Analysis

HB 773

Staff Analysis