Latest news with #FloridaDecidesHealthcare
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Petition groups argue new Florida law is 'depriving our oxygen.' Will it survive scrutiny?
A new Florida law has significantly dropped volunteer numbers of petition groups to collect signatures for next year's ballot, their lawyers told a federal judge June 30. In Tallahassee's federal courthouse, petition groups — including Florida Decides Healthcare (backing Medicaid expansion) and Smart and Safe Florida (adult-use marijuana) — asked U.S. District Judge Mark Walker to block parts of the law (HB 1205), which created tougher regulations for ballot initiatives. The groups collect signatures to get their proposed state constitutional amendments on the 2026 ballot. Measures need no less than 60% statewide approval to be added to the Florida Constitution. The law went into effect July 1, and it brings higher fines for late petitions, stricter deadlines and restrictive rules for volunteers. Under the new statute, volunteers must be Florida residents and sponsors could face $50,000 fines for each volunteer that violates any of its provisions. More on HB 1205: Florida House passes bill tightening rules for ballot petition drives on amendments Florida Decides Healthcare, the group campaigning for Medicaid expansion, originally filed the lawsuit. Additional groups joined the lawsuit to ask the judge to block parts of the new law, including the League of Women Voters of Florida and Florida Right to Clean Water. Smart and Safe Florida, which also joined the lawsuit, is repeating its effort for a recreational marijuana ballot initiative; its previous attempt came short, getting 55.9% in 2024. Ben Stafford, an attorney with for Florida Decides Healthcare, told the judge that the restrictions in this law demonstrate that its "purpose is to harm our campaign" and chill volunteers, which go against First Amendment rights to speech. Those restrictions include a freeze on petition verification from July 1 to Sept. 30. Stafford also said the costs to verify petitions increased, saying one county that previously charged $1 to verify a single petition now charges $4 a petition. "Do the math," he said. "This is like being forced to run around the state, talking to voters, but at the same time the state is depriving our oxygen to speak." Petition groups lawsuit: Florida ballot initiative law mostly upheld by federal judge, but key part suspended Mohammad Jazil, who represents Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, said the law focused on tackling fraudulent petitions, and he said gathering information about the volunteers helps identify who turned in fraudulent petitions. Volunteers who register to collect petitions must provide their names, addresses, phone numbers and the last four digits of their Social Security number. "They don't want to share personal information, but they're perfectly fine training volunteers to gather other people's personal information," said Jazil, with the Holtzman Vogel law firm. He continued, saying the government mostly already has all this information, but it just can't link the petitions to unregistered volunteers. The nearly eight-hour hearing included testimony from three petition gatherers, who described how fears of facing penalties from this law has led to decreased volunteers and stronger financial burdens for their grassroots campaigns. Ana-Christina Acosta Gaspar De Alba with Florida Decides Healthcare said volunteers are worried about giving their personal information for public record out of fear of harassment: "Overwhelmingly, the majority of volunteers are not willing to do this." The hearing comes weeks after Walker mostly denied requests to temporarily block multiple portions of the law, except for one motion from the health care group that challenged a change in the racketeering statute to include violations of state election code and petition fraud. In the order on the motion for preliminary injunction, Walker agreed with the plaintiffs over a "vagueness" claim for "racketeering activity." Such court orders can be granted early in a lawsuit to temporarily stop something, like enforcement of a law, until the case is fully decided. The judge did not issue a ruling, but said he would not submit an order until after reviewing the hundreds of case documents. This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@ On X: @stephanymatat. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida petition groups say amendment crackdown law unconstitutional
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge blocks part of new Florida petition law, says noncitizens can gather signatures
A federal judge upheld most of a new Florida law toughening regulations for petition gathering, but ordered that state officials couldn't enforce a provision for some petition groups that prohibited nonresident and noncitizen volunteers from gathering signatures. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote in an order granting a preliminary injunction for this provision that Florida officials have great leeway in regulating the initiative petition process, but that prohibiting nonresidents and noncitizens from circulating petitions "impose a severe burden on political expression." Furthermore, Walker agreed that the petition groups are "substantially likely" to succeed in First Amendment claims challenging the residency and citizenship requirements of the law. "But here, the State has categorically barred entire classes of people from participating in the core political speech that is central to this process," Walker wrote. Walker, however, denied other requests for preliminary injunction for other parts of the law, such as a 90-day pause on signature verification from supervisors of elections and an affidavit requirement for volunteers to include names and addresses on initiative petitions. The law (HB 1205) was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May and went into effect July 1. Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd's office is pending comment. The petition groups challenging the new state law include Florida Decides Healthcare (backing Medicaid expansion), Smart and Safe Florida (adult-use marijuana) and Florida Right to Clean Water. The marijuana group told the judge in late May that the nonresident provision of the law would substantially burden them since it fines $50,000 for each nonresident and noncitizen volunteer, arguing that it would face $23.7 million in fines under new state law since they hired about 474 nonresident volunteers since March. In a statement, Florida Decides Healthcare lauded a victory to the portion the federal judge did grant, although it noted that the group doesn't agree with every part of the ruling. Mitch Emerson, the executive director of the group, said, "this is a victory for the constitutional rights of Floridians, and brings us one step closer to providing healthcare access to over a million, including veterans, seniors, women, and working families." Walker's order comes a week after a nearly eight-hour hearing with testimony from three petition gatherers, who described how fears of penalties from this law led to stronger burdens and decreased volunteers for their grassroots campaigns. Petition groups testify: Petition groups argue new Florida law is 'depriving our oxygen.' Will it survive scrutiny? The crux of all plaintiff's arguments were that the new law violates First Amendment rights to political speech and to petition government. The urgency for a preliminary injunction was already heightened since petition groups face a looming Feb. 1 deadline to submit nearly 900,000 signatures. The latest injunction by the federal judge marks the second order granting relief, since Walker sided with Florida Decides Healthcare in early June that the new law's expanded definition of "racketeering activity," which was changed to include violations of state election code and petition fraud, was "unconstitutionally vague" and "allows for arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement." Preliminary injunction granted: Florida ballot initiative law mostly upheld by federal judge, but key part suspended For years, petition groups have gathered signatures across the state to pass ballot initiatives for a variety of issues — like setting a cap on the number of students in a classroom, mandating a $15 minimum wage, approving medical marijuana or restoring voting rights to felons. The law's stricter penalties and deadlines aren't the only hurdle petition groups must face to put their measures on the ballot for the 2026 elections. This lawsuit comes after a recreational marijuana and abortion rights ballot amendment failed to meet Florida's threshold of 60% support to amend the constitution. Voters supported the amendments by 57.2% and 55.9%, respectively. This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@ On X: @stephanymatat. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Judge blocks part of new Florida law restricting amendment process
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge largely declines to block Florida law restricting ballot-initiative drives
A federal judge on Wednesday largely denied a request from petition groups to block parts of a Florida law that changes how citizen-led amendments make it to the ballot. In passing the law earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the bill's Republican sponsors said the petition process needed reform because it is riddled with fraud. But groups like Florida Decides Healthcare, which is trying to get an amendment that will expand Medicaid access on 2026 ballots, quickly sued, saying the new law stifles people's ability to use the petition process. Other groups, including the recreational marijuana campaign Smart & Safe Florida, joined the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker largely denied the plaintiffs' request to block three sections of the new law. Plaintiffs had asked Walker to temporarily block a requirement that campaigns turn in all petitions within 10 days to county elections offices. They also contested changes that increased fines for organizations that turn in petitions late and that added new criminal penalties for filling in missing voter information. The plaintiffs argued that the law violates the First Amendment right to engage in political speech. But Walker, who was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, said court precedent makes clear that the initiative process doesn't have to be the most user-friendly version possible. Walker said the challenging groups hadn't yet proven they were 'severely burdened' by the new law's requirement to turn petitions in within 10 days and the increased late fines. Instead, he said, 'the record shows that these provisions simply make the process of getting their proposed initiatives on the ballot more expensive and less efficient for Plaintiffs.' The marijuana and Medicaid expansion campaigns have said they've been affected by slowed petition collection and discouraged volunteers since the law took effect in early May. The groups hoping to qualify for the 2026 ballot need about 900,000 verified petitions by early next year. Out of all the groups' asks, Walker granted only one plaintiff an injunction on one point. Jordan Simmons, a project director for the Medicaid expansion group, challenged part of the law that includes election code violations for petition fraud in the racketeering statute. Walker sided with Simmons' argument that the racketeering law change was too vague. Despite Walker rejecting most of the Medicaid expansion groups' asks, Mitch Emerson, a spokesperson for Florida Decides Healthcare, called the ruling a 'major victory.' 'While the Court did not grant every part of our motion for preliminary relief, this is far from the final word,' Emerson said in a statement. 'This ruling was an early, extraordinary step in the legal process—and we are optimistic about what comes next, both for the remaining parts of HB 1205 that we're challenging and for the future of citizen-led democracy in Florida.' Groups have for years used Florida's ballot initiative process as a way to pass changes to the state constitution that lawmakers have refused to put forward. Through petition collection, groups have gotten voters to approve things like medical marijuana, felon voter restoration and a $15 minimum wage. Last year, DeSantis used the power of his administration to successfully oppose two amendments put on the ballot through the petition process: the recreational pot amendment and one that would have protected abortion access. Months after both those measures failed, DeSantis' office suggested a draft bill that would have made petition collection virtually impossible. During the injunction hearing in May, Glenn Burhans, an attorney for Smart & Safe Florida — which sponsored a failed 2024 ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana and is hoping to get a similar amendment on 2026 ballots — said that he thought lawmakers passed the petition change bill because the marijuana measure 'is very popular.' The challenge to the new law is ongoing, and the amendment groups are seeking to block other provisions of the law in another request for a temporary injunction.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida ballot initiative law mostly upheld by federal judge, but key part suspended
A federal judge in Tallahassee mostly denied requests to temporarily block parts of a new Florida law revising rules for citizen-led ballot initiatives from plaintiffs who say it violates the First Amendment right to free political speech. The law (HB 1205), signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May, was promptly challenged by Florida Decides Healthcare, a group looking to expand Medicaid access in Florida. Other groups also involved in statewide petitions joined the lawsuit, including Smart & Safe Florida, which is proposing an recreational marijuana initiative. On June 4, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker denied motions to block multiple portions of the new law that toughens regulations on ballot initiatives, coming after DeSantis and state officials claimed fraud in last year's petition gathering. These parts of the law include a requirement for all petitions to be turned in to local elections offices within 10 days and fines for missing voter information and late petition returns. Walker did grant one motion from the health care group, which challenged a law change in the racketeering statute to include violations of state election code and petition fraud. The judge sided with the plaintiffs over a "vagueness claim" for the new law's expanded definition for "racketeering activity." "But such a standardless and discretionary determination only lends itself to the mischief associated with an unconstitutionally vague statute that allows for arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement," says the order on the motion for preliminary injunction. They can be granted early in a lawsuit to temporarily stop something, like enforcement of a law, until the case is fully decided. Despite the judge's multiple denials, Mitch Emerson of Florida Decides Healthcare called the ruling a "major victory." "The court put a halt to one of the most dangerous parts of HB 1205 – a vague criminal penalty that would have made grassroots participation in the democratic process a potential felony," Emerson said. "That's not just a win for Florida Decides Healthcare – that's a win for every Floridian who wants to engage in the ballot measure process without fear or intimidation." Representatives and attorneys for Smart & Safe Florida did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit ultimately argues that the law violates First Amendment rights to political speech and to petition government with its increased penalties, stricter deadlines and toughened regulations on who can circulate petitions. For years, groups have collected petitions to successfully pass initiatives that set caps on the number of students in classrooms, approved medical marijuana, restored voting rights to felons and mandated a $15 minimum wage. On top of the new state regulations that didn't exist in campaigns for last year's amendments, petition groups already face a looming Feb. 1 deadline to submit nearly 900,000 signatures. Yet this law comes after two contentious ballot amendments failed to meet the state's threshold of 60% to amend the constitution — one guaranteeing access to abortion and another approving recreational marijuana for adults. DeSantis campaigned against both initiatives, yet voters supported them by 57.2% and 55.9%, respectively. 2024 marijuana amendment: Recreational marijuana in Florida snuffed out after amendment falls short of 60% Among the increased penalties and stricter deadlines, the law also requires all petition circulators to be Florida residents. On May 30, Smart & Safe Florida filed an emergency motion claiming that the prohibition on non-resident petition circulators "injured" the group's ability "to carry their message to the public." On top of it, the group argued in that motion an already-existing limitation from the law that limits each volunteer to only collect 25 petitions. In their motion, the organization said that the state law's nonresident provision is "very likely the difference between" the amendment getting on the ballot or not. (This story was updated to add new information.) This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@ On X: @stephanymatat. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ballot initiative crackdown largely survives First Amendment test
04-06-2025
- Politics
Judge largely denies request to block restrictions on getting measures on Florida's ballot
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A federal judge has largely denied requests by grassroots campaigners to block portions of a new Florida law that restricts the state's citizen-driven process for getting constitutional amendments on the ballot. Organizers of separate campaigns to expand Medicaid and legalize recreational marijuana had urged U.S. District Mark Walker to block implementation of parts of the law, arguing that the new requirements violate their First Amendment rights. But in an order issued Wednesday, Walker granted a narrow injunction, barring state officials from enforcing one section of the law criminalizing ballot petition fraud against one campaign staffer. The order means that at least for now, the campaigns will largely have to operate under the new restrictions as they try to gather enough signatures to qualify for the 2026 ballot. Legislatures in dozens of states have advanced bills recently to crack down on the public's ability to put measures up for a vote, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. Voting rights advocates say the trend betrays the promise of direct democracy. Under Florida's new law, an individual could be charged with a felony if they collect more than 25 signed ballot petitions, other than their own or those of immediate family members, and don't register with the state as a petition circulator. The law signed last month by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis also gives campaigns just 10 days instead of the previous 30 to return signed petition forms to local elections officials. Petitioners could also face stiff fines if they don't return the petitions on time, or send them to the wrong county. Lawmakers argue that the new restrictions are needed to reform a process they claim has been tainted by fraud. The Republican-controlled Legislature pushed the changes months after a majority of Florida voters supported ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights and legalize recreational marijuana, though the measures fell short of the 60% needed to pass. Attorneys for the campaigns Florida Decides Healthcare and Smart & Safe Florida have argued the new law makes gathering enough petitions from voters prohibitively expensive and effectively impossible. In his order, Walker wrote that the new provisions have caused 'an immediate reduction in protected speech' by constraining the campaigns' ability to collect petitions — and volunteers' willingness to help. But Walker said the campaigners didn't prove that their free speech rights had been 'severely burdened." 'Instead, the record shows that these provisions simply make the process of getting their proposed initiatives on the ballot more expensive and less efficient for Plaintiffs,' Walker wrote. But there are still free speech concerns to address as the lawsuit moves forward, Walker noted: 'this Court is not suggesting that Plaintiffs are not likely to succeed on their First Amendment challenges to the new deadline and associated fines." In a statement, Mitch Emerson, the executive director for Florida Decides Healthcare, said he remains optimistic for the legal challenge ahead. 'While the Court did not grant every part of our motion for preliminary relief, this is far from the final word," Emerson said. A spokesperson for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
