Latest news with #SB1414
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers react with ire to removal of 16- and 17-year-old victims from sex trafficking bill
California lawmakers including bill co-author Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, reacted with ire this week after protections for 16- and 17-year-olds were removed from legislation intended to issue greater penalties to sex traffickers. The Assembly Public Safety Committee removed these older teens from AB 379. 'AB 379 faced the same fate as SB 1414: Take out the felony charges for those who purchase 16- and 17-year-old kids for sex, or the bill is dead. This isn't keeping a 'deal,' it's an ultimatum from legislators failing to protect older teens from sex buyers, and it's unacceptable," Grove said in a statement. "I'm glad AB 379 is advancing, but the Assembly Public Safety Committee should have kept the original language," she continued. "We must keep fighting to protect ALL children and hold exploiters accountable." Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, also commented on AB 379, which proposed to make it a felony to purchase 16- and 17-year-old children for sex. 'We have to stop being the party of meaningless gestures and radical policies. Somehow — as the president tanks our economy and deports innocent children, the American people still don't trust Democrats," Bains said in a statement. "Any sane person knows that purchasing a 16-year-old girl for sex should be a felony. How is this a debate?' Meanwhile, Republican Assemblywoman Alexandra M. Macedo, who represents parts of Tulare, Fresno and Kings counties, said Democrats introduced "intent" language that has no prosecutorial or legal standing in the courts, creating "smoke and mirrors" in the pretense to protect 16- and 17-year-olds from sex trafficking. 'If a 16- and a 17-year-old child cannot give consent in the eyes of the law, then why in God's name are they not protected under the same law? How many more children will go through the trauma of being purchased by pedophiles before actual action is being taken?" Macedo asked in a written statement. 'Intent does not carry any weight in the courtroom or bring victims of these heinous acts justice."
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Citizenship-verification voting bill clears its first House committee stop
A banner advertising voting hangs outside the Leon County Courthouse on Aug. 12, 2024. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) An election measure raising citizenship-related roadblocks to voter eligibility won approval in a Florida House committee on Tuesday, but not before receiving criticism from members of he public — some who thought it is far too restrictive, and others who thought it isn't tough enough. Fort Myers Republican Jenna Persons-Mulicka presented her bill (HB 1381) before the House Government Operations Subcommittee. It now has two more stops before going to the floor. A variety of bills in the Senate carry some of its provisions, although perhaps the most similar, proposed by GOP Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (SB 1414), has yet to be heard in any committee. Persons-Mulicka noted that her measure is in part a response to the executive order published last week by President Donald Trump that would require prospective voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. 'This bill fully answers the president,' she said. The measure contains numerous provisions ostensibly to ensure that only U.S. citizens vote. It says that if an applicant has not provided the necessary evidence of their legal status, or is not verified before the applicant requests a vote-by-mail ballot or presents to vote, the applicant must be provided a provisional ballot that can be counted only if they confirm their legal status by 5 p.m. on the Thursday after a Tuesday election. The bill also says that a supervisor of elections must remove the name of a deceased voter from the voter rolls within seven days if they receive a copy of a death certificate or a published obituary or notice of death, a letter of probate or estate administration, or 'personal knowledge' of a registered voter's death. The state's division of elections office can use lists from federal agencies or other state governments to remove voters from the rolls. It requires jury coordinators for federal jury duty to create a list of those disqualified for not being U.S. citizens and to provide it to the Florida Division of Elections according to the jury summons cycle used by the court clerk. Eliminates certain categories of voter identification options such as student identification, debit or credit cards, and retirement cards. Changes from 'challenge' to 'protest' voter challenges of vote-by-mail ballots. In a manual review of ballots open to the public, the bill says that each political party may designate one person with 'expertise in the computer field' who must be allowed in the central counting room where all tests are being conducted and where the official votes are being counted. Requires all voting to be by paper ballot, unless a person with a disability requires a voter-interface device. Would make Florida first state in the nation to require an automated, independent vote validation process for every ballot cast in every election before certification. Cathi Chamberlain, who works with 'voting integrity' advocates skeptical of election security, complained the proposal 'does not go far enough,' preferring a bill presented by Pinellas Republican Rep. Berny Jacques. 'We believe it still does not fully align with President Trump's executive order,' she said. 'It does not remove and prosecute noncitizens already on our voting rolls. It does not address vote by mail or technology security.' Jonathan Webber, policy director with the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the measure was a voter suppression bill. 'Millions of our family members, friends, and neighbors lived through Jim Crow,' he said. 'Poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation used to silence Black voters across the Deep South. Not because they weren't citizens, but because the system was built to block their voices. This amendment continues that legacy, just with cleaner language and more paperwork.' Karen Jaroch of Heritage Action called it an 'excellent bill.' 'The amended bill 1381 delivers targeted reforms that rebuild voter trust,' she said. 'Voter roll accuracy is also important. Section 6 authorizes data sharing with other states to purge deceased or ineligible voters. And Section 8 leverages federal jury data to flag ineligible voters. That's smart practical reforms to protect every lawful vote.' Pasco County Republican Rep. Jeff Holcomb argued the proposal is necessary. 'The threat is real because of illegals voting,' he said. Broward County Democratic Rep. Darryl Campbell disagreed, saying the measure wasn't about fraud, but about fear. Orlando Democratic Rep. LaVon Bracy later attempted to introduce an amendment that would essentially wipe out Persons-Mulicka's bill and insert her own proposal (HB 1409), which included automatic registration for eligible Floridians to vote when they interact with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), unless they opt-out. Her amendment also included a centralized database for returning citizens to determine voter eligibility; permanent vote-by-mail requests; and would allow eligible voters to register to vote at any time, up to and including Election Day. The committee voted down her amendment along party lines. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here comes another bill that would change the citizen-led petition process in Florida
Screenshot of an out-of-state petition drive related to a school ballot initiative. Credit: YouTube. The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee introduced a comprehensive election bill on Friday (SB 7016) that includes provisions that Republican lawmakers say are intended to reduce fraud and 'safeguard the process' by which amendments are placed on the ballot. 'Investigations conducted by the Office of Election Crimes and Security have shown that agents of political committees sponsoring initiative petitions engaged in illegal and fraudulent activities while gathering petition signatures in the leadup to the 2024 General Election,' Northwest Florida Republican Sen. Don Gaetz, chair the Ethics and Elections Committee, said in a press release announcing the legislation. 'There are numerous instances of petition circulators being paid per signature, signing petition forms on behalf of deceased individuals, forging or misrepresenting voter signatures on petition forms, using voters' personal identifying information without consent, committing perjury, and swearing false oaths. Our bill guards against this kind of strategic and deliberate malfeasance with strong penalties for those who willfully disregard our laws,' Gaetz said. SB 7016 is the second such measure introduced in the Florida Senate to address criticisms leveled by Gov. DeSantis about the petition gathering process that he said in January required the Legislature to convene in a special session. While GOP leadership didn't immediately respond back then, they are now moving quickly on fulfilling his request (the other Senate measure to deal with ballot petition fraud was earlier introduced by Hernando County Republican Blaise Ingoglia – SB 1414). SB 7016 also: Reduces the number of days a sponsor has to submit signed petition forms to the appropriate supervisor of elections to 10 from 30. Enhances the fines regarding late- or not-submitted signed petition forms to the supervisor of elections to $50 per each day late, and raises the fines from $250 to $2,500 for each petition form if the sponsor or petition circulator acted willfully. Increase fines for non-submitted petition forms from $500 to $5,000 if the sponsor or petition circulator 'acted willfully.' Prohibits all felons who have not had their right to vote restored and all noncitizens from collecting signatures. The initiative sponsor is liable for $50,000 fine for each person collecting petitions on its behalf in violation of the prohibition. The bill also requires applicants for petition circulator to complete training about these and other related legal requirements. And while the Legislature in 2019 made it a third-degree felony to pay petition circulators based on the number of petition forms gathered, the bill broadens this prohibition to capture incentive schemes that are not 'pay per signature' but 'incentivize based on volume.' The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee committee published SB 7016 one day after the House Government Operations Subcommittee passed similar legislation. The Senate committee bill will be heard Monday afternoon.
Axios
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Florida bills to watch: Condo insurance, election changes and guns
Florida lawmakers reconvene tomorrow to kick off this year's legislative session, with bills filed to enshrine " Gulf of America" in state statutes and to allow guns but not undocumented immigrants on college campuses. Why it matters: There are more than 1,300 bills for the Legislature to wade through, each with the potential to reshape our daily lives. Here are a few we're monitoring: Condo insurance: Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez filed a bill (HB 913) that would revoke state-run Citizens Property Insurance coverage for condominium associations that have failed to conduct building safety inspections or structural integrity reserve studies. Most of the over 11,000 Florida condo buildings required to conduct the studies under a Dec. 31 2024 deadline haven't done so. Waste management: Amid the debate over how Miami-Dade County will replace the burned-down Doral waste-to-energy facility, state Sen. Bryan Ávila (R-Hialeah Gardens) filed SB 1008, which would prohibit building trash incinerators or waste-to-energy facilities within a half-mile of any residential property, commercial property or school. State Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez (R-Doral) filed SB 946 to prohibit a local government from building a waste management facility within two miles of the Everglades Protection Area. Gun regulation rollback: State Sen. Randy Fine (R-Melbourne Beach) filed bills to lower the state's gun-buying age limit to 18 years old and allow concealed firearm carry on college campuses. State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill), meanwhile, introduced legislation to ban the use of artificial intelligence to detect firearms in public areas; it would be a first-degree misdemeanor to do so. Election changes: Ingoglia also proposed a sweeping elections bill (SB 1414) that includes changes experts say would likely eliminate citizen-led ballot campaigns to amend the state constitution. It would also prohibit the use of student ID cards when voting, among other provisions. Another immigration crackdown: Fine's bill (SB 244) would prohibit state universities with acceptance rates below 85% from accepting applications from or admitting undocumented students. State Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota) filed legislation to revoke the law licenses of undocumented immigrants on Nov. 1, 2028, unless proof of U.S. citizenship is provided on or before that date. State Sen. Jason Pizzo (D-Hollywood) filed a bill to expand E-Verify – a system that verifies employees' immigration status – to all employers, with penalties of up to $10,000 in fines. State Rep. Berny Jacques (R-Seminole) filed a similar bill without the penalties. Gulf of America: State Sen. Nick DiCeglie (R-Indian Rocks Beach) wants to change all references to the Gulf of Mexico in state statutes to the Gulf of America after President Trump renamed the body of water. Insurer of first resort: A bipartisan bill (HB 13) aims to require Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to make windstorm coverage available to all homeowners statewide. How to watch: You can watch the House, Senate and committee hearings online at the Florida Channel. Plus, you can visit to track bills and receive email alerts.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A look at proposed election changes (so far) for the 2025 Florida legislative session
SB 528 would require pollsters to disclose their sponsors. (Stock photo by) When Florida lawmakers return to Tallahassee Tuesday for the start of the 60-day regular legislative session, they're expected to address a number of election and voting issues. Perhaps the biggest will be a set of proposals already put forward by Gov. Ron DeSantis that he insists are required to reform the petition gathering process for constitutional amendments. Many of those proposals are now included in a bill by Spring Hill Republican Blaise Ingoglia, one of the governor's closest allies in the Senate. His legislation (SB 1414) includes a number of provisions on that front, including: Eliminating third-party collection of petition forms and replacing it with the same verification measures used in vote-by-mail. Requiring proposed amendments by petition to define 'terms of art' (such as 'healthcare provider'). Requiring the attorney general to identify provisions in Florida Constitution or law that may be repealed in full or in part. Prohibiting any foreign national from funding political parties, candidates, or constitutional amendments. Mandating that election results undergo a full audit of every vote cast before election certification to ensure accuracy. A similar proposal (HB 1205) has been filed by Lee County Republican Jenna Persons-Mulicka in the House. Florida election supervisors have their own slate of proposals, as they articulated in an appearance before the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee in early February. Some of those proposals haven't found their way into proposed legislation at the moment. One of those items is that they want legislation to address a problem surfacing right now in Florida's 1st and 6th Congressional Districts, where special elections are set for April 1. The concern has to do with a measure passed in 2021 that requires voters to renew their vote-by-mail (VBM) ballot requests every two years instead of every four years, as previously was the law. That resulted in a statewide decrease in VBM requests in the 2024 election cycle, the first election year the measure was in effect, and it's really being felt this winter in those two special congressional elections. Dave Ramba, executive director of the Florida Supervisors of Elections (FSE), produced a pie chart to that Senate committee showing 98,343 requests for vote-by-mail ballots in last year's general election in District 1, when Matt Gaetz easily won re-election. He compared that to just 12,392 requests for vote-by-mail ballots in the special primary election held in late January. 'These voters three months ago were seeing vote-by-mail ballots for the November election,' Ramba said. 'We've gotten a lot of complaints about people [asking], 'Why didn't I receive one in January? Three months ago, I got one for the presidential — now we're doing a congressional special and we're now off the list automatically.'' Other requests by the supervisors include: Require U.S. citizens recently naturalized to obtain or update driver's license information within 30 days of naturalization. Align base pay for all constitutional officers, including supervisors of elections, clerks of the circuit courts, and property appraisers, with the pay raises for tax collectors and superintendents of schools approved during last year's legislative session. Exempt from public records personal information about election workers as part of 'Critical Infrastructure Assets.' Allow additional flexibility for designating early voting sites when the main office or other governmental offices are not 'practicable' for serving voters. That last request has been placed in bill form by South Florida Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky (SB 1486) in what she is calling 'The Disaster-Affected Voter Bill of Rights,' which would address problems in communities facing an election after a natural disaster hits. A similar measure has been introduced in the House by Pinellas County Democrat Lindsay Cross (HB 1317). Among the provisions are allowing a supervisor of elections to request that vote-by-mail ballots be sent to temporary addresses where evacuees are staying, rather than having to submit a signed statewide form; letting the U.S. Postal Service forward ballots; allow early voting 15 days before the election through Election Day; deploy mobile polling locations; assign additional early voting sites; offer intake stations beyond early voting hours; and hold ballots at local offices if the post office is out of action. Miami-Dade County Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia has filed several bills that look likely to win support from 'voting integrity' groups that have swarmed state legislatures around the country following the 2020 presidential election. SB 390 would require a law enforcement officer to transport ballot boxes from a supervisor of elections office to a specific voting precinct, and mandate that they remain under the supervision of a law enforcement officer at 'all times' until delivered back to the supervisor. Garcia has said publicly that her motivation was a video depicting an individual trying to crack open a rental truck transporting mail ballots in the days ahead of the 2022 midterm election. SB 394 would create an 'Election Technology Advisory Board' to oversee voting security standards and centralize development and manufacturing of voting systems used in Florida by companies based in the United States. It calls for any software developments and maintenance of voting systems to be done only the U.S. and performed only by U.S. citizens. It also would require that a 'full supply chain analysis' be conducted on all hardware and software to ensure that they are produced and developed in the United States. SB 396 would require the Department of State to adopt stricter security and chain of custody oversight of ballots; authorize political action committees and political committees to station poll watchers in polling rooms and early voting areas; require audits following each election; require that a person requesting a vote-by-mail ballot attest to an allowed reason for such request; require a supervisor of elections to verify a certificate signature, a voter certificate envelope, and ballot material in a specified manner. Garcia has also filed SB 1330, which includes a tightening of the voter registration process. Two House Republicans have filed comprehensive election reform bills. Volusia County Republican Webster Barnaby's version (HB 1203) encompasses provisions relating to election systems, election security, drop boxes, and other vote-by-mail issues. A Persons-Mulicka bill (HB 1381) gives the Office of Election Crimes and Security subpoena power; requires supervisors of elections to re-register a voter who was previously registered but fell off the rolls within seven days unless they receive information that the voter is ineligible; lays out specific rules for poll watchers; says that a voter must initiate the request for a vote-by-mail form from the supervisor of elections. Her bill also requires supervisors of elections to designate a number of early-voting sites that can be no less than the number in the previous general election; says that any mail forwarding delivery service may not further forward any voter's official vote-by-mail ballot or envelope that has been delivered to the service's address, with anyone who 'willfully' violates that as being guilty of a third-degree felony; increases penalties to political parties, candidates, committees, or organizations created to support a ballot initiative from a foreign national. Northeastern Republican Dean Black has filed a bill (HB 1249) that includes provisions regarding qualifications of a political candidate; legal challenges to qualifications, and the use of disclaimers enclosed in voter guides. Another 'election integrity'-themed bill comes from Pinellas County Republican Berny Jacques and East Coast Republican Chase Tremont in the House. Their proposal (HB 831) would 'ensure' that only U.S. citizens can vote by strengthening voter eligibility verification by requiring state-issued IDs to clearly mark noncitizen status and mandating election officials use 'all verifiable data to verify citizenship.' Fort Myers Republican state Sen. Jonathan Martin has filed a bill (SB 1098) establishing that a drop box for vote-by-mail ballots may only be made available during early voting hours or during normal office hours. And Ingoglia and Panhandle Republican House member Michelle Salzman have filed resolutions in their respective chambers to allow Florida voters to amend the state Constitution to place term limits on school board members and county commissioners. The proposals would limit those public officials to two four-year terms, or eight years overall. Democrats are also filing election bills ahead of the session. One measure sponsored by South Florida Democrats Felicia Robinson in the House (HB 489) and Tina Polsky in the Senate (SB 848) would require the Florida Commission on Offender Review to develop and maintain a central database for people who have been disqualified from voting based on felony convictions. The database would provide individuals with information regarding any remaining restitution owed to a victim as ordered by a court as part of their sentence, and any remaining fines or fees initially as ordered by the court, as well. This is legislation that voting rights advocates and Democrats have been pleading for since the passage of Amendment 4 in 2018, which allowed formerly incarcerated felons ('returning citizens') who had completed their sentences to have their voting rights restored. The GOP-controlled Legislature threw a curveball into the implementation of that measure during the 2019 session when they required those individuals to pay all legal financial obligations, which dramatically lowered the pool of eligible voters. The fact that the state has never created such a central database has led to confusion. Palm Beach County Democratic Sen. Lori Berman has filed legislation (SB 72) that would allow candidates to spend campaign funds for campaign-related childhood expenses if the expense derives from the candidates' campaigns. The measure has already been passed unanimously in one committee (a companion bill has been filed in the House by Sarasota Republican Fiona McFarland and Palm Beach Democrat Kelly Skidmore). Polsky (SB 1634)and Palm Beach Democratic Rep. Debra Tendrich (HB 1473) have filed legislation requiring that supervisors of elections who work in a county where the main campus of a Florida college or state university is located must establish at least one early voting site at that campus. Orlando-area Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith has filed two measures coming out of last fall's epic campaigns for recreational cannabis and abortion rights, both of which received well more than 50% support but fell short of the 60% required for passage. One measure would allow voters to have a do-over of the 2006 constitutional amendment that raised the threshold to pass such initiatives from 60% back down to 50%. Another measure would attempt to ban what is already against Florida law but that the DeSantis administration still did last year — use taxpayer dollars for public service announcements to lobby on statewide ballot initiatives. Smith's bill (SB 860), the 'Broadcast Freedom Protection Act' says that elected or appointed state officials found to be interfering with broadcasters' decisions to air political campaign advertisements, 'particularly those related to statewide ballot initiatives,' would face third degree felony charges. They also could be removed from office and permanently disqualified from holding any subsequent elected or appointed office. Tampa Bay area Democrat Michele Redner has filed a similar proposal in the House (HB 727) called the 'Public Resource Election Neutrality Act,' which would ban any state agency from producing, disseminating, or funding any public service announcement related to a statewide ballot initiative. Jacksonville area Democrat Kim Daniels has filed a bill (HB 109) that would allow photography at polling places and early voting sites at specific times. All Voting is Local Action Florida, a voting rights group, is calling for legislation that would expand early voting options; require supervisors of elections to detail how they spend their budgets; funding to update Florida's Voter Registration System; and a bill that requires all counties to provide the same level of language assistance to voters whose primary first language is Spanish. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
