Florida Passes Bill Making It Harder For Initiatives To Appear On Ballot (Energy Choice)
May 06,2019
Both Florida houses have passed a bill (HB 5) which, via an amendment, makes it harder for citizens initiatives, such as energy choice, to appear on the ballot
The bill does impact 2020 initiatives which have not yet qualified, such as the electric choice initiative
The bill creates various new registration and signature procedures and requirements, though the threshold for appearance on the ballot, and passage, did not change. Compensation to individuals gathering signatures may no longer be based on the number of petition forms gathered
Notably, the bill provides that, if the financial impact statement of an initiative estimates
increased costs, decreased revenues, a negative impact on the
state or local economy, or an indeterminate impact (such as that for energy choice) for any of
these areas, "the ballot must include a statement indicating such estimated effect in bold font."
However, harsher language, concerning potential tax increases for initiatives with an indeterminate impact was not included in the final bill