Florida petition drive deadline arrives

February 1, 2012

By Eric Veram

Florida: Today marks the final day petition signatures can be submitted to the Florida Secretary of State's office, by the end of business hours, if the petition is to have any chance of appearing on a 2012 Florida ballot.

According to the Florida Division of Elections website there are 33 active petitions that may appear on a ballot this year. In order for any of these measures to be listed on a statewide ballot, 676,811 valid signatures must be submitted. Any measure that meets this requirement and, barring any form of disqualification, makes it to the ballot will then require a supermajority, equal to 60% or more of the vote, in order to be passed.

See here to see which measures have qualified so far. Be sure to check back with us at the end of today and tomorrow for updates on which measures filed today!

The following chart lists the currently active petitions in the state:

Type	Title	Subject	Description
CICA	Renewable Energy Amendment	Energy	Mandates that 20% of energy sold by an electric utility shall be derived from renewable sources by the end of 2020.
CICA	Child Protection Amendment (3)	Law	Establishes terms of release for convicted child abusers, compiles list of suspected and convicted child sex offenders and requires background checks for all child care workers.
CICA	Trust in Government Amendment	Government	Establishes a fourth branch of state government, the political branch, which will work to establish and ensure duty and accountability in state and local governments.
CICA	Right to Direct Democracy Amendment	Direct democracy	Allows for the public to propose and vote on state statutes.
CICA	Right to Healthcare Amendment (3)	Healthcare	Mandates that the legislature shall establish a single-payer health care system that all citizen are entitled to.
CICA	Billboard Amendment	Environment	Increases restrictions on billboards and makes them easier to remove.
CICA	Corporate Welfare Amendment	Taxes	Prohibits tax reductions being granted to businesses, as well as, restricts situations in which tax revenue might be transferred to businesses.
CICA	Judicial Conference Amendment	Judiciary	Would create a "judicial conference" with the responsibility of creating rules of practice and procedure in the courts.
CICA	Government Accountability Amendment	Government	Would give the Legislative branch power over all other branches of government, but make it subject to the Florida Commission on Ethics.
CICA	Growth Management Initiative	Democracy	Allows the public to call for voter approval of changes to local growth management plans made by the Legislature.
CICA	Medicaid Care Equality Amendment	Healthcare	Mandates that Florida Healthcare Providers accept and treat all patients with Medicaid, Medipass, and approved Medicaid Substitution Programs equally to all other forms of insured patients.
CICA	Marriage Amendment	Marriage	Overturns the 2008 Amendment to the State Constitution which defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
CICA	Genetically Engineered Food Label Amendment	Business	Mandates that all foods that are Genetically Engineered and sold or distributed in or from Florida be labeled as such.
CICA	Ad Valorem Tax Cap Amendment	Taxes	Limits the power of local government to raise revenue from the ad valorem taxes.
CICA	Stem Cell Research Amendment	Stem cells	Prohibits state tax revenue from being spent on experimentation that involves the destruction of a live human embryo.
CICA	Tax Approval Amendment	Taxes	Mandates that anticipated ad valorem tax revenue increases in excess of three per cent over the previous year require referendum approval.
CICA	School Governance Amendment (2)	Education	Replaces district school board with parental governing councils which have authority to organize schools and determine school tax rates.
CICA	Right to Intimacy Amendment (2)	Intimacy	Mandates that no sexually intimate act between consenting adults will be prohibited or discriminated against. Also, allows legal partnerships to take place between unmarried consenting adults.
CICA	Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative	Marijuana	Grants the right to use marijuana for the treatment of certain ailments when recommended by a physician.
CICA	Bill of Rights Amendment	Rights	Adds a set of general rights to the Florida Bill of Rights.
CICA	"Save Our Schools" Amendment	Education	Protects the Florida Lottery’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund from being misused buy the state.
CICA	"Fair Wage and Benefits" Amendment	Minimum wage	Establishes many different gradients of prevailing minimum wages based of the federal General Schedule Standard for Each Category of Employment Field.
CICA	Personhood Amendment	Abortion	Applies the term 'person' to every human being from the beginning of biological development.
CICA	Oil Drilling Initiative	Natural resources	Makes an offshore drilling ban part of the Florida Constitution.

See also

• Laws governing the initiative process in Florida
• Florida 2012 ballot measures
• List of Florida ballot measures