Democrats voice outrage as Legislature passes bill on citizen-led amendments

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 5/1/25-Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, left, embraces co-sponsor Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Crestview, after their bill CS/HB 1205 concerning amendments to the State Constitution, passed the Senate Thursday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. The bill returns to the House. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Shadows from last year’s failed citizen-led ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana and protect abortion rights are looming over this Session, as the Legislature has passed a bill adding more hurdles for future petition drives.

With the House approving the bill (HB 1205) as passed by the Senate, it will move to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.

“Those pesky Amendments 3 and 4 just came too damn close to passing. So what are we going to do? We’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” said Boca Raton Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky, expressing outrage over the bill during the debate earlier this week.

“We’re going to make it so hard and so expensive that only corporate interests are going to be able ever to get a citizens’ initiative on the ballot.”

Among the sweeping changes are provisions stating that anyone who collects more than 25 signed petitions — not counting their own or immediate family members’ ballots — would be required to register with the state as an official petition circulator and undergo two-hour online training. Violators can be charged with a third-degree felony.

The bill shortens the timeline to turn in signed petitions from 30 days to 10 days and adds stiffer penalties for the petition sponsor for violations under the new proposed rules.

Democrats accused the GOP of using the bill to sabotage the citizen-led constitutional amendment process by adding so many hurdles that it will kill future initiatives before they ever make it onto the ballot. 

Republicans charged that the bill is cleaning up a broken system that out-of-town paid circulators are taken advantage of. The changes are needed to keep the process lawful and protect the state’s constitution from outside powerful influences, GOP backers said.

“This is not a bill to restrict. It is a bill to protect to make sure that our constitutional system is one of integrity and that it’s free of fraud,” said Sen. Jennifer Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican.

Soon after the Senate cleared the bill Friday after late Thursday negotiations with the House, advocacy groups on both sides began reacting.

“Point blank, this is an attack on our democracy and follows an undeniable pattern in Florida where state officials want to silence anyone who doesn’t agree with them and ensure people can’t decide for themselves how they’re governed,” said All Voting Is Local’s Florida Director Brad Ashwell.

Added Florida Decides Healthcare Campaign Manager Mitch Emerson, “This legislation is not about ‘transparency’ or ‘reform.’ It’s a calculated move by out-of-touch politicians trying to rewrite the rules to further keep the power in their hands, and away from everyday citizens.”

Meanwhile Mark Wilson, the Florida Chamber of Commerce CEO, praised the bill and called it “a much-needed step in the right direction to protect Floridians and the Florida Constitution they live under from out-of-state and special interests.

“For decades, the Florida Chamber has led the effort to safeguard our state’s foundational document because Floridians and local businesses across our state deserve a constitution that provides certainty and stability, not one that is up for sale every two years,” Wilson said in a statement.

If the bill becomes law, could it be challenged in court?

The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee staff analysis said the U.S. Supreme Court “concluded that circulating a petition represents core political speech and merits the highest level of protection. However, the Court also has recognized that regulation of elections is necessary to ensure fairness and order.”

“States allowing ballot initiatives have considerable leeway to protect the integrity and reliability of the initiative process, as they have with respect to election processes generally,” the analysis continued. “So restrictions on an initiative process will be upheld against a First Amendment challenge if such restrictions ‘protect the integrity and reliability of the initiative process’ and do not ‘unjustifiably inhibit the circulation of ballot-initiative petitions.’”

The bill targeting the citizen-led constitutional amendment process isn’t the only debate related to the 2024 election happening this Session. The House GOP had targeted Hope Florida, First Lady Casey DeSantis’ charity, that gave millions of dollars from a Medicaid settlement to two organizations. The money was funneled to a political action committee run by the Governor’s then-Chief of Staff to fight Amendment 3 to legalize marijuana.