§ 8-87. Initiative to adopt an ordinance.

(a) Generally. The qualified electors of the city shall have the power to propose ordinances to the commission and, if the commission fails to adopt an ordinance so proposed without any change in substance, to adopt or reject it at a city election, provided that such power shall not extend to the budget or capital programs or any ordinances relating to appropriation of money, levy of taxes or salaries of city officers or employees.

(b) Commencement of proceedings by petitioners' committee. Any five (5) qualified electors of the city may commence initiative proceedings by filing an affidavit with the city clerk stating they will constitute the petitioners' committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form, stating their names and addresses, specifying the address to which all notices to the committee are to be sent, and setting out in full the proposed initiative ordinance. The petitioners' committee shall be considered a political committee within the definition of F.S. § 106.011(1) and shall comply with all registration, reporting, and campaign finance requirements of F.S. ch. 106.

(c) City clerk to receive filings. The city clerk shall receive all filings relating to initiative. For the purpose of this section, a filing shall be made as of the time of actual receipt by hand delivery or receipt by mail at the office of the city clerk.

(d) Petitions.

(1) No petition blanks may be circulated for signature prior to the filing of the affidavit by the petitioners' committee or approval of the petition form by the city clerk.

(2) Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioners' committee is filed, the city clerk may, at the committee's request, issue the appropriate petition blanks to the petitioners' committee at the committee's expense. Alternatively, the committee may submit a proposed petition to the city clerk for approval as to form.

(3) All papers of a petition shall be assembled as one (1) instrument for filing. Each signature shall be executed in ink or indelible pencil and shall be followed by the address of the person signing. Petitions shall contain or have attached thereto throughout their circulation the full text of the ordinance proposed.

(4) Initiative petitions must be signed by qualified electors of the city equal in number to at least fifteen (15) percent of the total number of qualified voters registered to vote at the last regular city election.

(5) Each paper of a petition shall provide an affidavit stating that the circulator personally circulated the paper, that the signature was affixed in his presence, that he believes it to be the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be, and that the signer had an opportunity before signing to read the full text of the ordinance proposed.

(6) Petition blanks shall consist of one (1) sheet of paper, printed on only one (1) side, entitled "City of Lake Wales, Initiative Petition" and shall be in substantially the following form:

City of Lake Wales

Initiative Petition

The petitioner's committee listed below is proposing an ordinance by initiative. A summary of the ordinance is as follows:

(summary of ordinance)

This proposed ordinance, if signed by 15% of the city's electors as of the last city election, will be presented to the city commission. If it is not adopted by the commission, it will then be submitted to the voters. If you approve of the ordinance and/or wish it to be submitted to the commission and the voters, please sign below, but only if you are a registered voter of the City of Lake Wales.

Petitioner's Committee	_____
	Elector's signature as it appears on registration rolls
Name ____________
Name ____________	Home address
Name ____________	City
Name ____________	Precinct # date
Name ____________	(if known)

 

Circulator's Affidavit

I, the undersigned, personally circulated this paper, the one signature affixed was done in my presence, the signer had an opportunity to read the full text of the proposed ordinance, and I believe it to be a genuine signature.

	/s/                                             Circulator

Subscribed and sworn before me this ____________ day of ____________, 20____________.

	/s/                                             Notary

(e) Prohibited practices

(1) Any person knowingly signing a petition more than one (1) time shall be in violation of F.S. § 104.185.

(2) Any circulator falsely executing the affidavit on any petition blank shall be in violation of F.S. § 104.011.

(3) Any person who by bribery, menace, threat or other corruption whatsoever, directly or indirectly, attempts to, or does in fact, influence, deceive, or deter any elector, or in any way interferes with any elector, in the free exercise of his right to sign or not to sign a petition, shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection with penalties as provided in section 1-15 of this Code.

(4) Any person who shall directly or indirectly give or promise anything of value to another intending thereby to buy that individual's or another's signature on a petition, or to corruptly influence another in signing or not signing a petition, shall be guilty of a violation of this subsection with penalties as provided in section 1-15 of this Code.

(f) Removal of names. Any person may request the removal of his name from a previously executed petition prior to the filing of the petition with the city clerk. The responsibility for removal of any name pursuant to a request shall be that of the petitioner's committee and failure to promptly do so when requested shall be a violation of this subsection with penalties as provided in section 1-15 of this Code.

(g) Procedure for filing petition.

(1) Each paper of a petition shall bear an executed and notarized circulator's affidavit when the petition is filed by the petitioners' committee with the city clerk.

(2) Upon the filing of an initiative petition, the city clerk shall determine if it is sufficient as to form, content and circulator affidavits. If not, the city clerk shall promptly issue an insufficiency certificate and mail it to the petitioner's committee by registered mail. A petition deemed insufficient for any reason other than lack of the required number of signatures may not be amended or resubmitted.

(3) A petition deemed by the city clerk to be sufficient as to form, content and circulator affidavits shall be promptly delivered to the supervisor of elections for verification of signatures pursuant to F.S. § 99.097; however, the random sample procedure shall not be used for signature verification. The petitioners' committee shall pay the supervisor the fee for verification as required by F.S. § 99.097(4). The supervisor shall complete the verification no later than the 20th day following the date of the filing of the petition with the city clerk, stating the number of signatures checked, the number verified to be registered electors of the city, and the number of signatures determined not to be registered electors of the city.

(4) Upon receipt of the certificate from the supervisor of elections, the city clerk shall compare the number of verified signatures to the number equal to fifteen (15) percent of the registered electors of the city as of the last regular city election. If the number of verified signatures exceeds the requisite number, the city clerk shall issue a certificate of sufficiency, transmit a copy by registered mail to the petitioners' committee, and deliver a copy of the certificate and the proposed ordinance to the members of the city commission. If the number of verified signatures fails to meet the requisite number, the city clerk shall issue a certificate as to the insufficiency of the petition and transmit a copy by registered mail to the petitioners' committee.

(5) A petition certified insufficient for lack of the requisite number of valid signatures may be amended once if the petitioners' committee files a notice of intention to amend it with the city clerk within two (2) business days after receiving the copy of the certificate and files a supplementary petition upon additional papers within ten (10) days after receiving the copy of such certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with the requirements of subsection (d), and, within five (5) days after it is filed, the city clerk shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the amended petition and promptly send a copy of such certificate to the petitioners' committee by registered mail.

(6) If a petition or amended petition is certified sufficient, or if a petition or amended petition is certified insufficient and the petitioners' committee does not elect to amend or request commission review under paragraph (7) of this subsection within the time required, the city clerk shall promptly present a copy of the certificate and the proposed ordinance to the city commission. The certificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.

(7) If a petition has been certified insufficient, and the petitioners' committee does not file notice of intention to amend it or if an amended petition has been certified insufficient, the committee may, within two (2) business days after receiving the copy of such certificate, file a request that it be reviewed by the commission. The commission shall review the certificate at its next meeting following the filing of such request and approve or disapprove it. The commission's determination shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.

(h) Action by commission. When an initiative petition has finally been determined sufficient, the commission shall promptly consider the proposed initiative ordinance. If the commission fails to adopt a proposed initiative ordinance without any change in substance within sixty (60) days, it shall no later than the 60th day following issuance of the certificate of sufficiency, adopt a resolution calling an issue election to consider the proposed ordinance, and prescribing the ballot language in the manner prescribed in section 8-69

(i) Submission to voters. The vote of the city electors on a proposed ordinance shall be held not less than thirty (30) days and not later than sixty (60) days after approval of the resolution calling an issue election. Whenever possible, the election shall be held in conjunction with a regularly scheduled city election. Copies of the proposed ordinance shall be made available at the polls for public review.

(j) Withdrawal of petition. An initiative petition may be withdrawn at any time prior to the 15th day preceding the election by filing with the city clerk a request for withdrawal signed by at least four (4) members of the petitioners' committee. Upon the filing of such request, the petition shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings thereon shall be terminated. If an election has been called prior to the petition withdrawal, the city clerk shall, upon receipt of the request from the petitioners' committee, transmit a notice thereof to the city commission and the supervisor of elections, and the city commission shall by resolution cancel the election.

(k) Results of election. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the election results and shall be treated in all respects in the same manner as ordinances of same kind adopted by the commission. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the same election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.

(Ord. No. 2003-15, § 1, 6-3-03; Ord. No. 2013-01, § 1, 2-5-13)