HB 209 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the recall of county commissioners; 2
amending s. 100.361, F.S.; providing that members of 3
the governing body of a noncharter county may be 4
removed from office by the electors of the county; 5
making technical changes; providing a contingent 6
effective date. 7
8
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 9
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Section 1. Subsection (1) and paragraphs (d), (f), and (g) 11
of subsection (2) of section 100.361, Florida Statutes, are 12
amended to read: 13
100.361 Municipal and county official recall.— 14
(1) APPLICATION; DEFINITION. —Any member of the governing 15
body of a municipality , or charter county, or noncharter county, 16
hereinafter referred to in this section as "municipality," may 17
be removed from office by the electors of the municipality. When 18
the official represents a district and is elected only by 19
electors residing in that district, only electors from that 20
district are eligible to sign the petition to recall that 21
official and are entitled to vote in the recall election. When 22
the official represents a district and is elected at -large by 23
the electors of the municipality, all electors of the 24
municipality are eligible to sign the petition t o recall that 25
HB 209 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
official and are entitled to vote in the recall election. As 26
Where used in this section, the term "district" means shall be 27
construed to mean the area or region of a municipality from 28
which a member of the governing body is elected by the ele ctors 29
from such area or region. Members may be removed from office 30
pursuant to the procedures provided in this section. This method 31
of removing members of the governing body of a municipality is 32
in addition to any other method provided by state law. 33
(2) RECALL PETITION.— 34
(d) Grounds for recall. —The grounds for removal of elected 35
municipal officials shall, for the purposes of this act, be 36
limited to the following and must be contained in the petition: 37
1. Malfeasance.; 38
2. Misfeasance.; 39
3. Neglect of duty.; 40
4. Drunkenness.; 41
5. Incompetence.; 42
6. Permanent inability to perform official duties .; and 43
7. Conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude. 44
(f) Filing of signed petitions. —All signed petition forms 45
shall be filed at the same time, no later than 30 days after the 46
date on which the first signature is obtained on the petition. 47
The person designated as chair of the committee shall file the 48
signed petition forms with the auditor or clerk of the 49
municipality or charter county, or his or her equivalent, 50
HB 209 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
hereinafter referred to as "clerk." The petition may not be 51
amended after it is filed with the clerk. 52
(g) Verification of signatures. — 53
1. Immediately after the filing of the petition forms, the 54
clerk shall submit such forms to the county supervisor of 55
elections. No more than 30 days after the date on which all 56
petition forms are submitted to the supervisor by the clerk, the 57
supervisor shall promptly verify the signatures in accordance 58
with s. 99.097, and determine whether the requisite number of 59
valid signatures has been obtained for the petition. The 60
committee seeking verification of the signatures shall pay in 61
advance to the supervisor the sum of 10 cents for each signature 62
checked or the actual cost of checking such signatures, 63
whichever is less. 64
2. Upon filing with the clerk, the petition and all 65
subsequent papers or forms required or permitted to be filed 66
with the clerk in connection with this section must, upon 67
request, be made available in alternative formats by the clerk. 68
3. If the supervisor determines that the petition does not 69
contain the requisite number of verified and valid signatures, 70
the clerk shall, upon receipt of such written determination, so 71
certify to the governing body of the municipality or charter 72
county and file the petition without taking further action, and 73
the matter shall be at an end. No additional names may be added 74
to the petition, and the petition shall not be used in any other 75
HB 209 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
proceeding. 76
4. If the supervisor determines that the petition has the 77
requisite number of verified and valid signatures, then the 78
procedures outlined in subsection (3) must be followed. 79
Section 2. This act shall take effect on the effective 80
date of the amendment to the State Constitut ion proposed by HJR 81
131 or a joint resolution having substantially the same specific 82
intent and purpose, if such amendment to the State Constitution 83
is approved at the next general election or at an earlier 84
special election specifically authorized by law for that 85
purpose. 86