§ 7.3.2. Amendment by petition.
Amendments to this Charter may be proposed by a petition signed by at least four percent (4%) of the electors from each County Commission District, provided that any such amendment shall embrace but one subject matter directly connected therewith in the manner set forth in subsections 7.3.2.1 through 7.3.2.4. below. []
(Amd. of 11-2-10)
7.3.2.1. Each amendment shall embrace but one subject and matter directly connected therewith. The amendment shall not extend to existing budgets, existing debt obligations, existing capital improvement obligations, salaries of non-elected County officers and employees, the collection of taxes or rezoning of less than five per cent (5%) of the total land area of the County.
(Amd. of 11-2-10)
7.3.2.2. The sponsor of the measure shall register as a political committee as required by general law, and shall submit a petition setting forth the ballot title, substance and text of the proposed amendment to the Supervisor of Elections. The sponsor must then obtain the signatures on the petition of at least 1% of the electors from each County Commission district and then resubmit the signed petitions to the Supervisor of Elections for verification that the electors signing the petition are qualified voters. When the Supervisor of Elections has verified the signatures, the Supervisor shall report such verification to the Board of County Commissioners.
(Amd. of 11-2-10)
7.3.2.3. Once the signatures are verified, the County Commission, at the county's expense, shall empanel a panel of three persons to determine whether the proposed amendment and ballot language embraces one subject only and is consistent with the Florida Constitution, general law and this Charter. The persons serving on the panel shall have demonstrated experience in Florida local government law and shall either be licensed to practice law in the State of Florida or have retired from a Florida law practice or the Florida judiciary within the past five years.
(Amd. of 11-2-10)
7.3.2.4. If at least two members of the panel find that the proposed amendment is consistent with the Florida Constitution, general law and this Charter, then such consistency shall be presumed and the petition shall be returned to the sponsor who must thereafter obtain enough signatures from electors in each county commission district to bring the total number of petition signatures to at least 4% of the qualified electors in each county commission district. The verification procedures for signatures on initiative petitions set forth in Section 5.1.1 of this Charter shall thereafter be followed. []
Since this Charter does not provide the Board or the Petitioner with an avenue to determine whether proposed amendments are consistent with the State Constitution or general law, the proposed amendment will be governed by Section 1.3 and Section 1.6 of this Charter, and the proposed amendment will be placed on the ballot for approval or rejection. The sponsor of an amendment shall, prior to obtaining signatures, submit the text of the proposed amendment to the Supervisor of Elections, with the proposed ballot summary and the form on which signature will be affixed. The procedures for initiative petitions set forth in Section 5.1.1 of this Charter shall thereafter be followed. The power to amend this Charter by initiative shall not extend to existing budgets, existing debt obligations, existing capital improvement programs, salaries of non-elected County officers and employees, the collection of taxes, or the rezoning of less than five percent (5%) of the total land area of the County.
(Amd. of 11-2-10)