The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee passed a measure by a 15-4 vote Tuesday that seeks to safeguard the integrity of the initiative petition process that proposes changes to the State Constitution.
Pensacola Republican Sen. Don Gaetz and Fort Pierce Republican Sen. Erin Grall presented the bill (SB 7016) and explained that the legislation was the result of a report that showed there was fraud committed during the 2024 election in Florida.
“Senator Grall and I actually did not want to sponsor this bill because we did not want the state to need this bill,” Gaetz said. “Florida’s elections are a model for America, our Supervisors of Elections called the 2024 election their gold standard. But there’s one stain on Florida’s election integrity, and it’s deep, and it’s broad, and it’s ugly.”
Gaetz said that there have been attempts to undermine the rights of citizens, and that there are sponsors who are trying to “buy the people’s Constitution.”
