When does a Florida supervisor of elections count signatures on a petition to create a county charter commission?

Plain-English summary

The Pasco County Supervisor of Elections asked a timing question: when a citizens' group submits a petition to force the appointment of a county charter commission, as of what date should the supervisor measure whether the petition carries the "15 percent of the qualified electors of the county" that section 125.61 requires? The statute does not say.

Attorney General Pam Bondi concluded that the supervisor should use the date the petition is submitted to the county commission. The opinion reasoned from two directions. First, the statute itself ties the next step to that moment, requiring the charter commission to be appointed "within 30 days . . . of the filing of said petition." Second, other petition statutes (municipal recall under section 100.361 and municipal charter amendments under section 166.031) expressly fix a benchmark like "the last preceding municipal election," and section 125.61 does not. Because courts and the Attorney General cannot add words the Legislature left out, the office declined to read a "last preceding election" benchmark into the statute.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion addressed

Supervisors of elections

The opinion gave supervisors a usable rule for a statute that is silent: count the county's qualified electors as of the date the petition is submitted to the county commission, and test the 15 percent threshold against that number.

Citizen petition organizers

For groups gathering signatures, the opinion meant the target was measured at submission rather than against a snapshot from a past election. The opinion noted that a Pasco County citizens' group had announced plans to seek signatures for exactly this kind of petition.

County attorneys

The opinion is a statutory-construction exercise. It leaned on the rule that a court (and the Attorney General) cannot supply words the Legislature omitted, and it treated the presence of an explicit benchmark in comparable statutes as evidence that the omission in section 125.61 was deliberate.

Common questions

Q: How many signatures does it take to force a county charter commission in Florida?
A: Section 125.61 requires a petition signed by at least 15 percent of the qualified electors of the county (the process can also be started by a county commission resolution).

Q: As of what date is the 15 percent measured?
A: Under this opinion, the date the petition is submitted to the county commission.

Q: Why not use the last general election, like a recall petition?
A: Because section 125.61 contains no such benchmark. Statutes like the recall statute (section 100.361) and the municipal charter-amendment statute (section 166.031) spell out a "last preceding election" date; section 125.61 does not, and the AG would not read one in.

Q: What happens once a valid petition is filed?
A: The statute requires a charter commission of an odd number of members (not fewer than 11 or more than 15) to be appointed within 30 days of the filing of the petition.

Background and statutory framework

Section 125.61 was enacted by Chapter 69-45, Laws of Florida, as part of the procedure that lets a county adopt a home rule charter. The process can begin either by resolution of the board of county commissioners or by a citizens' petition signed by at least 15 percent of the county's qualified electors. The statute sets the appointment clock to the filing of the petition but is silent on the date for counting signatures, which is the gap this opinion filled.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• § 125.61, Fla. Stat. (charter commission)
• § 100.361, Fla. Stat. (municipal recall)
• § 166.031, Fla. Stat. (municipal charter amendments)

Cases:

• In re Order on Prosecution of Criminal Appeals by Tenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender, 561 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 1990), Florida Supreme Court; courts cannot add words to a statute
• Chaffee v. Miami Transfer Company, Inc., 288 So. 2d 209 (Fla. 1974), Florida Supreme Court; statutory-construction limits

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/counties-supervisor-of-elections-petitions-
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/1527

Original opinion text

The Honorable Brian E. Corley

Pasco County Supervisor of Elections

Post Office Box 300

Dade City, Florida 33526-0300

RE: Counties – Charters – Supervisor of Elections – Petitions – date to be used to determine whether petition requesting appointment of county charter commission has been signed by requisite number of voters. s. 125.61, Fla. Stat.

Dear Mr. Corley:

As Supervisor of Elections for Pasco County, you have asked for my opinion on substantially the following question:

What date must a Supervisor of Elections use to calculate whether the required number of qualified voters have signed a petition requesting the establishment of a county charter commission pursuant to section 125.61, Florida Statutes?

In sum:

A Supervisor of Elections should use the date upon which the petition requesting the establishment of a county charter commission is submitted to the county commission to calculate the number of qualified voters required to meet the statutory requirement of "15 percent of the qualified electors of the county" mandated by section 125.61, Florida Statutes.

According to information obtained by this office, a citizens group in Pasco County has announced that it plans to seek petition signatures to require appointment of a county charter commission. The statute requires a determination of whether the petition has been "signed by at least 15 percent of the qualified electors of the county[.]" As the Supervisor of Elections, you are unsure when this calculation should be made as the statute is silent in this regard.

Section 125.61, Florida Statutes, was enacted by Chapter 69-45, Laws of Florida, as a part of the procedure enabling a county to adopt a home rule charter. The proceedings may be initiated by resolution of the board of county commissioners or by petition signed by at least 15 percent of the qualified electors of the county. Within 30 days of the adoption of the resolution or the filing of the petition, the members of the county charter commission "shall be appointed[.]" Specifically, the statute provides:

"125.61 Charter commission.—

(1) Following the adoption of a resolution by the board of county commissioners or upon the submission of a petition to the county commission signed by at least 15 percent of the qualified electors of the county requesting that a charter commission be established, a charter commission shall be appointed pursuant to subsection (2) within 30 days of the adoption of said resolution or of the filing of said petition.

(2) The charter commission shall be composed of an odd number of not less than 11 or more than 15 members. The members of the commission shall be appointed by the board of county commissioners of said county or, if so directed in the initiative petition, by the legislative delegation. No member of the Legislature or board of county commissioners shall be a member of the charter commission. Vacancies shall be filled within 30 days in the same manner as the original appointments."

Unlike a number of other statutes requiring a calculation of the requisite number of signatures on a petition, section 125.61, Florida Statutes, does not establish a benchmark date for the Supervisor to make this calculation. In section 100.361, Florida Statutes, dealing with municipal recall elections, a recall petition must be signed by "at least 50 electors or by 10 percent of the total number of registered electors of the municipality or district as of the preceding municipal election, whichever is greater."[1] (e.s.) Similarly, section 166.031(1), Florida Statutes, dealing with municipal charter amendments, provides:

"The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, or the electors of a municipality may, by petition signed by 10 percent of the registered electors as of the last preceding municipal general election, submit to the electors of said municipality a proposed amendment to its charter, which amendment may be to any part or to all of said charter except that part describing the boundaries of such municipality. The governing body of the municipality shall place the proposed amendment contained in the ordinance or petition to a vote of the electors at the next general election held within the municipality or at a special election called for such purpose."[2] (e.s.)

It is a general rule of statutory construction that courts, in construing a statute, cannot invoke a limitation or add words to a statute not placed there by the Legislature, nor is this office authorized to do so.[3] Thus, this office cannot read into section 125.61, Florida Statutes, a requirement that these calculations be made "as of the last preceding . . . general election" or other such qualifying event. Further, the fact that the qualifying language exists in other statutes, particularly the municipal charter process described in section 166.031, Florida Statutes, supra, suggests that it was not intended to apply to the process described in section 125.61, Florida Statutes.

Other language in section 125.61, Florida Statutes, suggests that the date the petition is presented to the county commission is a significant date for this process. The statute provides that the charter commission must be appointed "within 30 days . . . of the filing of said petition." It would appear reasonable to conclude that the date upon which the petition is presented to the county commission is the benchmark date for calculation of the required number of signatures on the petition.

Therefore, in the absence of any legislative or judicial mandate to the contrary, it is reasonable to conclude that pursuant to section 125.61, Florida Statutes, a Supervisor of Elections should use the date a petition for establishment of a charter commission is submitted to the county commission to determine the number of signatures representing "at least 15 percent of the qualified electors of the county."

Sincerely,

Pam Bondi

Attorney General

PB/tgh

[1] Section 100.361(2)(b)1., Fla. Stat. And see s. 100.361(2)(b)2. - 6., Fla. Stat., containing identical language as to the benchmark date.

[2] However, like s. 125.61, Fla. Stat., several statutes contain no benchmark date for calculation of the requisite number of signatures on a petition. See s. 171.051(2), Fla. Stat., providing the procedure for municipal contraction by a petition of 15% of qualified voters in an area; and s. 367.072(2)(b), Fla. Stat., relating to a utility's certificate of authorization to provide water service and the requirements for petitions to revoke such certificates which must be signed by 65% of the customers in the service area covered by the certificate of authorization.

[3] See In re Order on Prosecution of Criminal Appeals by Tenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender, 561 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 1990); Chaffee v. Miami Transfer Company, Inc., 288 So. 2d 209 (Fla. 1974); and see Ops. Att'y Gen. Fla. 82-80 (1982) (Attorney General, like a court, is not free to add words to a statute to support a conclusion that the plain wording of the statute does not supply; general rule of statutory construction is that any doubts as to legislative intent should be resolved against the power of the court to supply missing words); 98-82 (1998) (Attorney General will not read words of limitation into statute); 94-09 (1994); 87-43 (1987); 86-32 (1986); 82-20 (1982).