Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...The appellant filed suit against the Secretary of State alleging that many of the petitions submitted on behalf of DEBT failed to contain the names and addresses of the petition circulators in violation of section 100.371, Florida Statutes (2003). The appellant argues that section 106.191 renders these signature petitions invalid and the Secretary of State should not have counted them....

...e. Because the underlying language of section 100.371 regarding the names and addresses of paid petition circulators no longer has effect, the remedy sought by the appellant — invalidation of the petitions counted by the Secretary of State — under section 106.191, Florida Statutes (2003), is unavailable. Section 106.191 reads: 106.191 Signatures gathered for initiative petition; effect of ch....

...In addition, any initiative petition form approved by the Secretary of State prior to the effective date of this act may continue to be circulated. (emphasis added). Appellant argues that the underscored language renders invalid signature petitions lacking the names and addresses of paid circulators. We cannot, however, read section 106.191 in isolation....

...To give the appellant the relief it seeks, the disputed language of section 100.371 must be a provision of the act. Because section 100.371 bears no requirement that, to be valid, the petitions of paid signature gatherers must contain the names and addresses of the circulators, section 106.191 cannot be read to warrant the invalidation of such petitions. Finally, appellant points to section 106.19(3), Florida Statutes (2003), as further evidence that Florida requires signature petitions to contain the name and address of the paid circulator. Section 106.19(3), unlike section 106.191, contains an independent requirement that paid petition circulators provide their names and addresses on their petitions: A political committee sponsoring a constitutional amendment proposed by initiative which submits a petition form...