Governor Should Veto HB 1207

Press Release
Don't Use Taxpayer Dollars To Tell Us How To Vote.

Citizens organizations are calling upon Governor Crist to veto HB 1207 because it could allow local governments to spend taxpayer dollars on campaigns to get taxpayers to vote for higher taxes.

“That's just wrong,” says John Hedrick, Chair of the Panhandle Citizens Coalition, the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club. “We do not believe the governments have any business using voters’ own money to tell voters how to vote on an issue.Inevitably you’re forcing people who do not agree with the politicians’ stance on an issue to subsidize the point of view that they oppose. “Collectively, we and other citizens groups are asking voters to call or e-mail the Governor as soon as possible to ask him to veto HB 1207 -- at (850) 488-7146 or Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com,” states Hedrick.

HB 1207 is controversial because, for one thing, it would reverse the law that outlaws the creation and use of so-called “Leadership Funds.” (Leadership Funds were unregulated and unreported contributions to legislative leaders that they used to influence campaigns.) However, the bill is bad for another reason. HB1207 threatens the law passed in 2009 that prohibits local governments from using taxpayer dollars to tell voters how to vote on ballot issues.

If HB 1207 removes that prohibition, a county commission could conduct an expensive campaign, at the taxpayers' expense, to get voters to vote, say, for higher taxes. Specifically, current law now prohibits a local government from using public funds for a "political advertisement" or "electioneering communication" on a state or local referendum issue. (A "political advertisement" specifically urges voters to "Vote Yes" or Vote No," while an "electioneering communication" can fall just short of that.)

The problem with HB 1207 is that it redefines the term "electioneering communication" to exclude ballot issues, or referenda, leaving the term “electioneering communication” to prohibit only campaigns for or against individual candidates. If HB 1207’s change is passed by the Governor, then the law will conflict with itself because the 2009 change already prohibits a local government from issuing "electioneering communication" on ballot issues, or referenda.

In this confusion, a city or county commission could argue that HB 1207 now allows it to conduct an expensive, one-sided, and deceptive campaign, at taxpayer expense, to get taxpayers to vote for higher taxes, or to vote as politicians want voters to vote on some other referendum, so long as the local government’s ads stop short of saying "Vote Yes" or "Vote No".

“Governor Crist should veto HB 1207 to avoid this internal conflict in the law,” says Dan Lobeck, President of Control Growth Now. “He should also veto the bill to avoid the possibility that local governments will use the change to say that local governments can now use our taxpayer dollars to pay for propaganda to get us to vote they way they want, such as on tax increases everywhere. It’s altogether a bad change.”

“Using – or rather, wasting -- taxpayer dollars to get us to vote for higher taxes? No way,” says Joyce Tarnow, President of Floridians for a Sustainable Population.“This bill should be vetoed by the Governor today.”

For further information, contact:
John Hedrick (850) 339-5462
Dan Lobeck (941) 350-5256
Joyce Tarnow (954) 593-3834