©2024 The News Service of Florida
An administrative law judge will hear arguments Jan. 27 in a dispute about the state’s attempt to impose a $328,000 fine against a political committee that led unsuccessful efforts to pass a constitutional amendment on abortion rights.
Judge G.W. Chisenhall this week scheduled the hearing in the dispute between the Floridians Protecting Freedom political committee and the Florida Department of State.
The committee is fighting a fine related to petitions gathered for the initiative, which appeared on the Nov. 5 ballot as Amendment 4.
The Department of State sent a letter Oct. 11 notifying the committee about the fine.
The letter said the owner of a petition-circulating business in late 2023 reported to the department’s Office of Election Crimes & Security that he suspected fraud by eight of his employees who were gathering petition signatures for the initiative.
The owner of the business brought 600 petitions and said he thought a large number of them were fraudulent because of issues including incorrect dates of birth and signatures that appeared forged, the letter said.
The letter said the petitions were returned, at least in part, so Floridians Protecting Freedom could comply with a legal requirement that petitions be submitted to supervisors of elections within 30 days of when they are signed.
In imposing the fine, the department alleged that 328 of the petitions were not submitted to supervisors of elections.
The committee is contesting the fine and disputing a series of issues raised by the department, including issues about the owner of the petition-circulating business.
The Department of State notified the committee of the fine as Gov. Ron DeSantis led efforts to defeat Amendment 4, which would have enshrined abortion rights in the state Constitution.
About 57 percent of voters supported the measure, but that was short of the required 60 percent to pass constitutional amendments.
One Response to “A hearing is set to consider a fine that Florida imposed on the group supporting Amendment 4”
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I chose to carefully read all of the details pertaining to the finest against those supporting the abortion law. If all of the charges are correct to the letter I thereby fully and completely support all state actions including the fine against this fraudulent pro abortion group.