This bill amends the electronic signature gathering process. This bill: - defines a term; - requires the device used to electronically gather signatures for an initiative petition, a referendum petition, or a candidate nomination petition (collectively, "petition") to be capable of scanning and extracting certain data from a driver license, state identification card, or another form of valid voter identification; - beginning on January 1, 2028, requires the device described above to be capable of operating in an offline environment; - beginning on January 1, 2028, requires at least 10% of the signatures certified for a petition to be gathered using the electronic signature gathering process; - beginning on January 1, 2030, requires at least 50% of the signatures certified for a petition to be gathered using the electronic signature gathering process; - authorizes the lieutenant governor to suspend the 10% electronic signature requirement if the electronic signature gathering system is not functioning in a manner that reasonably permits compliance; - beginning on January 1, 2032:requires the sponsors of an initiative or referendum petition, or an individual who circulates a candidate nomination petition, to gather signatures using the electronic signature gathering process; andprohibits a person described above from gathering signatures manually; - clarifies electronic signature-gathering security requirements by distinguishing between baseline device security configuration standards and ongoing cyber-security procedures governing system operation, monitoring, and maintenance, as established by the lieutenant governor; - requires the lieutenant governor to submit an annual report to the Government Operations Interim Committee, beginning no later than October 1, 2026, and continuing no later than October 1 of each year through 2031; - adds a January 1, 2032 repeal date for sections related to manual signature gathering; - includes a coordination clause to standardize a defined term in this bill with the same term in H.B. 32, Signature Gathering and Verification Amendments; and - makes technical and conforming changes.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 20A-7-304.5, 20A-7-502.7, 20A-7-602.7, 20A-7-602.8, 20A-7-604.5, 20A-21-101, 20A-21-201, 63I-1-220
Substitute #1: 20A-7-304.5, 20A-7-502.7, 20A-7-602.7, 20A-7-602.8, 20A-7-604.5, 20A-21-101, 20A-21-201, 63I-1-220
Substitute #2: 20A-7-304.5, 20A-7-502.7, 20A-7-602.7, 20A-7-602.8, 20A-7-604.5, 20A-21-101, 20A-21-201, 63I-1-220
Substitute #4: 20A-7-101, 20A-7-201, 20A-7-207, 20A-7-213, 20A-7-301, 20A-7-304.5, 20A-7-307, 20A-7-312, 20A-7-501, 20A-7-502.7, 20A-7-507, 20A-7-512, 20A-7-601, 20A-7-602.7, 20A-7-602.8, 20A-7-604.5, 20A-7-607, 20A-7-612, 20A-9-101, 20A-9-403, 20A-9-408, 20A-21-101, 20A-21-201, 63I-1-220
Substitute #3: 20A-7-101, 20A-7-201, 20A-7-207, 20A-7-213, 20A-7-301, 20A-7-304.5, 20A-7-307, 20A-7-312, 20A-7-501, 20A-7-502.7, 20A-7-507, 20A-7-512, 20A-7-601, 20A-7-602.7, 20A-7-602.8, 20A-7-604.5, 20A-7-607, 20A-7-612, 20A-9-101, 20A-9-403, 20A-9-408, 20A-9-502, 20A-21-101, 20A-21-201, 63I-1-220