The latest news on this front comes from a really interesting article at Ballot Access News written by the widely-respected election expert and advocate for third party/independent ballot access, Richard Winger. He wrote:

On June 7, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 5, the bill that makes it more difficult for statewide initiatives to get on the ballot. It requires each petition sheet to have its own particular number. It had been thought that the Governor might veto this bill because of this provision. The government will now incur greater costs. Also it makes it illegal to pay out-of-state circulators on a per-signature basis, and imposes severe periodic reporting on financing the inititive. The bill will surely result in litigation.

Ballot initiatives, also known as public referendums, are an increasingly common practice across the democratic world. The do constitute a form of direct democracy, although they are heavily influenced by elected representatives in any location they are used.