Amendments to the Florida Constitution
The Florida Constitution, Article XI, Section 3, allows citizens to propose amendments to the State’s Constitution.
That Article provides several other methods to proposing amendments to the document, including ‘considered normal’ Commissions and a Convention – none of which will be discussed in this piece.
Here’s the Section addressed today:
SECTION 3. Initiative. —The power to propose the revision or amendment of any portion or portions of this constitution by initiative is reserved to the people, provided that, any such revision or amendment, except for those limiting the power of government to raise revenue, shall embrace but one subject and matter directly connected therewith. It may be invoked by filing with the custodian of state records a petition containing a copy of the proposed revision or amendment, signed by a number of electors in each of one half of the congressional districts of the state, and of the state as a whole, equal to eight percent of the votes cast in each of such districts respectively and in the state as a whole in the last preceding election in which presidential electors were chosen.
History. —Am. H.J.R. 2835, 1972; adopted 1972; Am. by Initiative Petition filed with the Secretary of State August 3, 1993; adopted 1994; Am. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision No. 8, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998.
So there it is. Anybody can propose an amendment to the constitution as long as it has the required 8% of voters counted in the last presidential election. I’m sure the Commission that wrote the Section in 1968 thought it was striking a blow for democracy.
Fact is, it was striking a blow for the power of special interest organizations.
Fact is, in today’s world of high finance communications, well-funded organizations and groups can propose a constitutional amendment on anything – if it is limited to one subject.
The problem is any proposed Section 3 amendment can limit discussion and argument outside one-sided, purchased media ads. The proposed amendment getting the most money, pro or con, is likely to win.
And that’s the issue I have trouble with.
For example, in 2018, the every-20-year Florida Constitution Revision Commission, OK-ed an amendment to be placed on the ballot to make parimutuel betting on dog races illegal. It was heavily supported by animal welfare organizations, and all the ads to vote yes were about how “cruel” it was for greyhounds. Aftermath challenges, primarily arguing horse racing was not affected, were dismissed on technicalities.
The point is simple. Why do we in Florida have a constitution that includes banning parimutuel on dog races? It has nothing to do with how we are governed. If it existed at all, it should be a law, considered and debated by our legislative representatives, not made part of our constitution by single-interest parties with gobs of money and a one-sided argument.
We in Florida have 6 constitutional amendments on the ballot Tuesday a week. A couple of them are particularly significant – and funded to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
I will be following my sense of prudence since moving to this state.
I will be voting “no” on all 6 amendments, the same vote I have cast on all ballot amendments I’ve seen previously.
Amending our state’s constitution should not be about who’s got the most money, whatever the proposition. If it’s not about the way the state operates, governs or is governed, I don’t think it should be in our constitution – or on the ballot.
At this point, the only amendment I would vote for is one to remove Section 3, Article XI of our Constitution.
That’s it, short and sweet this week.
See you on Tuesday next at the precinct.
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Have a great and prosperous week.
Hug somebody.
References:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Constitution#A11
SPIDER Bytes
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