Florida Amendment 2 not approved by voters; here’s what it means

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida voters solid their ballots in opposition to a state modification Tuesday geared toward eliminating Florida’s Structure Revision Fee.

When Florida voters went to the polls, they might have been stunned to see solely a handful of constitutional amendments on their poll. There have been solely three this 12 months: a giant departure from earlier elections.

All the amendments had been positioned on the poll by the Florida Legislature, and two of them handled taxes, whereas one in every of them handled abolishing a fee that opinions the structure. There have been no citizen initiatives on the poll this 12 months.

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Whereas the Modification 2 might have gotten majority approval from Florida voters, the modification needed to obtain no less than 60% approval to be handed — a quantity it fell wanting on Election Day.

Here’s what Florida Modification 2 was about.

[ Here’s what Florida Amendment 1 means on the November ballot | Here’s what Florida Amendment 3 means on the November ballot]

BALLOT LANGUAGE

“Proposing an modification to the State Structure to abolish the Structure Revision Fee, which meets at 20-year intervals and is scheduled to subsequent convene in 2037, as a way of submitting proposed amendments or revisions to the State Structure to electors of the state for approval. This modification doesn’t have an effect on the power to revise or amend the State Structure via citizen initiative, constitutional conference, the Taxation and Price range Reform Fee, or legislative joint decision.”

BREAKING IT DOWN

Each 20 years, the Florida Structure Revision Fee meets to suggest provisions to revise all or a part of the structure. It’s one in every of 5 methods the Florida Structure will be modified:

• The state legislature

• Florida Structure Revision Fee

• Citizen initiative

• A constitutional conference

• Taxation and funds reform fee

This modification would eliminate the Florida CRC.

The fee is comprised of 37 members, chosen by Florida authorities leaders, who look at modification proposals that may be submitted by voters or lawmakers and submit them for placement on the poll.

In 2018, as an example, the fee put seven amendments on the poll. The fee got here beneath hearth that 12 months as a result of, in some circumstances, the fee members bundled points collectively, reminiscent of one modification that proposed a ban on offshore oil drilling and indoor vaping.

The sponsor of the modification stated fee members didn’t have accountability.

The League of Ladies Voters of Florida opposes eliminating the Florida Structure Revision Fee, partly as a result of the Florida Legislature has, over the past couple of many years, tried to limit how residents’ initiatives get on the poll.

“The League believes the Legislature ought to amend the method in order that future Structure Revision Commissions ought to have bipartisan appointees and poll amendments ought to every tackle just one subject. Eliminating the Structure Revision Fee will take away a generational alternative for residents to replace their structure. The League opposes any limits on residents’ skills to be architects of their very own Florida Structure.”

BOTTOM LINE

A “YES” vote on this modification would have eradicated the Structure Revision Fee, leaving 4 methods to amend the Florida Structure.

A “NO” vote on this modification left the FL CRC in place.