The People's Business

The People’s Business 285 The State Constitutions 292 Constitutional Amendments 300 A Brief History of Florida’s Sunshine Laws 303 Floridians in Federal Office 310 Local Government 327 Elections and Results 361 Voter Registration 284 The State Constitutions “All political power is inherent in the people. The enunciation herein of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or impair others retained by the people.” Florida Constitution, Article I, Section 1 The foundation for government in Florida is proposed amendments, regardless of source, must the State Constitution. The Constitution tells officers be ratified by the voters. Amendments may be pro- of Florida’s government at all levels—state, county, posed by joint resolution of the Legislature, initia- city, and district—what they can do and what they tive petition, the Constitution Revision Commission cannot. These directions are subject to the limitations (meets every 20 years), and the Taxation and Budget of the Constitution of the United States. Reform Commission (meets every 20 years). Article Florida’s present basic Constitution was ratified XI also provides a method for overhauling the entire by the voters at elections in 1968 and 1972. Constitution—a constitutional convention. To obtain this Constitution, the voters first approved on November 5, 1968, three amendments pro- Joint Resolution posed by the Legislature. These amendments revised all 20 articles of the Constitution of 1885 except Ar- The most common method of amendment pro- ticle V, governing the courts. A revision of Article V posal is passage of a joint resolution by a three-fifths was ratified at a special election on March 14, 1972. vote of the membership elected to each house of the Adoption of the four amendments climaxed a Legislature. The text of a joint resolution is set forth quarter century of efforts to revise the Constitution. in full in the Journals of the Senate and House of State commissions, legislative committees, the old Representatives, with a listing of the Senators and Florida State Bar Association and The Florida Bar, Representatives and how they voted. and individuals had labored to replace the old Con- Once the Legislature has proposed the amend- stitution. ment through adoption of the joint resolution, the Secretary of State is required by the Constitution to Amending the Constitution publish the text of the proposed amendment twice— once in the tenth week prior to the election and once The Constitution is a living body of basic laws, in the sixth week—in a newspaper of general circu- reflecting the changing needs of the people. This lation in each county in which a newspaper is pub- may be illustrated by the fact that the Legislature and lished. the voters in 1969 amended the revised Constitution Ordinarily, a proposed amendment is submitted despite the years of thought and drafting which had to the voters at the next general election held 90 days gone into the year-old Constitution. Article XI of the after the amendment has been filed by the Legisla- Constitution provides that proposed amendments ture with the Secretary of State. However, by a law to the Constitution can come from four sources; all enacted by the “Yes” votes of three-fourths of the 285 Table of Contents Members of the Florida Constitu- tion Revision Commission, 1966. The 1965 legislature established a constitution revision commission consisting of thirty-seven members, the attorney general, and representatives of the gover- nor, Supreme Court, Florida Bar, Legislature, and the public. The commission organized on Janu- ary 11, 1966, and delivered its recommendations to the legislature on December 13. The legislature freely exercised its right to revise the commission’s draft. Florida State Archives members elected to each house of the Legislature, a The Secretary of State determines whether a pe- special election can be held on a date more than 90 tition meets the requirements as to signatures and, if days after the filing. so, advertises the amendment twice in each county Since general elections are held regularly in No- and places it on the next general election ballot. vember of each even-numbered year, an amendment proposed by a Legislature meeting in an odd-num- Constitution Revision Commission bered year could not receive voter action for about a year and a half unless the amendment was regarded The drafters of the 1968 Constitution pro- by the extraordinary majority of the legislators as be- vided for the convening of a Constitution Revision ing sufficient of an emergency to justify the expense Commission of 37 members to periodically review of a special election. the Constitution with a view to initiating changes In drafting the revised Constitution, the Leg- deemed desirable (Article XI, Section 2). islature separated the issues of the amendment and The first such commission organized on July the special election, which had previously been com- 7, 1977, and completed its deliberations on May 5, bined. Thus, should the bill for a special election 1978, the deadline for reporting. Between those dates, fail of the required three-fourths affirmative votes, the commission held 33 full membership meetings in the amendment itself would be submitted at the next Tallahassee and other locations around the state. regular election. The commission’s work product was packaged Adoption of an amendment requires the “Yes” in eight amendments. All were rejected by the elec- votes of 60 percent of those voting on the amend- torate. The 1980 Legislature submitted an amendment at the general election. A simple majority was ment to repeal the provision of the Constitution for required until amendment of the Constitution in 2006 a revision commission. That, too, was rejected. This to require the supermajority. left the requirement for another revision commission to be organized in 1997 or 1998. Initiative The work of the 1997-1998 Constitution Revi- sion Commission was divided into six phases. The The power of the people generally to propose first phase was the organizational session. The sec- amendments may be invoked by petition setting forth ond phase included 12 public hearings at various the proposed amendment. Signatures for activation sites throughout the state. The third phase involved are required from 8 percent of the electors in each of dividing the Commission into substantive commit- one half of the State’s Congressional districts and of tees for the purpose of considering proposed amend- the state as a whole. The percentage is based upon ments. The fourth phase consisted of the commission the number of votes cast in both the Congressional debating and adopting a draft proposal. The fifth districts and the state in the most recent Presidential phase involved transmitting the draft proposal to the election. Style and Drafting Committee for review and circu- 286 Table of Contents lating the proposals for public comment. The sixth be used. This would state the desire for a convention. phase involved final review and approval by the revi- Signatures would be required of 15 percent of the sion commission. electors in each of half of the Congressional districts The commission whittled the more than 500 and of the state at large. This percentage also would proposals down to 33 that went on the November be based upon the number of votes cast at the most 1998 ballot in the form of nine amendments. Eight of recent Presidential election. the amendments were approved by the voters. Should such a petition be certified by the Sec- retary of State, this question would be placed on the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission ballot of the next general election held more than 90 days after the filing of the petition: House Joint Resolution 1616 in 1988 proposed “Shall a constitutional convention be held?” amendment to the Constitution establishing a Taxa- If a majority of those voting on that question tion and Budget Reform Commission. The amend- said Yes, the voters at the next general election would ment passed (s. 6, Art. XI), and the commission came choose one member of the convention from each dis- into being. As with the Constitution Revision Com- trict of the House of Representatives. Twenty-one mission, the Taxation and Budget Reform Commis- days following that election, the Convention would sion proposes amendments to the Constitution to be meet at Tallahassee to organize. voted on by the people. The new commission takes The work product of that convention, if any, on any constitutional issues regarding taxation and would be filed with the Secretary of State not later the state budgetary process that were formerly within than 90 days before the next succeeding general elec- the purview of the Constitution Revision Commis- tion. The Secretary of State then would advertise the sion. revision twice in each county and place the proposed new language on the ballot. Constitutional Convention Text of Constitutions Power to consider revision of the entire Con- stitution has been reserved to the people through a Text of the Constitutions, as well as information provision for calling a Constitutional Convention. on proposed amendments to them, can be found at As is the case with an initiative petition to www.leg.state.fl.us/. amend a portion of the Constitution, a petition would Ceremonial signing of the 1968 Consti- tution at the Governor’s Mansion. Back row, from left: Lt. Governor Ray Osborne, House Minority leader Don- ald Reed, Charlie Harris. Middle row: Clerk of the House Allen Morris, former Speaker E.C. Rowell, Representative Ralph Poston, Repre- sentative Murray Dubbin, Richard T. Earle Jr., Chesterfield Smith, Congress- man “Bill” Young, Thomas H. Barkdull, John Crews, William G. O’Neill. Seated: incoming Speaker Fred Schul- tz, outgoing Speaker Ralph Turlington, Governor Claude R.

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