There are multiple ways a proposed Constitutional Amendment can make voter’s ballots. Ironically, one of the proposed constitutional amendments which will be on our 2022 ballots aims to eliminate one of the three. Currently, the ways to gain access are through citizen-sponsored initiatives, a referral by the Florida Legislature, and the Florida Constitution Revision Commission.
In this year’s state legislative session two proposed Amendments were referred by the Florida Legislature. Those two are entitled:
- Prohibit Flood Resistance Improvements in Determining a Property’s Assessed Value Amendment - The idea being that homeowners shouldn’t be taxed at a higher rate for resiliency-related improvements to the property. The proposed amendment to abolish the Constitution Revision Commission is also straightforward.
- Amendment to Abolish the Constitution Revision Commission - Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to abolish the Constitution Revision Commission, which meets at 20-yea intervals and is scheduled to next convene in 2037, as a method of submitting proposed amendments or revisions to the State Constitution to electors of the state for approval.
The Constitution Revision Commission came under harsh criticism after it referred eight proposed amendments in 2018, one of which was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court. At issue, were proposals that commonly confused voters as they combined multiple concerns into single proposals. It’s likely they’ll be additional proposals that make their way onto our ballots next year, those two are the first.
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