The Florida Amendment Series: Amendment 2
Bottom Line: This is the second in a three-part series covering Florida’s proposed constitutional amendments for the 2022 Election cycle. Each proposed amendment requires a minimum of 60% support to pass. Here’s how it will appear on the ballot:
No. 2 Constitutional Amendment
BALLOT TITLE: ABOLISHING THE CONSTITUTION REVISION COMMISSION.
BALLOT SUMMARY: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to abolish the Constitution Revision Commission, which meets at 20-year 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. This amendment does not affect the ability to revise or amend the State Constitution through citizen initiative, constitutional convention, the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, or legislative joint resolution.
All three of the proposed Constitutional Amendments on our ballots this year were placed by the Florida Legislature. Amendment 2 came via a bi-partisan vote by the state legislature in the 2021 session. The impetus behind this legislation was largely what transpired in 2018, when the Constitution Revision Commission last met. With the commission only meeting every 20 years, there’s increasingly been an effort to pack numerous initiatives on ballots in those years, with eight which were placed on Florida’s ballots in the 2018 cycle. Many Florida voters were confused by unrelated issues being included within a single proposed amendment, in addition to the wording which led to some voters, voting in opposition to their perceived intent of the proposal.
The Proposed amendment’s author, state Senator Jeff Brandes stated: The CRC is bipartisanly detested and should be abolished. The simple truth is we don’t need it. Other states don’t have it, and what it does is deny the people of the state of Florida the opportunity to hold these individuals accountable, because they’re literally accountable to no one.
Bottom Line: Now, if you’re a newer voter in Florida you might be wondering what the Constitution Revision is for starters. It’s a 37-member commission which convenes every 20 years for the sole purpose of proposing new constitutional amendments for voters to consider. As mentioned by Brandes, Florida's the only state to retain this type of commission. The commission is comprised of 15 appointees by the Governor, nine by the President of the Senate, nine by the Speaker of the House, three by the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court. This is the second effort by the legislature to eliminate the Commission. A similar effort was rejected by voters in 1980. So about how we should consider voting here...
I’m not sure biparisanly is a word as Brandes stated, but detested certainly is. I completely agree with his sentiment. It’s arbitrary to have a commission of unelected commissioners gather every 20 years for the sole purpose of proposing constitutional amendments. There are numerous issues with this type of process. But one of the biggest apparent issues is the mandate. When you have 37 people who get together only every twenty years for the sole purpose of potentially putting stuff on our ballots, they get carried away. Some of the best public policy, is policy which isn’t made. The mandate and purpose of this commission has historically led to an average of eight proposed amendments landing on our ballots, which often unrelated concepts cobbled together by virtue of the difference of opinion but also personal agendas of each of the 37-members. 2018’s proposals were rife with absurdities which confused voters and led to extremely long voting lines as voters tried to understand what they were asked to vote on with their proposals.
Brandes is right that the Constitution Revision Commission is unnecessary. As mentioned in the ballot language, there would still be a few ways in which a proposed constitutional amendment can make its way to our ballots. The two most common, those proposed by the state legislature, as this proposal has been presented and citizen led initiatives. Both are far more directly accountable to voters than an unelected body gathering every 20 years. For those reasons I recommend a Yes vote on Amendment 2.