Florida’s Constitutional Ballot Initiatives

This will the first in my series with my recommendations for my ballot here in Florida.

I keep saying how there are too many things in the Florida Constitution that should be handled by the legislature, but since they won’t, and Florida voters keep electing people based on whom they hate rather than who will work for them, this is how voters get what they want. So here we go.

Amendment 1: “Authorizes the state legislature to pass laws prohibiting flood resistance improvements made to a home from being taken into consideration when determining a property’s assessed value for property tax purposes”

This one certainly sounds like a good idea. The problem is, it is yet another giveaway to wealthy property owners, especially those who own along any water. It preempts the taxing authority of local governments. It does nothing to prevent future development in high-risk areas and will encourage further growth in those areas. We don’t need initiatives that encourage building in flood-prone areas. In addition, I can see loads of battles over what is something for “flood resistance” and what is merely some decorative wall. VOTE NO

Amendment 2: Abolishes the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC)

The CRC is an appointed body that has the constitutional authority to put amendments on the ballot. The CRC meets every 20 years, and its 37 members are appointed by the governor, the president of the Florida Senate, the speaker of the Florida House, and the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court. The last time the CRC met was in 2017, and it was a bunch of people nearly as crazy as our legislature and boy did they try to throw the spaghetti at the wall. This is what we get for having 20 years of single-party rule. So this is a tough one. On the one hand, if we’re going to keep electing people not interested in what the voters want, we’re going to get craziness from this group. On the other hand, it can be a vital tool for democratic rule. As I’ve noted many times, Florida voters must consistently use the Amendment process to get the things they want, so I’m going to give this one a tentative VOTE NO

Amendment 3: Authorize the Florida State Legislature to provide an additional homestead property tax exemption on $50,000 of assessed value on property owned by certain public service workers including teachers, law enforcement officers, emergency medical personnel, active-duty members of the military and Florida National Guard, and child welfare service employees

Now, this is certainly a feel-good kind of amendment. The problem is that our tax code is already a hodge-podge of special interest tax breaks, and I believe some of these groups already get a number of special benefits. I don’t begrudge them the benefits, but let’s just take care of and pay fairly the people in these groups. That’s how you take care of them. It’s not fair to those in these special groups who may not want or don’t have the means to afford a house. VOTE NO