There are several proposed amendments to Florida’s constitution, on which we will soon be voting. The subject is nonpartisan and doesn’t involve Trump, so everybody can play nice.
Here is a list of the proposed amendments and my thoughts, after doing some research, as to the appropriate way to vote on each. Note that the ones offered up by the Constitutional Revision Commission are not restricted to one topic, and thus they tend to be a confusing mixture of issues. That is a reason for voting against any one about which a voter has doubts. In fact, an argument can be made for voting against all of those proposals for that reason alone.
I claim no particular expertise on these amendments, and I would welcome thoughts on these by readers who may be better informed than I. Here is a good nonpartisan website for more information: https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_2018_ballot_measures
My thoughts:
1: Increased Homestead Property Tax Exemption—NO. To avoid fiscal problems in the future, no tax sources or revenue should be specified, limited, exempted, or prohibited in the Constitution.
2: Limitations on Property Tax Assessments—NO. See #1.
3: Voter Control of Gambling in Florida—NO. This one is easy. It is a scam by entrenched casino interests to prevent future competition. However one feels about gambling, gambling is here to stay. Limiting more casinos will simply cost the state tax revenue and make the current casino owners richer.
4: Voting Restoration for Felons—NO. There are too many uninformed voters already, without adding felons. There is already a process in place for reformed felons to petition for voting restoration.
5: Supermajority Vote Required to Impose, Authorize, or Raise State Taxes or Fees—NO. See #1.
6: Rights of Crime Victims; Judges; Vastly expands the scope of victims rights under the state Constitution; increases the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75; forces courts and judges to interpret laws and rules for themselves rather than rely on interpretations by government agencies.–YES. Law enforcement officers are supporting this, and the ACLU is against it.
7: First Responder and Military Member Survivor Benefits; Public Colleges and Universities.–NO. A super-majority vote to increase fees or taxes could cause fiscal problems in the future and doesn’t belong in the constitution. Family members of the military who die in the line of service are already compensated through the federal government.
8: Removed from Ballot.
9: Prohibits Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling; Prohibits Vaping in Enclosed Indoor Workplaces.–YES. Although vaping doesn’t belong in Florida’s constitution, Florida’s shoreline is an important asset that we should try to preserve.
10: State and Local Government Structure and Operation.–NO. This would limit the voters in local communities from deciding on the election of county officers. The other provisions are unnecessary.
11: Property Rights; Removal of Obsolete Provision; Criminal Statutes.–YES. This one if iffy, but overall, it seems constructive.
12: Lobbying and Abuse of Office by Public Officers.–YES. Probably a good move toward cleaning up Florida politics, but it does not address the real problem of political money.
13: Ends Dog Racing.–YES. Dog racing is cruel to the doggies, and it doesn’t raise much tax revenue.
Scott Fenstermaker is a resident of The Villages and frequent contributor to Villages-News.com
