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Citizen Initiatives Constitutional Amendments:
Purifying (NOT) the Constitution (State Constitution)

Our Position: oppose
Bill Number: SB 1918/HB7165
Sponsor: Senator Daniel Webster & Representative Simmons
Legislative Session: 2006

5/14/06:

These bills died: 5/5/05: SB720/SB1244/HB773: Anti-Petition Gathering bills; SB26: Supreme Court Subject Filter Citizen Initiatives:  SB1918/HB7165: Purifying (NOT) the Constitution: SB1436/HB7037 Fiscal Impact: (Citizen Initiatives and petition gathering survived). We can celebrate this victory as well. While we were fighting on a daily basis, it all came down to the internal fighting between leadership, and against the legislators themselves sponsoring so many constitutional amendments; many of the legislators sounded off on how hypocritical this was. Our hard line lobbying efforts and our Save the Voters Voice coalition work around the state was wonderful. Kudo’s to ACORN, FPIRG, Clean Water Action, Sierra, AFL-CIO, Florida LCV, Florida Consumer Action Network,  League of Women Voters of Florida, Common Cause, Panhandle Citizens Coalition and others. We did an excellent job working together, taking turns, sharing responsibilities and being there for each other.

4/29/06: The House bill 7165 was added to Second Reading Calendar on Thursday, April 20, 2006.  The Senate bill SB1918 was placed on Senate Special Order Calendar for May 01, 2006.

4/22/06: Going against Senator Webster's original statement that he would not go overboard with what he would include in his "Constitutional Clean Sweep" SB1918,  Committee packet on 4/19/06 contained more than 20 amendments that would, if moved,  sponsored and approved by the Committee members, eliminate that article and section of the Florida Constitution. For instance, he had an amendment to strike the "polluter pay" and "Everglades Trust Fund" from the constitution. HOWEVER, no Committee member volunteered to sponsor and move the amendment, so those did not get included in the debates and votes. What did get sponsored and approved was the Florida Medical Association and Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers amendments and a few others, mostly non-environmental except for the Anti Factory Farm provision, which opponents (and too often reporters) still call the pig amendment. The Save the Voters Voice objected to the removal of any citizen initiative amendments and that the Legislative Joint Resolution would have multiple subjects in one ballot amendment...contrary to the single subject rule and forcing people to vote on one amendment with multiple issues.

4/4/06: House version passed out of Justice Council Committee. Click here for votes  The S V V group is working on getting the Senate Version strickly to reflect grammatical changes. We are trying to make sure that the final bill does not have any substantive, previously passed Constitutional Amendments in the final bill. The Senate still removes the Anti Hog Factory Farm protection and places it into the Statutes. But the citizens would have to vote on it in this Nov. 2006 election. 

4/1/06: The Senate bill is different than the House bill. Both bills are still bad. Senator Webster doesn't want to eliminate everything that the House has in their bill, and they are at a stalemate right now.

03/06/06:The House and Senate Leadership are moving in a direction that would eliminate from the Constitution amendments passed by citizens. Senator Webster sees this as "purifying" the constitution. A "cleansing," if you will, of what they believe does not belong in the constitution.  This bill would move amendments that have already been approved into Florida Statutes where they can be easily amended or entirely repealed.

Status

4/22/06: SB1918 passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on 4/19/06 as amended.

4/14/06: SB1918 on Senate Judiciary Wednesday, 4/19/06.

3/12/06: The House Judiciary Committee voted and passed the House Version of the Senate's "Constitutional Cleansing" Act. Only the House Version had 15 amendments by Representative Baxley adopted that would remove from the constitution: minimum wage; confinement of pregnant pigs  or as we refer to them as CAFO's; English as a second language; and more.

There were only three no votes: Represenatives Dan Gelber, Curtis Richardson, and John Seiler. There were nine yes votes: Representatives Dennis Baxley, Frederick Brummer, Anitere Flores, Michael Grant, Jeffrey Kottkamp, Sheri McInvale, Joe Pickens, Juan-Carlos Planas, David Simmons (Chair). Absent were Kevin Ambler and Dennis Ross.

Action Needed

4/22/06: Contact your legislator in the House and Senate and tell them to vote NO on this legislation. 

4/4/06: contact your member on the Justice Council and tell Representatives Joyner, Culp, and Slosberg thank you for Voting No.

Click here to follow the bill HB7165

Click here to follow SB1918

3/12/06:Please contact your member on the House Judiciary Committee and thank your member if they voted NO and let those who voted yes know that the Citizens do not appreciate the legislators attempt to remove language from the constitution.  Just remember that if these Joint Resolutions pass, they will be on the 2006 Ballot for voters to vote yes or no. So, those legislators who are voting for these anti-citizen initiative Joint Resolutions have convinced themselves that if the citizens don't like what they are doing, come November 2006, they will just vote against the changes.

Click here to find your House of Representatives member information.

To find your Senator: www.flsenate.gov

More information

4/4/06: Here is what the House version does: The proposed joint resolution also transfers seven sections of the State Constitution to statute and provides that the provisions transferred to statute can only be amended by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the Legislature during the first five years after transfer. The provisions being transferred to statute are:

• Section 26 of Article I, which pertains to a claimant's right to compensation in medical liability claims.

• Section 9 of Article II, which pertains to English as the official language of Florida.

• Section 7 of Article IX, which pertains to a system of governance for the state university system.

• Section 21 of Article X, which pertains to the confinement of pregnant pigs.

• Section 24 of Article X, which pertains to a state minimum wage.

• Section 25 of Article X, which pertains to a patient’s right to know about adverse medical incidents.

• Section 26 of Article X, which pertains to a prohibition on having a medical license after repeated medical malpractice.

Additionally, the proposed joint resolution repeals language providing for term limits on federal officeholders that was found to be unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in 1999.

Background

4/4/06: House panel votes to remove 6 constitutional amendments-from the Tallahassee Democrat (4/4/06)

Article published Apr 4, 2006
House panel votes to remove 6 Constitutional amendments
By Bill Cotterell
DEMOCRAT POLITICAL EDITOR
Despite an angry warning that they were proclaiming themselves smarter than the voters, members of a major House committee voted today to strip six public-petition amendments out of the Florida Constitution.

"How dare we make this unabashed attempt to amend the Constitution after the people have spoken?" asked Rep. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, a member of the House Judicial Council. "This is just a rank power grab by the Legislature. Do you think a cabal of term-limited legislators should know better than the people?"

By a 7-3 vote, the panel approved a new state Constitution that corrects some grammar, changes gender-specific language and discards a few provisions that have been stricken by federal courts. But the most significant changes were the removal of six constitutional amendments that were put on the ballot by public petition initiative and approved by the voters. If the full Legislature agrees with today's action, the changes would be put to the voters in November.

The six amendments were not repealed but would be moved to the statutes - where they could not be repealed or amended without a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. But after five years, the newly proclaimed super statutes would revert to being just like any other laws, subject to change by a simple majority of the House and Senate.

The amendments being moved from the Constitution to the statutes are those that:

Proclaim English to be Florida's "official language."

Set minimum space requirements for confinement pens of pregnant pigs.

Set a state minimum wage.

Give patients a "right to know" about a doctor's medical-malpractice lawsuits.

Forbid licensing of doctors after repeated medical malpractice.

Limit contingency fees for lawyers in malpractice suits.

Joyner, an attorney, said she did not like having substantive matters like pregnant pigs in the Constitution. But she said legislators had to accept the public's right to put such language into the state's basic document. "Why do we think we are better than the people who sent us here?" she said.

Rep. Dick Kravitz, R-Jacksonville, said the Legislature was just cleaning up the Constitution, not contradicting the voters. Anything passed by the House and Senate this year will go on the November ballot, where the public will get a chance to accept the changes or leave the Constitution as it is. "We are officials elected by the public," Kravitz told Joyner. "This helps us get back on track and carry out the duty that the public entrusted to us."

Aside from the constitutional revision, there are some bills pending in the session to m ake it harder for interest groups to amend the Constitution by public petition.

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3/6/06:There are several Legislators that believe smoking ban, class size, minimum wage, and others do not belong in the constitution. Even though these public policies were introduced during legislative sessions and never saw the light of day, only when citizens were given the opportunity to vote on them as a Citizen Initiative Amendment, did they become the law of the land. So, legislators are coming at the Citizen Constitutional Amendment process from all directions.

There are numerous bills filed to date without substantial language in the text. They are just place holders for more bad attacks on our rights. We will not confuse you with all of them right now, but stay tuned as more information becomes available. Clink on this link to read The House Judiciary Proposed Committee Bill PCB-JU06-05/ now HB7165, this bill will be updated with the Baxley amendments and will soon have a regular House bill number.