1. The first way to amend the Florida constitution is Proposal by legislature. To make use of the first method, the proposed changes must be agreed upon by 3/4ths of the membership of each house of the legislature in a joint session.
2. The second way to change the constitution in Florida is by a Revision commission. Every twenty years, starting at 2017, 37 members will join together to make any needed changes to the constitution. These members are: the attorney general of the state, fifteen people selected by the governor, nine people selected by the speaker of the house and nine more selected by the president of the senate, and three people selected by the chief justice (with the advice of the other justices). Then, the governor selects one of these people to be the chair of the Revision commission.
3. The third way is called Initiative. The people have the power to propose any changes to the constitution that don’t interfere with the government’s power to raise money. They may do it by Filing their proposed changes with the custodian of state records once they’ve received a number of signatures – the signatures must come from electors in one half of the congressional districts of the state and must be equal to 8% of the votes cast in each of such districts respectively and in the state of a whole in the previos electors election.
4. The fourth way is by use of a Constitutional Convention. This power is reserved to the people, and will cause a revision of the entire constitution. It’s started by a filing with the custodian of state records via petition—declaring that a convention is wanted. Again, it must be signed by electors in one half of the districts, but this time 15% of the votes cast in the previous elector election. Then, after the next general election, the electors must vote as to if a convention is required, and if more than 50% vote yes, a convention is held.
5. The fifth and final way to change the constitution is via a Taxation and budget reform commission. Starting in 2007, and then every twenty years, a taxation and budget reform commission will meet. The commission consists of eleven members selected by the governor (who may not be members of the legislature at the time of selection), and seven members selected by both the speaker of the house and seven selected by the president of the senate (again, none of those 14 members may be members of the legislature at the time of selection). The job of the commission is to review the sax structure, the budgetary process, the revenue needs and expenses of the state, the productivity and efficiency of the state and to review policies of the ability of the state and local government to tax and adequately fund government operations.
Battle for the Ballot
The initiative method of constitutional upheaval is a very complicated one, but also the most frequently used both in Florida and across the country. It makes it possible for the people of a state to get potential amendments on the ballot, and into the eyes of the public. It has become increasingly more popular in recent times, even turning into an industry. Since 1970, the average number of initiatives on a ballot has doubled, and firms are coming out of the woodwork who hire and pay (sometimes per signature) people to find support for the initiatives.
The recent boom in the initiative market has lead to quite a few problems. With the corporate machine working towards a goal, it makes it easy for those with money to get something on a ballot. Unfortunately, making it harder to get an initiative on the ballot would kill the purpose of the process in the first place – to allow grassroots organizations to get what they want on the ballot, on the ballot – and would hardly hinder the money machine. It hardly helps that to change the process required for an initiative to make it to the ballot requires voter approval, and that voters are very unlikely to vote to make it harder for their own voice to be heard. Another problem highlighted by the article is fraud. These people who get payed-by-the-signature have found several clever ways to trick people into signing multiple petitions from the use of copy paper to telling them to “sign here, here and here” when in reality, they only should have signed one, and some even go as far as opening the phone book and forging names.
Despite the problems with the process, it remains to be, and will remain to be, a growing and very popular way for people to have their voices heard. States are passing laws to punish those who practice fraud, and are manipulating the details of the process that don’t require voter approval. Some states have even outlawed the ‘pay-per-signature’ practice, forcing an hourly wage on the signature collectors. Even though the process has flaws, it’s impact has been seen and will continue to be seen in Floridian politics.
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