TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida voters would be asked to abolish a commission that recommends changes to the state constitution every 20 years under a bill passed by the state Senate on Thursday.
The chamber voted 27-12 to place a measure on the 2022 ballot seeking to repeal the Constitution Revision Commission. Lawmakers have criticized the last meeting of the commission, which placed seven items on the 2018 ballot. Voters approved all of them.
But lawmakers have complained the commission bundled different subjects in the same proposed amendments and others have said that the membership of the commission is politically driven.
Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes, who sponsored the bill, said there would still be other ways to get proposed amendments on the ballot, including through citizen petition and by legislative action.
He said that the last commission was packed with unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, political donors and lobbyists.
“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,” Brandes said.
The commission was established in 1968 and meets once every 20 years to consider measures to put before the state’s voters. The governor, Senate president, House speaker and Supreme Court chief justice appoint 36 members and the attorney general is an automatic appointee.
In 2018, it placed seven items on the ballot, five of which bundled different subjects together. An example is an amendment that banned oil drilling and state waters and also vaping in places where smoking is banned.
Democratic Sen. Darryl Rouson, who sat on the last commission, acknowledged that it isn't perfect, but voted against the bill.
“As lawmakers, we should work to improve it rather than scrap it,” Rouson said. “I say that we should repair and not repeal.”
A House version of the bill has one more committee stop before being considered by the full chamber. Because it's an issue that has to go before voters, the measure doesn't need to be approved by the governor.
If placed on the ballot, it would need to be approved by 60% of voters.