Constitutional amendments on Nov. 3 Florida ballot

Florida voters will decide on six amendments on the fall ballot this year, including one thatwould raise the minimum wage in the state to $15 an hour and another that would dramatically change the way residents elect their state leaders.

Here, inplain English, is a look at the six proposals, which must be approved by 60% of voters to be enacted.

Amendment1

WHAT IT SAYS: It would slightly change the state constitution to say that “only a citizen” of the United States can vote.

PRO: Florida Citizen Voters, which raised millions of dollars to get the signatures necessary to put this on the ballot, says it is necessary to keep Florida cities and counties from allowing non-citizens of the U.S. to vote in elections.

CON: Opponents, which include the League of Women Voters, say the change isn’t needed because the constitution already prohibits non-citizens from voting. In 2019, Alex Patton, chairman of the Citizens for Choice political committee that was trying to get an electricity deregulation measure on the ballot, told the Tampa BayTimeshe thoughtFlorida’s utility monopolieswere behind the citizenship voting amendment and using it as a way to block his measure.

Amendment 2

WHAT IT SAYS: It would raise the minimum wage in Florida, currently at $8.56 an hour, to $10 in 2021 and increase it a dollar per year after that until it reaches $15 an hour in 2026. The minimum wage would revert back to increasing annually by the rate of inflation starting in 2027, a provision that’s already in the state constitution.

PRO: Progressive groups and many Democrats argue that Florida’s low-wage economy driven mostly by the tourism industry makes it hard for theworking poor to pay their bills. Attorney John Morgan, a major

Democratic Party fundraiser who spearheaded efforts to put this on the ballot, argued the change would put more money into the pockets of people who would spend it and stimulate economic growth.

CON: Opponents include many of the biggest businesses in the state and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. “With local businesses struggling and not able to reopen due to COVID-19, along with hundreds of thousands of Floridians out of work, now is not the time tomandateFlorida’sminimum wage to $15 per hour,” the chamber writes on itswebsite.

Amendment 3

WHAT IT SAYS: It would end Florida’s partisan primary system aswe knowit by allowing all registered voters to cast ballots in a single primary for governor, Cabinet and Legislature. All candidates, no matter their party affiliation, would compete in the single primary, and the top two votegetters would face off in the general election inNovember.

PRO: Mike Fernandez, a billionaire Miami insurance executive who has put more than $6 million into the campaign, and others have argued the amendment would open up closed party primaries to the almost 4 million voterswhodon’t belong to amajor political party.

CON: Opponents, led by former Democratic state Rep. Sean Shaw and his nonprofit group, People Over Profits, say the amendment would weaken African American and other minority representation

Voters head to a polling station to vote in Florida’s presidential primary election March 17 in Orlando.

in the state. The Florida Democratic and Republican parties also oppose this measure.

Amendment 4

WHAT IT SAYS: It would require any amendment to be approved in two separate elections before it could be written into the constitution. Approval of 60% of the electorate would be needed each time.

PRO: Supporters argue it’s too easy under the current system to

modify the constitution by ballot initiative and that those changes should be the job of the Florida Legislature and governor anyway. A nonprofit known as Keep Our Constitution Clean Inc. is behind this initiative and has raised money from a group linked to a lobbying organization for big Florida businesses.

CON: Opponents say requiring a second statewide vote for an amendment to passwould impose an extremely expensive new barrier that would deter future petition

drives from even starting. And they argue that initiatives have been used to bypass a Legislature reluctant to act, citing school class size limitations and medical marijuana as examples.

Amendment 5

WHAT IT SAYS: This would increase the time Florida residents have to transfer a Save Our Homes benefit from two to three years when moving to a new residence. It’s meant to give homeowners more flexibility in maintaining what can grow into a lucrative tax break. Itwas placed on the ballot by the Legislature.

PRO: Taxable value increases are capped at 3% on primary residences under the Save OurHomes benefit. The amendment gives homeowners an extra year to transfer that tax benefit.

CON: The amendment would reduce local property taxes by $1.8 million, beginning in budget year 2021-2022, eventually growing to an annual reduction of $10.2 million, according to a fiscal analysis done by state officials.

Amendment 6 WHAT IT

SAYS: Homestead property tax discounts for deceased veterans with combat-related disabilities would carry over to a veteran’s surviving spouse until he or she remarries or sells the property. If the spouse sells the property and does not remarry, the spouse’s new primary residencemay receive the homestead tax discount. It, too, was approved for the ballot by the Legislature.

PRO: This would provide financial assistance to surviving families of the estimated 1 million military veterans in Florida.

CON: School tax revenues statewide would initially fall by $400,000, followed by a recurring loss of $1.6 million, according to a fiscal analysis done by the state. Non-school property tax revenues would fall initially by $600,000 with a recurring loss of $2.4 million.