Constitution panel adopts new rules
Florida commission maintains its transparency policies
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission on Tuesday scrapped proposals many warned would limit transparency and give its chairman too much power, instead voting to stick with essentially the same rules laid out by the commission 20 years ago.
The decision at the meeting at the University of Central Florida in Orlando led to a notable split in the commission ranks between those appointed by Gov. Rick Scott and those chosen by legislative and judicial leaders, many of whom said the rules were unclear or didn’t go far enough.
But for now, public policy groups that had concerns that the commission would allow secret meetings between two commissioners were optimistic.
“We would hope, in adopting the same rules [as the previous commission], that the commission will operate under the same standards of openness and transparency,” said Barbara Petersen, president of the Florida First Amendment Foundation. “They can always weaken it, but the debate over this was very important. It brought the issue to the public so the public understands.”
The CRC, which last met before this year in 1997-98, is several months into a statewide tour to hear from residents about issues they want to be added to the state constitution. The first meeting this year was at UCF in March.
Next year, the group of 37 commissioners will use the feedback to help make recommendations about amendments to be put on the 2018 ballot for voter approval.
But before that happens, they needed to lay down rules about how the process would work.
Commissioners met to adopt 29 pages of proposed rules and debate 74 amendments, with the most controversial provision stating that records would be “accessible,” not open, and that two members could discuss business without the meeting open to the public.
Several commissioners had proposed amendments that would require a more open process, Petersen said, with commissioner and Miami attorney Bobby Martinez offering one that specifically cited Florida “Government in the Sunshine” statutes that prohibit private meetings between elected officials.
But Commissioner Brecht Heuchan, CEO of political con-
sulting firm Contribution Link appointed to the board by Scott, proposed a “strike-through” amendment, which overrode everything else and substituted a complete set of rules that mostly stuck to the same language as 1997-98.
Several members said they had concerns about scrapping hundreds of pages of detailed amendments put together over the past few weeks.
“We’re all shooting blindly in the dark, jousting at windmills, and Huechan offers an amendment to the first amendment to get out in front of everyone,” said commissioner and state Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon.
Many also questioned whether committees, made up of just a few members chosen by Chairman Carlos Beruff, would be able to kill proposals without the entire commission getting a vote.
Commissioner and state Attorney General Pam Bondi warned, “We could lawyer this all day long, and this amount of lawyers are not going to agree on every single thing. We need to move on.”
Still, Commissioner Bob Solari had harsh words for how the decision was made, which included members asking Beruff what exactly they were voting on as a vote was about to take place. “If I was watching this as [a member of] the public, I would be incredibly distressed and dismayed,” he said.
Ultimately, the panel voted 20-11 to adopt the Heuchan amendment as its new rules, with the yes votes coming mostly from Scott appointees and the no votes coming entirely from those appointed by House Speaker Richard Corcoran, Senate President Joe Negron and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga.
The commission is tentatively scheduled to return for another public hearing in the Orlando area later this month, though a specific date and location have yet to be confirmed.