Constitution questions await voters

TALLAHASSEE — Floridians should prepare for a long list of constitutional amendments on their ballots in 2018.

That’s because the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, the membership of which is just taking shape, will meet this year and conduct listening tours throughout the state. The members will then propose changes to the state constitution that would go on the ballot.

To go into effect, 60 percent of Florida voters would have to approve the changes.

Some of the amendments already being considered: Changing how Florida draws its legislative districts, expanding school choice and making it easier for felons to regain voting rights.

Constitutional amendments make changes to the state constitution, superseding state law.

The commission meets every 20 years. It met in 1977-78 after its creation, and then again in 1997-98. The first commission proposed eight amendments to the constitution, while the next proposed nine.

Former state senator and representative Chris Smith, of Fort Lauderdale, was nominated to the commission by Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart.

“My one and only priority is dealing with restoration of rights,” Smith said.

In Florida, people found guilty of a felony lose the right to vote forever unless it is given back to them by a clemency board. In most states, felons regain the right to vote after serving their time in prison and finishing probation and parole. Two states even allow felons to vote while incarcerated.

Only Iowa and Kentucky have laws as harsh as Florida’s, and Florida’s system for rights restoration is in the constitution, requiring an amendment to change it.

“I think this will be easier than having politicians deal with this issue,” Smith said.

Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, have suggested changes to the way districts are drawn.

Two amendments already in the constitution call for nonpartisan district lines, but courts ruled last summer that the Legislature’s congressional and state Senate districts illegally benefited Republicans.

Negron’s other nominees indicate some issues he would like to see tackled.

“The appointees are strong advocates for school choice opportunities that celebrate the power of the parents to determine what form of education is best for their child,” he said in a statement.

The commission consists of 37 members — 15 appointed by Gov. Rick Scott, nine each by Negron and Corcoran, and three by Florida Supreme Court Justice Jorge LaBarga. The only guaranteed member is Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Last week, Negron announced his appointees. The nine candidates include two from North Florida, including former Senate President Don Gaetz; one from Hillsborough County; one from Indian River County and three from Negron’s home base of Martin County. The remaining two are Miami lawyer Anna Marie Hernandez Gamez and Smith.

LaBarga’s nominees are former state Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, former U.S. Attorney Roberto Martinez and attorney Henry Coxe.

Negron selected his nine appointees from more than 90 applicants. LaBarga fielded more than 70, and Corcoran is choosing from another 60. More than 100 people applied for Scott’s 15 positions.

Corcoran likely will announce his picks next week, said his spokesman, Fred Piccolo. Scott has no timeline, but the decision has to be made before the legislative session begins March 7.

One person on Scott’s list who is a likely pick is Alan Becker of Southwest Ranches, a founder of the Becker and Poliakoff law firm and the vice chairman of Enterprise Florida, the state economic development agency strongly supported by the governor that is being targeted for extinction in the Florida House. Corcoran has derided the agency’s business incentives as “corporate welfare.”

“If I am fortunate enough to be selected, I want to approach it with an open mind to all ideas,” Becker said. “I don’t want to go in with any preconceived notion or personal agenda that I want to accomplish.”

While past commissions have offered many changes, voters’ opinion of them has been mixed. Floridians didn’t approve any of the eight offered by the first commission and approved eight of the nine proposed by the 1997-98 commission. But that was when a simple majority was needed to pass amendments instead of 60 percent.

“If we come back with 10 or 12 amendments, there’s the possibility that people will just vote no across the board,” Smith said. “If we come back with a lower number, there’s a better chance of things passing.”

The Florida Legislature can also put amendments on the ballot. In the 2017 session, legislators will consider 35 bills on constitutional amendments.

A petition process, which brought the medical marijuana amendment to voters in 2014 and 2016, can put amendments on the ballot as well.

Three petition drives have garnered enough signatures — more than 70,000 — to qualify for review by the Florida Supreme Court, a first step in getting on the 2018 ballot. They include a solar energy amendment that would allow for the generation and sale of small amounts of solar energy, an amendment that requires voters to approve gambling expansions, and an amendment that would allow felons to have voting rights restored after they complete parole and probation.