Florida legislators hate having voters tell them what to do, especially when citizens sign petitions to hold a statewide vote on something lawmakers tried to avoid.
So whether or not Floridians approve Amendments 3 and 4 — proposals that would allow recreational marijuana and put abortion rights in the state Constitution — we’ll probably see some legislative retaliation next spring. If 60 percent of voters on Nov. 5 want to restore abortion rights and permit adults to get peacefully stoned, we can be sure legislators will try to hamstring both amendments with the most daunting implementing laws they can dream up.But the process for getting proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot will, itself, come in for an overhaul when the 2025 legislative session convenes. That old rule “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” does not apply when governors and lawmakers see their power infringed upon by the people they supposedly serve.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis and most other Republican leaders fiercely oppose the marijuana and abortion amendments. The state has lately created an election integrity bureau and sent agents to ask some voters if they really signed petitions, while some state agencies have used tax money for TV advertising trying to convince everyone to vote “No” on the amendments.
The state even tried muscling broadcasters directly, reminding them of criminal penalties for pollution sites that endanger public health. Erroneous information in ads supporting the abortion amendment could be seen as such an offense, the state said. Fortunately, a federal judge reminded DeSantis that the American guarantee of free speech supersedes even this governor’s personal pique.
But our state Constitution remains kind of a catch-all for any group wanting to write its own laws. A public initiative process was mandated in the 1968 constitutional revision, and the Legislature 50 years ago detailed how it would be carried out. The concept was: When the politicians balked, you and your neighbors would draft a petition, put a table in front of Publix and everybody would sign to make those bought-off legislators do right.
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And that’s the way it’s worked out — provided those riled-up citizens have about $50 million, some famous sponsors and a strong political wind at their backs. For petitions to get off the ground, they’re generally financed by special interests. Retailers paid for the lottery campaign, health-care organizations financed the indoor smoking ban, and Republicans bought the “Eight is Enough” term-limits mandate. The marijuana amendment on this year’s ballot is almost entirely financed by a big pot concern.
Given a public mandate they dislike, legislators thwart it as much as possible. They tried to ignore the “Fair Districts” amendments of 2010, rigging congressional and legislative district lines in defiance of the public will. An edict to devote a big chunk of new development taxes to conservation was retooled to define conservation rather charitably.
To get on the ballot, an amendment must be green-lighted by the state Supreme Court and get 891,523 voter signatures, clearing a minimum bar in at least half the state’s congressional districts. Then the idea has to get 60 percent at the polls — which means an amendment can be killed by just 40 percent of voters.
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There are 19 petition ideas pending at the Division of Elections, headed nowhere. They propose such things as keeping the Legislature in session 300 days a year and restoring prayer to public schools. With no big money or famous names behind them, they won’t even reach Supreme Court review, much less a statewide referendum.
Meanwhile, under the pretense of fighting fraud, state legislators will probably tinker with the initiative process. For instance, the threshold for passage was hiked from 50 percent to 60 percent in 2006. Maybe they’ll raise the bar to a nice, round two-thirds super-duper majority next year. And that’s just one way they could make it harder. There’s no telling what the legislative mind might come up with when these folks feel their power has been usurped by the people.
Bill Cotterell is a retired Capitol reporter for United Press International and the Tallahassee Democrat. He can be reached at wrcott43@aol.com
