Florida Amendment 3, Supermajority Vote Required to Approve a Constitutional Amendment (2006)

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The Florida Supermajority Requirement Amendment, also known as Amendment 3, was a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment on the November 7, 2006 election ballot in Florida, where it was approved.

The amendment modified Article XI, Section 5 of the Florida Constitution to increased the number of votes required to approve a proposed constitutional amendment from 50% + 1 to 60%.

Election results

Florida Amendment 3 (2006)
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		2,600,969	57.78%
No		1,900,359	42.22%

Results via: the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections

Text of measure

The ballot title read:

“

REQUIRING BROADER PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS OR REVISIONS

”

The ballot read:

“

Proposes an amendment to Section 5 of Article XI of the State Constitution to require that any proposed amendment to or revision of the State Constitution, whether proposed by the Legislature, by initiative, or by any other method, must be approved by at least 60 percent of the voters of the state voting on the measure, rather than by a simple majority. This proposed amendment would not change the current requirement that a proposed constitutional amendment imposing a new state tax or fee be approved by at least 2/3 of the voters of the state voting in the election in which such an amendment is considered.

”

Constitutional changes

The text of the amendment read:

SECTION5.Amendment or revision election.— (a) A proposed amendment to or revision of this constitution, or any part of it, shall be submitted to the electors at the next general election held more than ninety days after the joint resolution or report of revision commission, constitutional convention or taxation and budget reform commission proposing it is filed with the custodian of state records, unless, pursuant to law enacted by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the membership of each house of the legislature and limited to a single amendment or revision, it is submitted at an earlier special election held more than ninety days after such filing. (b) A proposed amendment or revision of this constitution, or any part of it, by initiatives hall be submitted to the electors at the general election provided the initiative petition is filed with the custodian of state records no later than February 1 of the year in which the general election is held. (c) The legislature shall provide by general law, prior to the holding of an election pursuant to this section, for the provision of a statement to the public regarding the probable financial impact of any amendment proposed by initiative pursuant to section 3. (d) Once in the tenth week, and once in the sixth week immediately preceding the week in which the election is held, the proposed amendment or revision, with notice of the date of election at which it will be submitted to the electors, shall be published in one newspaper of general circulation in each county in which a newspaper is published. (e) Unless otherwise specifically provided for else wherein this constitution, if the proposed amendment or revision is approved by vote of at least sixty percent of the electors voting on the measure, it shall be effective as an amendment to or revision of the constitution of the state on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January following the election, or on such other date as may be specified in the amendment or revision.

Support

Arguments

• "Florida's Constitution is the easiest to amend in our nation. In recent years, ballot initiatives have become a vehicle for well-financed special interest groups to protect their interests via the state's most sacred document. By implementing a higher threshold for approval of constitutional amendments it broadens consensus because a higher percentage of Florida's electorate will be required to pass the initiative."

Opposition

Arguments

• "When issues are not passed through the Legislature, the ballot initiative process is critical to ensuring the peoples' voices are still heard. The citizen initiative process remains a vital check on government when, for whatever reasons, the government refuses to act. Requiring a higher percentage of the electorate could diminish an initiative's chances of being approved."

Campaign contributions

See also: Donations to 2006 ballot measure campaigns

A total of $3,293,580 was spent on campaigns related to Amendment 3, and it was all spent by the "Yes on 3" side through a group called "Protect Our Constitution."

Donors of $100,000 and over to "Protect Our Constitution" were:

Donor	Amount
National Association of Home Builders	$300,000
Foundation for Preserving Florida's Future	$300,000
Florida Chamber of Commerce	$179,406
ALICO, Inc.	$100,000
U.S. Chamber of Commerce	$100,000
CSX Transportation	$100,000
Publix Supermarkets	$100,000
Bonita Bay Group	$100,000
Florida Association of Realtors	$100,000
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida	$100,000
A. Duda & Sons	$100,000
Plum Creek Timber	$100,000
Chicos FAS	$100,000
PHRMA	$100,000

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Florida Constitution

• Proposed Amendment 3 was referred to the ballot by a vote of both chambers of the Florida State Legislature on HJR 1723 (2005 session).

See also

Suggest a link

• 2006 ballot measures
• Florida 2006 ballot measures
• List of Florida ballot measures
• Florida State Senate
• Florida House of Representatives

External links

• Summary of text and election results
• Full text
• State of Florida booklet describing the 2006 constitutional amendments
• Vote Smart Florida description of proposed amendment
• Sample ballot (Monroe County)