Florida Amendment to Abolish the Constitution Revision Commission (2020)
| Florida Repeal Constitution Revision Commission Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Direct democracy measures | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Florida Repeal Constitution Revision Commission Amendment (HJR 301) was not on the ballot in Florida as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
This measure would have abolished the Florida Constitution Revision Commission.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | Repeal of the Constitution Revision Commission[2] | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | Proposing amendments to the State Constitution to repeal the establishment, membership selection and composition, and duties of the constitution revision commission.[2] | ” |
Constitutional changes
The measure would have amended Section 5 of Article II and Sections 2 and 5 of Article XI of the Florida Constitution.[1]
Full text
The full text can be accessed here.
Background
Constitution Revision Commission (CRC)
- See also: Florida Constitution Revision Commission
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) is a 37-member commission provided for in the state constitution that reviews and proposes changes to the Florida Constitution.[3] The CRC refers constitutional amendments directly to the ballot for a public vote, which makes the commission unique amongst the states. Florida is the only state with a commission empowered to refer constitutional amendments to the ballot.[4] The CRC convenes every 20 years on the following schedule: 1977, 1997, 2017, 2037, 2057, and so on. Beyond what is required in Section 2 of Article XI of the Florida Constitution, the CRC sets its own rules and procedures.[3]
2018 CRC proposals
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) of 2017-2018 received 2,013 proposals from the public and 103 from the commission's members. The CRC referred eight measures—addressing 20 proposals—to the ballot for the election on November 6, 2018. All of the amendments were approved except for Amendment 8, which was blocked from the ballot by a court ruling. Plaintiffs argued that the measure combined three separate and unrelated measures and that the ballot language was misleading. The court ruled that the measure's ballot language was misleading and the measure was kept off the ballot.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Florida Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a 60 percent vote is required in both the Florida State Senate and the Florida House of Representatives.
This amendment was introduced as House Joint Resolution 301 by Rep. Brad Drake (R-5) on October 7, 2019. On January 22, 2020, the state House passed HJR 301 in a vote of 93-25 with two representatives not voting. To pass in the Senate, the amendment needs to garner 24 votes. The Florida State Senate is comprised of 17 Democrats and 23 Republicans.[5][1]
The measure did not pass in the second chamber before the legislature adjourned on March 13, 2020.
| Vote in the Florida House of Representatives | |||
| Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber | |||
Number of yes votes required: 72  | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 93 | 25 | 2 |
| Total percent | 77.5% | 20.8% | 1.7% |
| Democrat | 23 | 24 | 1 |
| Republican | 71 | 1 | 1 |
See also
External links
- Florida Division of Elections Booklet: Proposed Constitutional Amendments 2020 General Election
- HJR 301 overview
- HJR 301 full text
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Florida Senate, "House Joint Resolution 301 text," accessed January 23, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedconstitution - ↑ D'Alemberte, T. (2016). The Florida State Constitution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Florida Senate, "House Joint Resolution 301," accessed January 23, 2020
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