Florida Amendment 5, Legislative Authority to Propose Constitution Article Revisions Amendment (1948)
| Florida Amendment 5 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Constitutional wording changes and State constitutional conventions |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Florida Amendment 5 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Florida on November 2, 1948. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported allowing the Florida Legislature to revise an entire article of the state constitution at once—rather than revising it section by section as required under existing law—subject to a three-fifths vote in each legislative chamber, publication in each county, and voter approval in a general or special election. |
A “no” vote opposed granting the Legislature this authority, keeping the existing process that required section-by-section revisions with voter approval for each change. |
Overview
Amendment 5 allowed the Florida State Legislature to revise an entire article of the state constitution during any regular, special, or extra legislative session. Under the amendment, a proposed revision could address one or multiple subjects, but each amendment was limited to a single article. To appear on the ballot, a revision required a three-fifths (60%) vote in both legislative chambers, publication in each county, and voter approval at a general or special election.[1]
According to the Fort Lauderdale News, the Florida Constitution at the time contained 20 articles and 255 sections. Before the amendment, constitutional revisions had to be made section by section, with each change submitted individually to voters. The measure changed this process by permitting entire articles to be revised and voted on as a whole.[1]
Election results
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Florida Amendment 5 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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87,364 | 51.96% | ||
| No | 80,776 | 48.04% | ||
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- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Amendment 5 was as follows:
| “ | NO. 5 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ARTICLE XVII, SECTION 1 A proposed amendment of Section 1 of Article XVII, providing that any regular session or special session called therefor, either breach of the legislature may propose the revision or amendment of the Constitution relating to one or more subjects, but limited to one revised Article; and when agreed to by three-fifths of the member of each house and after publication at specified times and places, shall be submitted to the electors of the state at the next general election or at a special election held under conditions described and the manner provided by Section 3 of Article XVII of the Constitution; and upon approval by a majority of the electors voting, shall become a part of the State Constitution. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Constitutional changes
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Section 1. Either branch of the Legislature, at any regular session, or at any special or extraordinary session thereof called for such purpose either in the Governor's original call or any amendment thereof, may propose the revision or amendment of any portion or portions of this Constitution. Any such revision or amendment may relate to one subject or any number of subjects, but no amendment shall consist of more than one revised article of the Constitution. If the proposed revision or amendment is agreed to by three-fifths of the members elected to each house, it shall be entered upon their respective Journals with the yeas and nays and published in one newspaper in each county where a newspaper is published for two times, one publication to be made not earlier than ten weeks and the other not later than six weeks, immediately preceding the election at which the same is to be voted upon, and thereupon submitted to the electors of the State for approval or rejection at the next general election, provided, however, that such revision or amendment may be submitted for approval or rejection in a special election under the conditions described in and in the manner provided by Section 3 of Article XVII of the Constitution. If a majority of the electors voting upon the amendment adopt such amendment the same shall become a part of this Constitution. |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Florida Constitution
A 60% vote was required during one legislative session for the Florida State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounted to a minimum of 51 votes in the Florida House of Representatives and 18 votes in the Florida State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments did not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. Amendments on the ballot required a simple majority vote in this year.
See also
External links
- Florida Constitution Revision Commission, "Florida's Constitutions: The Documentary History"
- The Independent, "Study This Ballot -- You Vote on It Tuesday," November 1, 1948
Footnotes
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State of Florida Tallahassee (capital) |
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