Florida Right to Produce and Sell Solar Energy Initiative (2018)
| Florida Right to Produce and Sell Solar Energy Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Energy | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Florida Right to Produce and Sell Solar Energy Initiative was not on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018. The measure did not make the ballot in Florida on November 8, 2016.
The measure would have provided businesses and individuals with a constitutional right to produce up to two megawatts of solar power and sell that power directly to others at the same or contiguous property.[1] This right would have been secured by limiting the government and electrical utilities' abilities to impose barriers to supplying local solar electricity.[2]
As of 2016, only utilities were allowed sell electricity, no matter the source, directly to consumers.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The proposed title was as follows:[2][3]
| “ |
Limits or Prevents Barriers to Local Solar Electricity Supply [4] |
” |
Ballot summary
The proposed ballot summary was as follows:[2][3]
| “ |
Limits or prevents government and electric utility imposed barriers to supplying local solar electricity. Local solar electricity supply is the non-utility supply of solar generated electricity from a facility rated up to 2 megawatts to customers at the same or contiguous property as the facility. Barriers include government regulation of local solar electricity suppliers’ rates, service and territory, and unfavorable electric utility rates, charges, or terms of service imposed on local solar electricity customers. [4] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article X, Florida Constitution
The measure would have added a Section 29 to Article X of the Florida Constitution:[2]
| Section 29. Purchase and sale of solar electricity. – | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(a) PURPOSE AND INTENT. It shall be the policy of the state to encourage and promote local small-scale solar-generated electricity production and to enhance the availability of solar power to customers. This section is intended to accomplish this purpose by limiting and preventing regulatory and economic barriers that discourage the supply of electricity generated from solar energy sources to customers who consume the electricity at the same or a contiguous property as the site of the solar electricity production. Regulatory and economic barriers include rate, service and territory regulations imposed by state or local government on those supplying such local solar electricity, and imposition by electric utilities of special rates, fees, charges, tariffs, or terms and conditions of service on their customers consuming local solar electricity supplied by a third party that are not imposed on their other customers of the same type or class who do not consume local solar electricity. (b) PURCHASE AND SALE OF LOCAL SMALL-SCALE SOLAR ELECTRICITY. | |||||
Support
The campaign in support of the 2016 version of the initiative was led by Floridians for Solar Choice.[5]
Tory Perfetti, a Republican and leader of Conservatives for Energy Freedom, was chairperson of the campaign.[6]
2016 supporters
Officials
- Rep. Dwight Dudley (D-68)
Organizations
- Christian Coalition of America[7]
- Conservatives for Energy Freedom
- Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy
- Florida Retail Federation
- Florida Solar Energy Industries Association
- Libertarian Party of Florida
- Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida
- Republican Liberty Caucus of Tampa Bay
- Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
- WTEC
- Clean Water Action
- IDEAS
- Sierra Club Florida
- The Tea Party Network
- Clean Water Action[8]
- Evangelical Environmental Network
- Greenpeace USA
- Physicians for Social Responsibility
- Solar Energy Industries Association[9]
- Florida League of Women Voters[10]
- Rethink Energy Florida[11]
- Florida’s Democratic Environmental Caucus[11]
Individuals
- Debbie Dooley, Georgia Tea Party activist
Alex Snitker, Vice President of the Libertarian Party of Florida, discussing the initiative.
|
2016 arguments
Tory Perfetti, head of the Conservatives for Energy Freedom, said the following:[1]
| “ | Floridians have a right to choose where they are going to have their energy coming from.[4] | ” |
Debbie Dooley, a Tea Party activist who fought for more accessible solar power in neighboring Georgia, argued the following:[1]
| “ | Conservatives will be out front on this to give Floridians choice and a voice. All too often, the only voice that is heard is the voice of these very powerful and deep-pocketed monopoly utilities.[4] | ” |
Kim Ross, a member of Rethink Energy Florida, stated the following:[11]
| “ | Out in the field we’re collecting petitions and the voters we’ve talked to want to see solar compete fairly on the market against other forms of energy. They want to take action towards real energy independence and a cleaner, more sustainable environment.[4] | ” |
Opposition
According to the Tampa Bay Times, utilities were likely to oppose the initiative in 2016. There was concern that as more businesses and households implement personal solar production, more pressure would be put on low-income energy consumers to maintain power plants, lines and the electrical grid.[1]
2016 opponents
- Florida Faith & Freedom Coalition[8]
- First Coast Tea Party
2016 arguments against
James Taylor, a James Madison Institute and Heartland Institute senior fellow, said the amendment's language could lead to "judicial mischief." He pointed to the first sentence of the amendment, which reads, “It shall be the policy of the state to encourage and promote local small-scale solar-generated electricity production and to enhance the availability of solar power to customers.” He argued the following:[12]
| “ | An activist court could interpret it as prohibiting the Legislature from passing laws contradicting it and mandating laws encouraging solar power. It undermines free market principles.[4] | ” |
Bob McClure, the president and CEO of James Madison Institute, agreed with Taylor, arguing the following:[12]
| “ | No industry should receive constitutional carve outs for market shares, subsidies and regulations (because) it leads to higher taxes and prices for consumers.[4] | ” |
Noteworthy events
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) criticized the campaign supporting the 2016 amendment and critiqued solar energy in general. AFP called the initiative campaign a "campaign of deception."[13]
AFP sent an email to members throughout Florida saying that the initiative was trying to get "government and taxpayers to prop up the solar industry." The organization also said that Floridians for Solar Choice was a front group for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) and California businessman and climate change activist Tom Steyer. Steve Smith, executive director of SACE, responded, "[T]here is no Tom Steyer money associated with this effort at this point."
Tory Perfetti, Florida director of Conservatives for Energy Freedom and Floridians for Solar Choice, said AFP wasn't painting an inaccurate picture of the initiative. He said, "This ballot initiative will open up the energy market in Florida to freedom of choice and allow commerce to be conducted through the free market. This initiative will not mandate the purchase of solar nor will you find anywhere in the ballot language anything which says that solar will be subsidized, so to say otherwise is false."
AFP's Florida director, Chris Hudson, said, "We should not favor one source of energy over the other in the Constitution or anywhere else. Solar cannot compete in a free market. It relies on government mandates and taxpayer funded subsidies to make it feasible." Debbie Dooley, a co-founder of the Atlanta Tea Party and activist supporting the initiative, offered a rebuttal, "AFP frequently mentions the subsidies for solar, but fails to bring up the fact fossil fuel and nuclear have been very heavily subsidized since 1932 and still are. In addition, government created monopolies are subsidized both by the federal government and by captive utility customers."
Path to the ballot
In Florida, signature requirements for qualifying an initiative for the ballot are based on the total number of votes cast during the most recent presidential election. Sponsors must collect a number equal to 8 percent of this total and in accordance with certain distribution requirements. Signatures can remain valid up to two years after the date they were signed, but they must be verified by February 1 of the targeted year, and therefore must be submitted prior to that date.
2016
In Florida, initiative proponents need to collect 10 percent of the required signatures across the state and 10 percent in each of one-eighth of the state's Congressional districts in order to receive a legal review by the Florida Supreme Court. Thus, Floridians for Solar Choice needed 68,314 valid signatures. The Department of Elections certified over 72,000.[14]
The initiative was approved for circulation on December 23, 2014.[15] Supporters needed to collect a minimum of 683,149 valid signatures by February 1, 2016, to qualify the measure for the November 2016 ballot.
Floridians for Solar Choice announced on February 17, 2015, that the group had collected about 100,000 signatures during the first month of the initiative petition drive.
In late December 2015, Floridians for Solar Choice filed a lawsuit against a signature-gathering company they hired to help with the campaign. The committee claimed PCI Consulting charged them $200,000 beyond what the committee had agreed to pay. The company said they planned to withhold 212,000 signatures until they received payment.[16][17]
On January 11, 2016, the group announced it had fallen behind in collecting signatures and decided to aim for the 2018 ballot instead.[18][19][20]
2018
Supporters needed to submit 766,200 valid signatures by February 1, 2018, in order to qualify the measure for the ballot. On February 1, the campaign had only 3,589 valid signatures.
State profile
| Demographic data for Florida | ||
|---|---|---|
| Florida | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 20,244,914 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 53,625 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 76% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 16.1% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.4% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 23.7% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 86.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $47,507 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 19.8% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Florida. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Florida
Florida voted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Florida, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[21]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Florida had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respsectively.
More Florida coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Florida
- United States congressional delegations from Florida
- Public policy in Florida
- Endorsers in Florida
- Florida fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Basic information
Support
- Floridians for Solar Choice
- Floridians for Solar Choice Facebook
- Floridians for Solar Choice Twitter
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tampa Bay Times, "Republican-led group launches ballot petition to boost solar power in Florida," January 6, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Florida Secretary of State, "Constitutional Amendment Petition Form," accessed January 7, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Florida Division of Elections, "Constitutional Amendment Petition Form," accessed December 1, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Floridians for Solar Choice, "Homepage," accessed January 7, 2015
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Coalition of conservatives, liberals fight for more Florida solar power," January 13, 2015
- ↑ Floridians for Solar Choice, "Endorsements," accessed February 17, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Palm Beach Post, "It’s tea party versus tea party on solar energy proposal," March 17, 2015
- ↑ Orlando Sun-Sentinel, "Industry group backs 2016 ballot initiative for 'solar choice' in Florida," March 24, 2015
- ↑ Saint Peters Blog, "Florida League of Women Voters back Floridians for Solar Choice ballot initiative," May 18, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 WFSU, "Floridians For Solar Choice Unites Unlikely Coalition," December 9, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Tallahassee Democrat, "Solar amendment sparks a free market flare up," December 16, 2015
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Conservative solar proponents decry attack on ballot initiative as 'campaign of deception'," March 7, 2015
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Florida solar petition reaches key milestone," March 24, 2015
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Initiative Information," accessed January 7, 2014
- ↑ Tallahassee Democrat, "California company holds up Solar Choice petition signatures," December 19, 2015
- ↑ CBS Miami, "Solar Backers Go To Court In Petition Dispute," December 29, 2015
- ↑ SunSentinel, "Solar Choice ballot initiative targets 2018," January 11, 2016
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Florida solar coalition collects 100,000 signatures for petition," February 17, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Initiative to open Fla. solar market unlikely to make ballot," December 21, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
 |
State of Florida Tallahassee (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
