Florida Uniform System of Municipal Government Amendment (1904)

Florida Uniform System of Municipal Government Amendment
Election date November 8, 1904
Topic County and municipal governance
Status Defeated
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Florida Uniform System of Municipal Government Amendment was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in Florida on November 8, 1904. It was defeated.

A “yes” vote supported establishing a uniform system of government for municipalities.

A “no” vote opposed establishing a uniform system of government for municipalities.

Election results

Florida Uniform System of Municipal Government Amendment
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		3,438	41.95%
No		4,758	58.05%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Uniform System of Municipal Government Amendment was as follows:

“

Article III, Section 20 and 24—Repealing Section 8 of Article VIII.—Against special and local laws enumerated—Dividing municipalities into classes, providing uniform system of government for each re-incorporating existing municipalities. Repealing Section 8 of Article VIII.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Constitutional changes

Section 20. The Legislature shall not pass special or local laws in any of the following enumerated cases; that is to say, regulating the jurisdiction and duties of any class of officers, or for the punishment of crime or misdemeanor; except for the enforcement of special local laws regulating the practice of courts of justice; providing for changing venue of civil and criminal cases; granting divorces; changing the names of persons; vacating roads; summoning and empaneling grand and petit juries and providing for their compensation; for assessment and collection of taxes for State and county and municipal purposes; for opening and conducting elections for State and county and municipal officers, and for designating the places of voting; for the sale of real estate belonging to minors, estates of decedents, and of persons laboring under legal disabilities; regulating the fees of officers of the State or county or municipalities; giving effect to informal or invalid deeds or wills; legitimizing children; providing for the adoption of children; relieving minors from legal disabilities; and for the establishment of ferries. Section 24, Article III, of the Constitution of the State of Florida is hereby amended so as to read as follows: Section 24. The legislature shall establish a uniform system of county government. It shall divide municipalities into classes of not more than four, on the basis of population; it shall establish for each class a uniform system of government; it shall provide for the re-incorporation of each now existing municipality and for the incorporation of each hereafter to be incorporated municipality into one of such classes and no law relating to the creation, government or powers of any municipality or number of municipalities less than the whole of a class, shall be valid. Section 8, Article VIII, of the Constitution of the State of Florida is hereby repealed.

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

1904 Measures

• 1904 Measures
• County and municipal governance on the ballot
• 1904 legislative sessions

Florida

• Florida ballot measures
• Florida ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Florida Constitution Revision Commission, "Florida's Constitutions: The Documentary History"
• Tampa Morning Tribune, "DUMMY BALLOT," November 5, 1904