The first test of this method of changing Florida's constitution came in 1977 and 1978, when the commission considered and proposed revisions to the constitution for the 1978 general election.

After being appointed, the commissioners (serving without pay) conducted 10 public hearings, listening to over 600 witnesses discuss more than 800 proposals. They held 25 meetings to consider 257 proposed changes to the constitution - adopted 87 of them - then held more hearings throughout the state at which more than 200 witnesses testified. They then grouped these 87 proposed changes in eight constitutional amendments submitted to the voters in the November 1978.

Voters rejected all eight amendments in the 1978 elections. However, either by ballot initiative or by legislative proposal in later years, many of the commission's 1978 proposed constitutional changes were adopted and are part of either our constitution or statute law. For example:

• The right to privacy is now part of Florida's Bill of Rights. Article I now includes this guarantee: "Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into his private life except as otherwise provided herein." The legislature passed and voters approved this in 1980.

• Witnesses before grand juries can now have their attorneys present during proceedings, providing greater fairness and protection of rights. The legislature passed by statute this provision in 1992.

• Article I now requires that no one should be denied the right to examine public records or attend meetings of public bodies. This amendment expanded and preserved Florida's "Sunshine" law that bans secrecy in state and local governments. The legislature proposed and voters approved this in 1992.

• The commission had proposed limiting Cabinet officers to two consecutive four-year terms, noting that only the Governor was subject to such term limits. In 1992, by ballot initiative, voters approved amending Article VI to limit the number of terms that all elected state officers, including Cabinet members and legislators, can serve.

Supporters of the Constitution Revision Commission were initially discouraged by voter rejection in 1978. Now, they can show that much of the commission's work found its way into our constitution and statutes, often in basically the same language. "Change often comes slowly in a democracy," wrote the authors of a 1994 article, adding that "in many ways, the [commission] was simply ahead of its time as it set the stage for dramatic changes in Florida."