In recent years, constitutional experts, legislators, public officials, journalists, community leaders, and other Floridians have discussed many changes they would support in 1998. These are too numerous to discuss fully in this brief citizen's guide.

However, here are several issues which seem to be discussed most frequently by news media, legislators, community leaders, and others, that may be considered by the 1997-98 commission.

• Reforming the Cabinet system. Critics have long argued that Florida's Cabinet - comprised of an elected Secretary of State, Attorney General, Comptroller, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Commissioner of Education - is not only the nation's largest "plural executive," it is a harmful vestige of the 19th-century distrust of a strong executive. It weakens the Governor's authority, disperses accountability, and unnecessarily slows down decisionmaking, they contend. Supporters note that voters want to decide who gets these key offices, that open debate and voting at Cabinet meetings promotes open decisionmaking, and allows both Republicans and Democrats to share executive authority. In the 1978 election, 70 percent of Florida voters rejected abolishing the elected Cabinet system.

• Right to privacy. This explicit right in Florida's current constitution codified the implied right that evolved through U.S. constitutional law decisions. It touches on many social issues that have been so controversial in recent years, such as abortion, right to die, possession of illegal drugs for personal use, so-called victimless crimes like prostitution, misuse of listening or other surveillance devices, and equal treatment of homosexuals.

• Ballot initiatives. From 1976 to 1994, Florida voters have approved 53 amendments to our constitution. Six of these originated as citizen initiative petitions that did not need the approval of the legislature. Before every election in those years, many more initiative petitions were drafted and circulated by citizen groups but either failed to gather the required number of signatures, were rejected by the Florida Supreme Court, or were rejected by voters. Critics have argued that well-funded special interests, like those promoting casino gambling, are dominating the initiative process, and worry that voters can be short-sighted in such an area as tax limitation. Supporters tend to agree with a declaration by former Florida supreme court justice Glenn Terrell: " We are dealing with a constitutional democracy in which sovereignty resides in the people. It is their constitution . . . They have a right to change, abrogate or modify it in any manner they see fit . . . "

• Unfunded mandates. During the 1980s, state government enacted 288 laws that require local governments to bear new costs in such areas as growth management, pension benefits, and pollution control, often without providing funds to carry them out. Critics called them "unfunded mandates" and proposed a constitutional amendment, approved by voters in 1990, to prohibit the state from enacting such mandates without providing funds. Since then, critics argue, the amendment language allows toomany exceptions, the state continues to add new burdens to local governments, and another amendment with fewer exceptions is needed. Opponents argue that local governments receive more than enough state funding.

It is their constitution . . . They have a right to change, abrogate or modify it in any manner they see fit . . .