Preface

The following is a compilation of documents tracing the chronological development of Florida's Constitutions. It includes copies of each of Florida's six constitutions, as they existed upon ratification, each proposed amendment, whether presented by legislative resolution, revision commission, or initiative, and Supreme Court decisions affecting ballot position.

The Table of Contents contains reference to the constitutional articles and sections affected by the proposed amendments as well as the disposition of each, and is intended to be used as a research tool to assist in the location of the primary sources which comprise the history of Florida's organic law.

Also included, when available, are cites to contemporary analyses of the various proposals, prepared by the Public Administration Clearing Service of the University of Florida, as part of their Civic Information Series, to educate voters on the proposed changes.

Sources consulted in the verification of information include Laws of Florida, Florida Statutes, Florida Statutes Annotated, Whitfield's Notes, Secretary of State Division of Elections, and the Florida Supreme Court Library's files of the 1968 Constitution Revision Commission

Although every effort has been made to investigate all available sources, errors and omissions are possible. The compiler requests notification of any appropriate additions or corrections in order to provide accurate research assistance to future constitutional scholars.

Compiled by:

Jo Dowling, Assistant Librarian

Florida Supreme Court Library

May 1995

dowlingj@flcourts.org

Editorial Note:

The various published forms of the early Constitutions and proposed Amendments contain a number of archaic spellings as well as errors in dates and numbering. In order to provide research access to the text, spelling irregularities have been updated to modern form for consistency. Known errors in numbering or dating have been marked with an asterisk (*), but retained in the original form as published.

Formats have been standardized for consistency, including the addition of the word "Section" prior to each numbered section of both Constitutions and Amendments; the words "Section" and "Article" have not been abbreviated; Arabic numerals have been used for sections and Roman numerals for articles; and a blank line has been inserted between each section for ease of searching.

Table of Contents