Citizens' Proposals

This column represents various citizens' suggestions for constitutional changes received by the Steering Committee. Depending on the volume of suggestions received, this column will be a regular feature of the Steering Committee newsletter.

Legislative Reform. Amend Article III of the Florida Constitution to require that all legislative bills must be published and furnished to members in final form at least three days prior to final passage. The purpose of the proposal is (1) to combat the perception or reality that legislators lack information on the content or impact of bills and (2) to lessen the legislative logjam at the end of the session. (A similar proposal was offered during the 1978 Constitution Revision Commission process)

Election Reform. Amend the Constitution to eliminate partisan primaries (i.e., provide for open primaries).

School Districts. Amend Article IX, section 4(a) to permit county residents the option of establishing more than one school district in their respective counties.

Court Watchers. Establish, by general law or amendment to the Constitution, a system of volunteers who would be responsible for monitoring court proceedings and collecting court data for the purpose of determining whether there have been violations of federal or state constitutions, ethical violations, or other patterns of prejudice in the state court systems.

All suggestions for amendments to the constitution are on file with the Steering Committee and will be transmitted to the Constitution Revision Commission in the Steering Committee's final report.

 

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