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The CRC completed its work and submitted its final report. This website is maintained for archival purposes.

Florida Constitution Revision Commission

PUB 700196: Statutory Initiatives by Alvan Balent

ARTICLE III: LEGISLATURE, New Section.

Catchline: Citizen Laws

 

With the exception of the laws related to the government's ability to raise revenue and subject to the same restrictions and procedures in place when amending the state constitution, the people have the power to require its legislature to enact, revise, or repeal any portion(s) of the Florida Statutes, provided that any such enactment, revision or repeal shall embrace but one subject and matter directly connected therewith. Any voter-approved statutory change shall be known as a "citizen law" and placed on the agenda of each legislative house for enactment. The legislature cannot adjourn until it enacts said law(s), and once enacted, a citizen law can only be modified or repealed by a joint resolution of a subsequent legislature that is approved by three-fifths of the membership in each house.

Unless seeking to revise an existing portion of the state constitution, the people must seek to enact a citizen law before amending their constitution. The following constitutional provisions shall serve as the first examples of "citizen laws," and once enacted by the legislature, they shall be removed from the constitution: Article IX, Section 1 (classroom size limitations); Article X, Section 16 (limiting marine net fishing); Article X, Section 21 (pregnant pigs); Article X, Section 28 (land acquisition trust fund); and Article X, Section 29 (medical marijuana).