By DOTTY NIST
With the first day of the regular 2019 Legislative Session of the Florida Legislature set for March 5, well over 200 proposed measures have been filed by legislators in advance of the session. Although the session has not started, many of those have been referred to committees for review.
One-subject limit, new threshold proposed for constitutional amendments
Among those are proposals related to revisions or amendments to the Florida Constitution. The measures are House joint resolutions and Senate joint resolutions, the only method by which the legislature may propose amendments to the Florida Constitution.
In the wake of 2018 General Election voters having been faced with deciding on a dozen proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution, a number of which combined multiple topics within the same amendment, Representatives Cord Byrd (R-Neptune Beach) and Bobby Payne (R-Palatka) have filed House Joint Resolution (HJR) 53, which would limit each revision or amendment to the state constitution proposed by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission or the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission “to one subject and matter directly connected therewith,” per the HJR 53 language. In the Senate, Senator Rob Bradley (R-Fleming Island) has filed Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 74, applying to proposals filed by the constitution revision commission, which would require any amendment to “embrace but one subject and matter directly connected within.”
Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-Miami) has filed a similar resolution, SJR 86, as well.
The 2017-18 Florida Constitution Revision Commission encountered criticism in connection with the multiple-topic amendments on the 2018 General Election ballot, as the commission had referred those amendments to be placed on the ballot. Among those, one amendment proposed to prohibit offshore oil and gas drilling and vaping in indoor spaces; another combined first responder and military member survivor benefits with voting requirements for university trustees and state university system boards of governors.
Of the 12 proposed constitutional amendments, all but one met the 60 percent voter requirement for passage. Amendment 1, which would have raised the homestead property tax exemption by $25,000 for homes worth more than $100,000, failed to be approved by voters.
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission is convened once every 20 years to review the state constitution, review and proposed constitutional amendments. The Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, referenced in one of the resolutions, also meets every 20 years, and, like the constitution revision commission, has authority to put measures on the ballot. This commission last met in 2007-08.
Sponsored by Representative Rick Roth (R-West Palm Beach), HJR 57 would amend the Florida Constitution to raise the required percentage of voters to approve an amendment to the state constitution from 60 percent to 66 2/3 percent. SJR 232 is a similar resolution that would set a 66 2/3 percent requirement for voters on constitutional amendments. This resolution was filed by Senator Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala).
These senate and house joint resolutions would both require an approval of vote of three-fifths membership of both the House and Senate and then, with passage, the resulting measure or measures would appear on a statewide ballot for a decision by voters.
Ban on fracking
Senator Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) has filed SB 146, Advanced Well Stimulation Treatment, which would ban fracking in Florida. The bill defines advanced well stimulation treatment as “all stages of a well intervention performed by injecting fluids into a rock formation” at certain pressures specified in the legislation. The bill would not only ban fracking in future wells to which the measure would apply, but would ban the extraction process in existing or already-permitted wells. There is no companion House bill at this time.
“Truth in Government Act”
Senator Lauren Book (D-Plantation) has filed the Senate Bill (SB) 58, the “Truth in Government Act,” which would require that people addressing a legislative committee take an oath or affirmation that they would speak truthfully and be subject to criminal penalties for false statements. There is no companion House bill at this time.
Vegetable gardens
SB 82, filed by Senator Bradley, is aimed at encouragement of “sustainable cultivation of vegetables and fruits,” and would prohibit local governments from specifically regulating vegetable gardens on residential properties. The bill would render any local ordinance specifically regulating vegetable gardens on these properties “void and unenforceable.” Adoption of local ordinances of a general nature, such as those related to water use during drought conditions, use of fertilizer, or control of invasive species would continue to be allowed.
SB 82 was filed in November 2017. Filed on Jan. 2 by Representative Elizabeth Fetterhoff (R-DeLand) was a companion House bill, HB 145.
Protection of monuments and memorials
Representative Mike Hill (R-Pensacola) has filed HB 97, the “Soldiers’ and Heroes’ Monuments and Memorials Protection Act.” The measure provides a broad definition of the term “remembrance,” essentially as an object made to honor or commemorate—and would prohibit relocation, removal, or other disturbance of a remembrance put in place, named, or dedicated on March 22, 1822 or later on public property, except temporarily for necessary construction, repair or improvements.
There is no companion Senate bill at this time.
Black bear protection
The “Florida Black Bear Protection Act,” (SB 134) was filed by Senator Stewart. The bill would prohibit the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from allowing recreational hunting of mother bears with cubs under 100 pounds in weight through a hunting permit, would set a penalty for unlawful harvest of saw palmetto berries on state land, and would prohibit at certain times prescribed burns in some bear habitat areas. Currently there is no companion House bill.
Customary use of the beach
SB 54, filed in November 2017 by Senator Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg), the bill that would repeal the customary use of the beach portion of HB 631, Possession of Real Property, was covered in a Dec. 5 Herald/Breeze article.
There is no companion House bill at this time. HB 54 was referred to the following committees: Judiciary, Community Affairs, Environment and Natural Resources, and Rules. It is currently under review by the Judiciary Committee.