Latest news with #Amendments3
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida's GOP Legislature cracks down on ballot measures after near-misses on pot, abortion
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Months after voters narrowly rejected ballot initiatives on abortion and marijuana, the Florida Legislature passed a sweeping new bill that may shut down future petition drives in the nation's third-largest state. Despite a legislative session marred by Republican infighting between Gov. Ron DeSantis and state House GOP leaders, the passage of the legislation gives the governor a win on one of his top priorities this year. It could also prove a significant roadblock to ongoing efforts to place another marijuana amendment on the 2026 ballot. The measure would place significant restrictions and increased penalties on groups seeking to place an initiative on the ballot, including placing a limit on how many petitions a volunteer could collect. It would also require organizers to collect detailed personal information from those signing petitions, such as a driver's license number or part of their Social Security number. Critics, including Democratic legislators, said the restrictions would make it nearly impossible to place initiatives on the ballot. They called the move payback for the near-passage last year of proposed amendments to guarantee access to abortion and legalize adult recreational marijuana. Both failed to clear the 60-percent threshold needed to pass initiatives in Florida. 'Those pesky Amendments 3 and 4 just came too damn close to passing, so we are going to make sure it doesn't happen again,' said state Sen. Tina Polsky (D-West Palm Beach). Backers of the change, however, said the bill came in response to an investigation launched by the state's election crimes office under DeSantis that showed some people gathering petition signatures forged them or engaged in identity theft. 'I believe in insuring integrity in the process,' said state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R-Fort Myers), one of the legislation's main sponsors. During the past two decades, Florida voters have approved a long line of ballot initiatives opposed by many Republican leaders, including limits on class size, raising Florida's minimum wage, approving the use of medical marijuana and restoring voting rights to convicted felons no longer in prison. GOP legislators have made repeated changes to the process in that timeframe, including asking voters to increase the threshold needed to pass amendments from a simple majority to a supermajority. DeSantis fiercely opposed the abortion and marijuana ballot measures last year and used the force of state government to defeat them. He openly campaigned against the amendments during events organized by his official office. State agencies spent taxpayer money on ads warning voters about the dangers of marijuana and pushing back on the abortion amendment, which would have overturned the state's six-week ban. Legislators, however, did add a provision to the bill — HB 1205 — now headed to DeSantis that would bar the state from spending taxpayer money on any ads or communications about constitutional amendments. State Sen. Don Gaetz, one of the main Senate sponsors, acknowledged the change was 'inspired by actions' of the DeSantis administration. 'They engaged in behavior that will now be unlawful and will be prevented if we pass this bill,' Gaetz said. DeSantis asked legislators back to Tallahassee in January to clamp down on ballot initiatives, as well as to address immigration and condominium legislation. He said legislators needed to act swiftly because some organizers were already gearing up for next year. But legislative leaders instead held off until this year's regular session. Smart & Safe Florida, the organization that tried to pass the marijuana amendment last year, has already been gathering signatures for a revamped 2026 initiative. The Department of State currently shows nearly 219,000 signatures have been verified. The group would need to successfully collect nearly 892,000 voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. The ballot measure will also need to be reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court. A spokesperson for the organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the legislation. There is speculation that some of the restrictions — including one that says only Florida residents who are eligible to vote can collect petition signatures — could trigger lawsuits. The bill headed to the governor cleared the House and Senate largely along partisan lines and drew sharp questioning and debate, including from those who contended restrictions on volunteers would scare people from helping out grass roots groups seeking to place items on the ballot. But supporters pushed back and contended the legislation was needed: "How much corruption are you willing to tolerate to make sure something terrible doesn't happen to our constitution?" asked Gaetz.
Politico
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Florida's GOP Legislature cracks down on ballot measures after near-misses on pot, abortion
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Months after voters narrowly rejected ballot initiatives on abortion and marijuana, the Florida Legislature passed a sweeping new bill that may shut down future petition drives in the nation's third-largest state. Despite a legislative session marred by Republican infighting between Gov. Ron DeSantis and state House GOP leaders, the passage of the legislation gives the governor a win on one of his top priorities this year. It could also prove a significant roadblock to ongoing efforts to place another marijuana amendment on the 2026 ballot. The measure would place significant restrictions and increased penalties on groups seeking to place an initiative on the ballot, including placing a limit on how many petitions a volunteer could collect. It would also require organizers to collect detailed personal information from those signing petitions, such as a driver's license number or part of their Social Security number. Critics, including Democratic legislators, said the restrictions would make it nearly impossible to place initiatives on the ballot. They called the move payback for the near-passage last year of proposed amendments to guarantee access to abortion and legalize adult recreational marijuana. Both failed to clear the 60-percent threshold needed to pass initiatives in Florida. 'Those pesky Amendments 3 and 4 just came too damn close to passing, so we are going to make sure it doesn't happen again,' said state Sen. Tina Polsky (D-West Palm Beach). Backers of the change, however, said the bill came in response to an investigation launched by the state's election crimes office under DeSantis that showed some people gathering petition signatures forged them or engaged in identity theft. 'I believe in insuring integrity in the process,' said state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R-Fort Myers), one of the legislation's main sponsors. During the past two decades, Florida voters have approved a long line of ballot initiatives opposed by many Republican leaders, including limits on class size, raising Florida's minimum wage, approving the use of medical marijuana and restoring voting rights to convicted felons no longer in prison. GOP legislators have made repeated changes to the process in that timeframe, including asking voters to increase the threshold needed to pass amendments from a simple majority to a supermajority. DeSantis fiercely opposed the abortion and marijuana ballot measures last year and used the force of state government to defeat them . He openly campaigned against the amendments during events organized by his official office . State agencies spent taxpayer money on ads warning voters about the dangers of marijuana and pushing back on the abortion amendment , which would have overturned the state's six-week ban. Legislators, however, did add a provision to the bill — HB 1205 — now headed to DeSantis that would bar the state from spending taxpayer money on any ads or communications about constitutional amendments. State Sen. Don Gaetz, one of the main Senate sponsors, acknowledged the change was 'inspired by actions' of the DeSantis administration. 'They engaged in behavior that will now be unlawful and will be prevented if we pass this bill,' Gaetz said. DeSantis asked legislators back to Tallahassee in January to clamp down on ballot initiatives, as well as to address immigration and condominium legislation. He said legislators needed to act swiftly because some organizers were already gearing up for next year. But legislative leaders instead held off until this year's regular session. Smart & Safe Florida, the organization that tried to pass the marijuana amendment last year, has already been gathering signatures for a revamped 2026 initiative. The Department of State currently shows nearly 219,000 signatures have been verified. The group would need to successfully collect nearly 892,000 voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. The ballot measure will also need to be reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court. A spokesperson for the organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the legislation. There is speculation that some of the restrictions — including one that says only Florida residents who are eligible to vote can collect petition signatures — could trigger lawsuits. The bill headed to the governor cleared the House and Senate largely along partisan lines and drew sharp questioning and debate, including from those who contended restrictions on volunteers would scare people from helping out grass roots groups seeking to place items on the ballot. But supporters pushed back and contended the legislation was needed: 'How much corruption are you willing to tolerate to make sure something terrible doesn't happen to our constitution?' asked Gaetz.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida passes bill to change constitutional amendment petition process
TALLAHASSEE – On the last scheduled day of Florida's regular legislative session, lawmakers passed a Gov. Ron DeSantis priority to change the state's ballot initiative process. The measure passed by the Legislature didn't go as far as DeSantis' office wanted. But opponents of the bill said it would still make it difficult for everyday people to participate in the ballot initiative process, and would instead keep power in the hands of state lawmakers and corporate interests. Bill sponsors, though, said that the legislation was a reasonable way to protect the initiative petition system from fraud. They pointed to a report from the Office of Election Crimes and Security that alleged widespread fraud in an amendment campaign last year. 'This bill does nothing to stop the dissemination of, the distribution of, a petition to the constitution,' said Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, the bill's cosponsor. 'Nothing. And it puts guardrails, reasonable guardrails, in those places where we have found fraud.' Critics of the state's report have accused the DeSantis administration of applying uneven scrutiny toward an issue he opposed. Floridians have long used the ballot initiative process to amend the constitution in support of policies that have been otherwise stymied in Tallahassee, like allowing medical marijuana access, creating a $15 minimum wage and restoring voting rights for felons. This past year, two groups put proposals on the ballot to allow for recreational marijuana use, Amendment 3, and to protect abortion access, Amendment 4. Both measures failed to pass the required 60% support threshold but got a majority of voter support. Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, said it's a trend for state Republicans to change the law if they don't like what they see in the prior election. She pointed to how the state has already made changes to vote-by-mail ballots and to how ballot initiative petitions must be gathered. 'Those amendments, those pesky Amendments 3 and 4, just came too damn close to passing, so what are we gonna do?' Polsky said. 'We're going to make sure that doesn't happen again.' Sponsor groups that put forward a proposed constitutional amendment need nearly 900,000 validated petitions to get on the ballot. To achieve that number within the required deadline, sponsors often use paid petition circulators. Critics of the bill say it would make the process more expensive. The final legislation includes hefty fines and a threat of felony prosecution for petition circulators who do not register with the state, whether they're paid or not. Volunteers who collect more than 25 petitions beyond those in their immediate family would need to register as a circulator, or they could be charged with a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. People could still pass out as many blank petitions as they want, as long as the voters then turned in their signed petitions themselves. The bill also shortens the required turnaround time for petitions, requiring sponsors to submit them within 10 days instead of within 30 days. It would prohibit people with felony records who haven't had their rights restored, people who are not U.S. citizens and people who are not Florida residents from collecting petitions. Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, said the bill 'puts the bar out of reach and then tells Floridians to jump anyway.' Grall, though, said it was offensive to assume that Florida's citizens couldn't follow the changed law. Some Democrats also pointed out that it sets harsher restrictions on petitions for a constitutional amendment, but doesn't crack down on the petitions that put lawmakers like them on the ballot. Though Democrats largely opposed the petition change proposal, they did throughout the session applaud one provision in it, inserted by Republican lawmakers — a ban on the state using taxpayer funds to put out messages about a proposed constitutional amendment. Last year, DeSantis' administration blanketed the airwaves with public service announcements directing voters to a website opposing the abortion amendment. Other public service announcements were decried by the marijuana amendment sponsor as propaganda. Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Pensacola, said that the ban on state spending was inspired by the actions of people who are part of state government, saying 'they engaged in behavior that will now be unlawful and will now be prevented if we pass this bill.' The Legislature has declined to look into exactly how much the state spent on its advertisements leading up to the last election. In the House, Democrats tried to take the public funding ban a step further by proposing two amendments in response to the House's investigation into the Hope Florida Foundation. The foundation received a $10 million donation from Medicaid provider Centene, then split that money between two nonprofits that later sent millions of dollars to a political committee focused on opposing the proposed marijuana amendment last year. Attorney General James Uthmeier helped direct the funds. He also was the head of the anti-Amendment 3 political committee. Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, grilled members of DeSantis' administration on Hope Florida through his role in the Health Care Budget Subcommittee. Andrade said the Democrats' proposal didn't need to be added on the bill with limited time left in session. 'I firmly believe that our law enforcement agencies are looking at this very closely at this point,' Andrade said. 'I hope that justice is done in the interim. Next session I'm sure we can do something.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DeSantis' DOGE Plan is a Trojan Horse
Gov. Ron DeSantis announces the creation of the Florida State Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force to pare back state government, in Tampa on Feb. 24, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Executive Office of Gov. Ron DeSantis) Given Gov. Ron DeSantis' penchant for political theater, full embrace of a far-right extremist agenda, and need for attention, it's not surprising that he would attach himself to the Trump-Musk DOGE project. Despite the utter chaos the project has created at the federal level, DeSantis recently announced the creation of a Florida version of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force, which he claims will target and eliminate 'waste' in state government, save taxpayers money, and 'ensure accountability' in Florida. The Florida DOGE task force will work similarly to the 'department' created by President Donald Trump and led by Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who is unelected and unaccountable to the American people. Musk and his minions have orchestrated the slashing of agency budgets since Trump came back into office on Jan. 20. Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried's response to the announcement captures the absurdity of DeSantis' action. 'Republicans have been in total control of Florida's government for nearly 30 years, and he wants to talk about government waste?' she said. 'Ron has consistently passed the largest state budgets in Florida's history, illegally spent millions of taxpayer dollars to run political campaigns to take down Amendments 3 & 4, and just allocated $250 million to fund his political stunt on immigration. Don't lecture us on wasting taxpayer dollars.' Fried argues everyone knows 'this isn't about reigning in spending — it's about Trump endorsing Byron Donalds instead of Casey DeSantis. Maybe Ron should have considered the political consequences before he decided to run against the leader of his party for president.' DeSantis said the DOGE team will likely shutter 70 boards and commissions this year to cut costs. Meanwhile, the task force will review 900 positions in state agencies to ascertain whether they should be cut. His intention to have the task force 'identify potential wasteful spending in college and university operations' should be viewed as dubious after he signed legislation last year that banned public colleges and universities from using taxpayer money to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The governor's hostility towards Black Floridians and his crusade to eradicate any programs to level the social, political, economic, and business playing fields continue unabated. It's likely that DOGE will be just another tool to eviscerate any entity deemed a threat to DeSantis' implementation of an arch-conservative imprimatur on Florida. There is also the fear that Florida will lose experienced civil servants who not only carry out critical government functions but also carry with them critical institutional memory. As it has played out nationally, the DOGE carousel will distract state employees from focusing on the people's work. If past is prologue, this political power move will increase fear among employees that they may lose their jobs, inducing paralysis among the ranks. Most of all, Florida government's best employees may seek greener pastures to the detriment to the state's people. DeSantis said the task force will use artificial intelligence to reduce 'bureaucratic bloat.' He said the DOGE team will be a continuation of the cost-cutting measures he has overseen during his six years in office. The governor boasted that Florida saved $3.8 billion in last year's budget and has paid down 41% of state debt since 2019. DeSantis' plan comes even though Florida has the lowest number of government employees per capita of any state, and the state has about $14.6 billion in cash reserves. DeSantis' plan comes even though Florida has the lowest number of government employees per capita of any state and $14.6 billion in cash reserves. Yet DeSantis is looking to slash 740 full-time jobs and scrap as many as 900 more related 'off-the-books' positions. Democrats pushed back by noting that Florida already has in place a voter-approved government efficiency task force created in 2006 that carried 'an almost identical mandate;' Florida DOGE therefore itself is an example of unnecessary spending. The effort is really an attempt to flatter Trump and Musk to restore DeSantis to his party's good graces. If Floridians are lucky, the significant pushback verbalized by the leaders of both of Florida's Republican-supermajority legislative chambers may end up with DeSantis' cockamamie plan being tossed to the trash pile. 'Let's focus on what matters. Let's pass actual reforms rather than symbolic gestures,' Daniel Perez, the Florida House speaker, told members on the legislative session's opening day. 'Let's repeal government programs instead of reshuffling them. Let's swing for the fences and not just try to get on base.' Perez turned the knife a little deeper when he said that 'DeSantis, a self-styled fiscal conservative, benefited from a 70% budget increase for the executive office of the governor over his six years in office.' Senate President Ben Albritton, a member of the existing efficiency taskforce, said in remarks to the Senate that he was proud that Florida already 'has a great framework for accountability,' and that he and other lawmakers had made a substantive number of recommendations 'to improve flexibility [and] simplify processes.' 'The fact is we are a state and nation of laws that should be created by elected officials accountable to the people who elected them, not appointed professional staff,' he said. None of this may matter though, because DeSantis has his eyes firmly set on running for the White House in 2028, which necessitates rebuilding the frayed ties with Trump and his loyal supporters, as well as positioning his wife Casey to run for governor when he sets down in 2027. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DeSantis Targets Ballot Initiatives, Taxes
While saying Florida has been a leader on issues such as cracking down on illegal immigration, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday helped launch the 2025 legislative session by calling for revamping the ballot-initiative process, curbing property taxes and revisiting gun laws. DeSantis largely stuck to broad ideas, rather than detailed plans, during his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature in the House chamber. The 60-day session will include myriad issues, including the House and Senate negotiating a budget that likely will exceed $115 billion. After spearheading efforts to defeat proposed constitutional amendments in November about recreational marijuana and abortion rights, DeSantis reiterated his position that lawmakers should take steps to prevent what he contends is fraud in the petition-gathering process for initiatives. 'We saw the petition fraud that took place with the Amendments 3 and 4 (the marijuana and abortion amendments, respectively), but particularly Amendment 4. We saw how that constitutional amendment process was perverted. We need to clean up the petition fraud, and we need to clean up this out-of-control amendment process,' DeSantis said, drawing an ovation from the Republican-controlled Legislature. It's not clear how the Legislature might change the process during the session. But changes likely would make it more difficult for groups to gather the hundreds of thousands of petition signatures needed to place measures on the ballot. Opponents of making it harder to place initiatives on the ballot have long argued that proposed constitutional amendments are needed because lawmakers ignore the wishes of voters. Examples of amendments approved by voters over the past decade are measures that allowed medical marijuana and raised the minimum wage. DeSantis and other Republicans recently have floated the idea of eliminating or reducing local-government property taxes. While the governor did not provide a detailed proposal Tuesday, he again expressed support for the issue. Voters would have to approve changes to property taxes through a constitutional amendment. Lawmakers would need to approve a proposal to go on the 2026 ballot, though DeSantis indicated later Tuesday to reporters that such legislation might not pass until next year's session. As property values have increased, DeSantis said higher assessments have created a 'gusher of revenue' for local governments. 'Taxpayers need relief,' he said. 'You buy a home, you pay off the mortgage, and yet you still have to write a check to the government every year just for the privilege of living on your own private property. Is the property yours, or are you just renting it from the government?' But in a statement issued in anticipation of DeSantis' address, House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, said the governor 'conveniently fails to explain how our communities would be harmed as a consequence' of ending property taxes. 'He wants the headlines and attention, but he doesn't mention that property tax dollars fund our local public schools, police, firefighters, sanitation workers, and all the other things our local governments do every day,' Driskell said. DeSantis also signaled that he would support revising state gun laws, including a law that prevents people under age 21 from buying rifles and other long guns and what is known as a 'red flag' law that allows authorities to remove guns if people are found to pose a 'significant danger' to themselves or others. Both laws passed in the aftermath of the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people. The National Rifle Association is challenging the constitutionality of the gun-buying age restriction, with the case pending at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The House in the past also has supported repealing the age restriction, though the idea has not been approved in the Senate. While DeSantis used the 31-minute address to outline legislative priorities, he also touted the state's record on issues such as illegal-immigration enforcement. During a special session last month, lawmakers passed a wide-ranging law aimed at helping carry out President Donald Trump's immigration policies. 'No state has done more, and no state did it sooner than we did in the free state of Florida,' DeSantis said. Lawmakers passed the immigration plan after DeSantis publicly clashed with House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, about earlier proposals. Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, criticized DeSantis' speech Tuesday. 'The governor should read the temperature of the room,' Jones said. 'He doesn't have as many fans as he used to have, back in the day.' Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
