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Push on to Slow Florida Constitutional Changes By Beth Reinhard and Gary
Fineout At a time when it's harder than ever for citizens to change the Florida Constitution, stricter rules for getting proposed amendments on the ballot cleared House and Senate committees Thursday. The bills would place time limits on turning in signatures and allow people who have signed petitions to remove their names. Opponents of the measure told the Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections that the proposal would hamper efforts by grassroots organizations on shoestring budgets. An amendment backed by big business last year requires future proposed amendments to garner 60 percent of the vote, not just a majority. ''We see this contributing to a larger trend, a door that is creaking shut on the initiative process,'' said Brad Ashwell, of the Florida Public Interest Research Group. Corporate interests spent at least $58 million and as much $100 million to lobby the Florida Legislature in the past year. ''The effort to restrict the initiative effort is coming from the biggest special interests in the state,'' said Ben Wilcox, executive director of Common Cause Florida. Nonsense, said the bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Bill Posey of Rockledge. He said the measure would prevent aggressive petition-gatherers from taking advantage of voters. ''Every constitutional amendment that passes takes rights away from someone or takes money away from someone,'' he said. The Senate committee passed the bill 6-3. The House Economic Expansion and Infrastructure Council approved a similar measure 11-2. Another measure making it harder to gather petitions passed the House Ethics and Elections committee. The bill, pushed by Publix Supermarkets and other business groups, would allow stores to kick signature gatherers off their property. It comes on the heels of a court decision that said the grocery chain can bar advocates of petitions to legalize marijuana.
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A Feast
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