Court Rules Lege Must Follow Law
… and the legislature is outraged.
Florida Supreme Court strikes 3 GOP-backed amendments from Nov. 2 ballot
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court struck a blow to the GOP-dominated legislature Tuesday by stripping three proposed constitutional amendments off the November ballot, ruling they were confusing to voters.
…The rulings are the latest in which the court has asked lawmakers “not to play games when it comes time to write amendments,” said Ron Meyer, a constitutional lawyer who argued against Amendment 7, the legislature’s redistricting amendment. “Stop hiding the ball. Stop wordsmithing. Be direct. In the words of the statute, be clear and unambiguous.”
The Court upheld lower court rulings that Amendment 3 [a temporary tax break], Amendment 7 [redistricting], and Amendment 9 [health care] failed to pass the test for a clear summary that would be put on the ballot, i.e. the summary didn’t explain what the amendments would do.
In the case of Amendment 7, it would neutralize Amendments 4 & 5. Those two amendments were designed to get politics out of the redistricting process and produce compact districts, rather than the rather strange creatures that inhabit the current political map of Florida.
If you are not from Florida, this was about the language that was to appear on the actual ballot. This has nothing to do with what is in the amendments. The Court is not pre-judging the language of the amendments themselves, only the summaries for the ballot. You have 75 words or less to explain what your amendment will do, and the Court decides whether your summary actually does that.
