More On The Amendments

There are six amendments on November’s ballot after the pruning by the Florida Supreme Court.

Project Vote Smart does its usual thorough job of providing all of the relevant facts at their page, Six Amendments on the 2010 General Election Ballot. They include the summaries that will appear on the ballot, the actual text of the amendments, and the standard statements from supporters and opponents.

I will give you my reaction to each, but make your own decisions. My reactions are for my circumstances, YMMV:

Amendment 1 – NO This is the Republican legislature’s attempt to undo a citizens’ initiative to provide public financing of elections. There is too much corporate money in our elections, and I’m not thrilled by millionaires deciding they want to dabble in government while waiting for their yachts to be fixed. Government is not a business. The goal of business is to maximize profits, and that is definitely not the goal of government.

Amendment 2 – NO This was legislature pandering to the military, and while it sounds good on the surface, it will be a nightmare if passed. It provides an extra homestead exemption on property taxes when a member of the military is deployed. First off, outfits like Special Operations and Special Forces don’t publish deployment information, and don’t want their troops talking about it, so how will anyone know about it? Second, if you are going to give this benefit, why not just give it to serving members of the military? This is a gimmick, not real relief.

Amendment 4 – YES This is a citizens’ initiative that would require changes to the comprehensive land-use plans be voted on by the electorate. If a developer wants to amend the land-use plan for a project let him/her pay for a referendum and allow the voters to decide. If the land-use plan is not workable, fix it. Let’s end the surprise of people building their houses in an area that is designated for single family homes, to wake up one day to find someone breaking ground for Wal-Mart because the county commission thinks it will generate jobs and changed the plan.

Amendments 5&6 – YES We need to break the cycle of single-party rule and return the state government to accountability.

Amendment 8 – NO This is another attempt by the Republican legislature to undo a citizens’ initiative, the Class-size Amendment. School funding in Florida has to depend on citizens’ initiatives because left to their own devices the Republicans will reduce school funding whenever they get a chance. It is a very inefficient way to operate a school system, but it is the only option when politicians refuse to act in the state’s best interests by maintaining a good school system.