Bill Text: FL S0108 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Constitution Revision Commission and Taxation and Budget Reform Commission
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Budget [S0108 Detail]
Download: Florida-2012-S0108-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2012 SJR 108
By Senator Negron
28-00012B-12 2012108__
1 Senate Joint Resolution
2 A joint resolution proposing amendments to Section 5
3 of Article II and Sections 2, 5, and 6 of Article XI
4 of the State Constitution to abolish the Constitution
5 Revision Commission and Taxation and Budget Reform
6 Commission, which are authorized to propose amendments
7 to the State Constitution.
8
9 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10
11 That the following amendments to Section 5 of Article II
12 and Sections 2, 5, and 6 of Article XI of the State Constitution
13 are agreed to and shall be submitted to the electors of this
14 state for approval or rejection at the next general election or
15 at an earlier special election specifically authorized by law
16 for that purpose:
17 ARTICLE II
18 GENERAL PROVISIONS
19 SECTION 5. Public officers.—
20 (a) No person holding any office of emolument under any
21 foreign government, or civil office of emolument under the
22 United States or any other state, shall hold any office of honor
23 or of emolument under the government of this state. No person
24 shall hold at the same time more than one office under the
25 government of the state and the counties and municipalities
26 therein, except that a notary public or military officer may
27 hold another office, and any officer may be a member of a
28 constitution revision commission, taxation and budget reform
29 commission, constitutional convention, or statutory body having
30 only advisory powers.
31 (b) Each state and county officer, before entering upon the
32 duties of the office, shall give bond as required by law, and
33 shall swear or affirm:
34
35 “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support,
36 protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the
37 United States and of the State of Florida; that I am duly
38 qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the state;
39 and that I will well and faithfully perform the duties of
40 ...(title of office)... on which I am now about to enter. So
41 help me God.”,
42
43 and thereafter shall devote personal attention to the duties of
44 the office, and continue in office until a successor qualifies.
45 (c) The powers, duties, compensation and method of payment
46 of state and county officers shall be fixed by law.
47 ARTICLE XI
48 AMENDMENTS
49 SECTION 2. Revision commission.—
50 (a) Within thirty days before the convening of the 2017
51 regular session of the legislature, and each twentieth year
52 thereafter, there shall be established a constitution revision
53 commission composed of the following thirty-seven members:
54 (1) the attorney general of the state;
55 (2) fifteen members selected by the governor;
56 (3) nine members selected by the speaker of the house of
57 representatives and nine members selected by the president of
58 the senate; and
59 (4) three members selected by the chief justice of the
60 supreme court of Florida with the advice of the justices.
61 (b) The governor shall designate one member of the
62 commission as its chair. Vacancies in the membership of the
63 commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original
64 appointments.
65 (c) Each constitution revision commission shall convene at
66 the call of its chair, adopt its rules of procedure, examine the
67 constitution of the state, hold public hearings, and, not later
68 than one hundred eighty days prior to the next general election,
69 file with the custodian of state records its proposal, if any,
70 of a revision of this constitution or any part of it.
71 SECTION 5. Amendment or revision election.—
72 (a) A proposed amendment to or revision of this
73 constitution, or any part of it, shall be submitted to the
74 electors at the next general election held more than ninety days
75 after the joint resolution or report of the revision commission,
76 constitutional convention or taxation and budget reform
77 commission proposing it is filed with the custodian of state
78 records, unless, pursuant to law enacted by the affirmative vote
79 of three-fourths of the membership of each house of the
80 legislature and limited to a single amendment or revision, it is
81 submitted at an earlier special election held more than ninety
82 days after such filing.
83 (b) A proposed amendment or revision of this constitution,
84 or any part of it, by initiative shall be submitted to the
85 electors at the general election provided the initiative
86 petition is filed with the custodian of state records no later
87 than February 1 of the year in which the general election is
88 held.
89 (c) The legislature shall provide by general law, prior to
90 the holding of an election pursuant to this section, for the
91 provision of a statement to the public regarding the probable
92 financial impact of any amendment proposed by initiative
93 pursuant to section 3.
94 (d) Once in the tenth week, and once in the sixth week
95 immediately preceding the week in which the election is held,
96 the proposed amendment or revision, with notice of the date of
97 election at which it will be submitted to the electors, shall be
98 published in one newspaper of general circulation in each county
99 in which a newspaper is published.
100 (e) Unless otherwise specifically provided for elsewhere in
101 this constitution, if the proposed amendment or revision is
102 approved by vote of at least sixty percent of the electors
103 voting on the measure, it shall be effective as an amendment to
104 or revision of the constitution of the state on the first
105 Tuesday after the first Monday in January following the
106 election, or on such other date as may be specified in the
107 amendment or revision.
108 SECTION 6. Taxation and budget reform commission.—
109 (a) Beginning in 2007 and each twentieth year thereafter,
110 there shall be established a taxation and budget reform
111 commission composed of the following members:
112 (1) eleven members selected by the governor, none of whom
113 shall be a member of the legislature at the time of appointment.
114 (2) seven members selected by the speaker of the house of
115 representatives and seven members selected by the president of
116 the senate, none of whom shall be a member of the legislature at
117 the time of appointment.
118 (3) four non-voting ex officio members, all of whom shall
119 be members of the legislature at the time of appointment. Two of
120 these members, one of whom shall be a member of the minority
121 party in the house of representatives, shall be selected by the
122 speaker of the house of representatives, and two of these
123 members, one of whom shall be a member of the minority party in
124 the senate, shall be selected by the president of the senate.
125 (b) Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be
126 filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
127 (c) At its initial meeting, the members of the commission
128 shall elect a member who is not a member of the legislature to
129 serve as chair and the commission shall adopt its rules of
130 procedure. Thereafter, the commission shall convene at the call
131 of the chair. An affirmative vote of two thirds of the full
132 commission shall be necessary for any revision of this
133 constitution or any part of it to be proposed by the commission.
134 (d) The commission shall examine the state budgetary
135 process, the revenue needs and expenditure processes of the
136 state, the appropriateness of the tax structure of the state,
137 and governmental productivity and efficiency; review policy as
138 it relates to the ability of state and local government to tax
139 and adequately fund governmental operations and capital
140 facilities required to meet the state’s needs during the next
141 twenty year period; determine methods favored by the citizens of
142 the state to fund the needs of the state, including alternative
143 methods for raising sufficient revenues for the needs of the
144 state; determine measures that could be instituted to
145 effectively gather funds from existing tax sources; examine
146 constitutional limitations on taxation and expenditures at the
147 state and local level; and review the state’s comprehensive
148 planning, budgeting and needs assessment processes to determine
149 whether the resulting information adequately supports a
150 strategic decisionmaking process.
151 (e) The commission shall hold public hearings as it deems
152 necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this section.
153 The commission shall issue a report of the results of the review
154 carried out, and propose to the legislature any recommended
155 statutory changes related to the taxation or budgetary laws of
156 the state. Not later than one hundred eighty days prior to the
157 general election in the second year following the year in which
158 the commission is established, the commission shall file with
159 the custodian of state records its proposal, if any, of a
160 revision of this constitution or any part of it dealing with
161 taxation or the state budgetary process.
162 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
163 placed on the ballot:
164 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
165 ARTICLE II, SECTION 5
166 ARTICLE XI, SECTIONS 2, 5, AND 6
167 CONSTITUTION REVISION COMMISSION AND TAXATION AND BUDGET
168 REFORM COMMISSION.—This proposed amendment to the State
169 Constitution abolishes the Constitution Revision Commission and
170 the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, which are authorized
171 to propose amendments or revisions to the State Constitution.
172 Members of the commissions are not elected by the people, but
173 are appointed by the Governor, the President of the Florida
174 Senate, and the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.
175 With respect to the Constitution Revision Commission, members
176 are also appointed by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme
177 Court.
178 The State Constitution currently provides for these
179 commissions to come into existence at 20-year intervals. The
180 next Constitution Revision Commission is scheduled to convene in
181 2017, and the next Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is
182 scheduled to convene in 2027.
183 This amendment does not affect the power of the people to
184 propose initiatives to revise or amend the State Constitution or
185 to call a constitutional convention or the power of the
186 Legislature to propose amendments or revisions to the State
187 Constitution.
