Full Constitution Revision Commission returns to Tallahassee this week

The full Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) returns to Tallahassee today to begin debate and vote on the 12 ballot proposals that were recommended by the CRC Style and Drafting Committee. As a reminder, the CRC Style and Drafting Committee, chaired by Commissioner Brecht Heuchan and vice-chaired by Commissioner Carolyn Timmann, recommended the remaining 24 Commissioner proposals be grouped as 12 separate amendments on the November 2018 General Election ballot.

The CRC will begin meeting today at 10 a.m., EDT, in the Florida Senate Chamber, and is scheduled to meet daily from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. for the remainder of this week. The calendar for Monday, April 16, including the Daily Order of Business—which lists the order in which the CRC will take up proposals—and a full projected schedule for the coming week may be found via this link.

Of priority interest to Clerks and Comptrollers, Proposal 6005 State and Local Government Structure and Operation, is expected to be heard either today or tomorrow. This proposal groups Proposal 13, which deals with the right of citizens in each county to be able to elect their constitutional officers, by Commissioner Carolyn Timmann (co-introducers Commissioners Chris Nocco and Emery Gainey), with Proposal 26, creating an Office of Domestic Security and Counterterrorism within FDLE; Proposal 9, making the Department of Veteran's Affairs a constitutionally required office; and Proposal 103, which changes the start date of the legislative session in even-numbered years from March to January.

The Forerunners Courageous Committee, chaired by the Honorable Ken Burke, CPA (Pinellas), and the association would like to encourage all Clerks and Comptrollers to attend this week’s CRC meetings on Monday and Tuesday in support of Proposal 6005. Seating will be available in the Senate Gallery. For those Clerks and Comptrollers who are unable to attend, all meetings of the CRC may be watched live in their entirety via The Florida Channel or, following their conclusion, via The Florida Channel’s video library devoted to the CRC process.

As a reminder, each of the 12 ballot proposals will need 22 votes of the entire 37-member CRC in order to be placed on the November 2018 General Election ballot. The full commission’s work must be completed by May 10.

For additional information related to the CRC, please visit www.flcrc.gov, or the homepage of C.O.R.E., the Constitutional Officer Resource Experts, at www.floridacore.org.