In the end, "bundling" amendments -- that is, lumping more than one issue into a single ballot measure, didn't turn voters off, because 11 of the 12 amendments passed handily, with more than the required 60 percent of the vote.
The only amendment to fail was Amendment 1, which was created and adopted by the Legislature and would have mandated a property-tax exemption increase. All of the amendments placed on the ballot by the Constitution Revision Commission passed Tuesday.
They will go into the Constitution and take effect on Jan. 8.
Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission (CRC), which convenes every 20 years, is allowed by law to bundle more than one issue into each question. An example of the CRC’s issue bundling in 2018 is Amendment 9, which asks voters to decide whether to ban offshore oil drilling, and whether to ban e-cigarettes at workplaces. Like the CRC’s other bundled amendments, this was an all-or-nothing proposition.
"My husband and I made up our mind we were going to vote 'no' on every amendment that covered multiple topics," Betty Claiborne of Tampa told Sunshine State News Tuesday morning.
Of the 12 amendments on this year’s ballot, seven were proposed by the CRC, three by the Florida Legislature and two by citizen initiative.
Here, again, are the final results:
- Amendment 1: Increased Homestead Property Tax Exemption ... No
- Amendment 2: Limitations on Property Tax Assessments ... Yes
- Amendment 3: Voter Control of Gambling in Florida ... Yes
- Amendment 4: Voting Restoration Amendment ... Yes
- Amendment 5: Super-majority Vote Required to Impose, Authorize, or Raise State Taxes or Fees ... Yes
- Amendment 6: Rights of Crime Victims; Judges ... Yes
- Amendment 7: First Responder and Military Member Survivor Benefits; Public Colleges and Universities ... Yes
- Amendment 9: Prohibits Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling; Prohibits Vaping in Enclosed Indoor Workplaces ... Yes
- Amendment 10: State and Local Government Structure and Operation ... Yes
- Amendment 11: Property Rights; Removal of Obsolete Provision; Criminal Statutes ... Yes
- Amendment 12: Lobbying and Abuse of Office by Public Officers ... Yes
- Amendment 13: Ends Dog Racing ... Yes
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
