It’s not too late to participate in changing Florida’s constitution

Voice your opinion. Pay attention. Educate yourself.

Those were the key takeaways after a panel discussed the history of the Constitution Revision Commission and what’s next.

The commission’s chair Carlos Beruff was present at the Sarasota Tiger Bay luncheon along with University of Florida professor Mary Adkins and member of the 1998 commission and current Sarasota County Tax Collector Barbara Ford-Coates.

The commission met for the first time in 1968 in order to update Florida’s 1885 constitution. It only meets every 20 years and is another way that the state’s constitution can be revised aside. It has 37 appointees from the governor, Supreme Court and legislature; the attorney general also is a member.

Other states have the ability to hold consititution revision commissions, said Adkins, who is the author of “Making Modern Florida: How the Spirit of Reform Shaped a New State Constitution.” But Florida is the only one that regularly holds them.

In 1978, none of the eight proposals set before voters passed. Beruff, who is also the founder of Medallion Home, said it was because of an anti-casino gambling campaign that translated to “vote no on all amendments.” In 1998, voters passed eight of the nine proposals.

Even if his commission doesn’t get any amendments passed, Beruff won’t see it as a failure.

“If we get nothing done and we didn’t change anything in the constitution, it was far better than to do something that could have a consequence that could be detrimental to Floridians, and that has been my marching orders since I took the job,” he said.

The two most significant proposals Beruff believes will make it before the board are Proposal 91, which proposes to ban oil drilling in state waters and recently passed the Declaration of Rights committee; and Proposal 21, which seeks to define which felons can’t have their civil rights restored. This is separate from the petition campaign by Floridians for a Fair Democracy that already has made it to the 2018 ballot.

“What we’re trying to advance is a better defined amendment to better protect Floridians in the future from people who have a propensity for violence,” Beruff said.

The time has passed to submit proposals for the commission to consider. Commissioners have sifted through nearly 2,000 of them and Beruff expects between 40 and 50 for the full commission to debate.

Back when Ford-Coates was on the commission, they didn’t have the pleasure of having the Internet. Moderator Morgan Bertley said a man from North Carolina submitted 210 proposals. Another from Baberville, Fla.. threw in 196.

Commissioners will discuss the final amendment proposals in April. Once they get on the ballot in November, each needs a 60 percent approval in order to pass.

But the public can still get involved as the commission continues its “Floridians Speak, We Listen” tour, and can keep track of all of the proposals on flcrc.gov.

Locally, on March 23 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. a public meeting will take place at the University of South Florida’s University Student Center, 200 Sixth Ave. S., St. Petersburg.

On May 17 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., a meeting will be held at the Hillsborough Community College’s DSTU Auditorium room 111, 4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd., Tampa.

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 5:17 PM with the headline "It’s not too late to participate in changing Florida’s constitution."