Tonight I am speaking for the first time in public  as a commissioner of the 2017/18 Florida Constitution Revision Commission. I have been invited to present to the Martin County NAACP. Everyone is invited. I am very excited about this, and am sharing my notes so others who may not be able to attend can also be part.

History NAACP: http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/3-organized/naacp.html

As this entire process is “historic,” I have decided to include this experiences on my blog. Please note this post is “in the Sunshine,” will be archived in my CRC email, and open to the public. All comments made will be public record.

NOTES FOR NAACP/CRC TALK 6-15-17

I am proud to present to the Martin County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Getting involved in Florida’s 2017/2018 Constitution Revision Commission process will be rewarding!

My name is Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch. My family has been in Stuart since 1952, and I was part of the first desegregated class to attend Stuart’s Parker Annex, known today as J.D. Parker Elementary. I have many friends in Stuart’s black community; I graduated from both Stuart Middle School and Martin County High School.  After graduating from the University of Florida and University West Florida,  I worked as a public school teacher and as a real estate agent.

In 2008, I ran for public office, and after a decade of pubic service as mayor/commissioner of Sewall’s Point, (as well narrowly losing a race for Martin County Commissioner in 2016) I was chosen by Senate President Joe Negron to serve on the 2018 Constitution Revision Commission, or “CRC” for short. Quite an honor! I am very thankful to Senate President Joe Negron for giving me this opportunity to serve the people of Florida and expand my experience.

Today my goal for you is to briefly cover the CRC’s history; discuss the CRC “today;” and review how to submit a proposal to the CRC for consideration to go before the voters as a constitutional amendment, on the ballot, in November 2018.

The handouts cover much more material than I will be able to cover in the next thirty minutes and are excellent resources.

BRIEF HISTORY

The history of the Florida constitution is the history of Florida itself.

I recommend two books: Making Modern Florida, by Mary E. Adkins, and The Florida State Constitution, 2nd Edition, by Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte. Both are great resources on this subject.

The books discuss:

Florida as a territory and entering the union as a slave state in 1845; succession from the Union in 1861, military occupation following the Civil War; the finally “recognized” constitution of 1885 (and its many others!); overcoming the power of the “Pork Chop Gang”;  Reapportionment; and the landmark case of 1962, Baker v. Carr enabling U.S.Federal Courts to intervene in the voting boundaries of the states…

This did happened in 1966,  leading to upheaval and redistricting, creating “modern Florida” and its 1968 constitution that is the basis of Florida today.

So what is the CRC and why does it exist? Why does it happen only every 20 years?

Professor D’Alemberte notes with all the political and social instability of the 1960s, it was born…

“in 1965 every effort was made to revise Florida’s constitution when the legislature enacted a statutory CRC, and in 1968 the new constitution had substantial changes relating to the amendatory process. In addition to the two traditional methods of constitutional change: constitutional convention and legislative proposals, the 1968 document added the process of the independent Constitution Revision Commission.“

Chair off the 1968 commission, Chesterfield Smith, stated:

“It is my own personal judgement that above all other matters, the new provisions in the 1968 Constitution authorizing means for further constitutional law changes are the most important things in the new constitution.”

The state never wanted to be in a position again like it was in the 1960s having the federal government tell it what to do…

So since 1968, every twenty years, there is the possibility and encouragement, if needed, for constitutional change through the CRC process, so that the voices of the people will be heard and recorded.

(Yes there are other ways too, but this is the most direct, in that amendments go directly on the ballot.)

TODAY’S CRC

CRC Commissioner: http://flcrc.gov/Commissioners; CRC full website: http://flcrc.gov

The CRC is made up of 37 people. 15 are chosen by the Governor; 9 by the President of the Senate, 9 by the Speaker of the House; and 3 by the Chief of the Florida Supreme Court; the Attorney General is automatically a member. The chair, one of the governors’ 15,  is Mr Carlos Beruff.

Let’s look at the diversity of the members:

I think it is a good representation for Florida, however, it must be noted that the commission like Tallahassee right now, is predominantly republican.

We can see there are 22 men; 15 women; 14 minorities.  Other notes include 14 attorneys; 5 legislators; 3 former senators, 1 former house representative; 5 other elected officials such as sheriff, clerk, county commissioner, school board member and attorney general; at least 10 educators; including business owners and 3 developers.

Over the past few months, the commission has held numerous public hearings entitled “listening tours” across the state and during this time the public has proposed over 400 unique proposals and 900 all together!

I will read some of the topics that have come up and the order they were presented during one of the listening tours. Please note I am not going to say if I am for or against. This is just to share so you have an idea of what’s coming up. You can watch all of the hearings on the Florida Channel: http://thefloridachannel.org
Ready?

~Voting rights for ex. felons; Amd. 1 Art. 23, privacy and abortion; Legislature’s failure to implement the 2014 citizen’s initiative, Land and Water Legacy; open primaries; issues with write in candidates; insuring veteran’s health; clean water and air as a right; more solar energy; gun rights; gun control; transparency in government; equal rights amendment; right to assisted suicide; right to life; bear hunting; fair districts; non discrimination; independent redistricting; universal background checks/guns; home rule and local government; school choice; support of public schools; term limits for judges; no term limits for judges; cruelty to greyhound dogs/no racing…there are many more!

SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL

In closing, I will share with you how you can submit a proposal and am happy to answer any questions.

An excellent and easy way to submit a proposal is on-line: (above)

(Link for on-line CRC proposals: http://flcrc.gov/Proposals/Submit)

Just fill out the requited fields and walk through the prompts; you can practice before you publish.

Obviously you must be familiar with state constitution and the area of the constitution that refers to your topic/proposal, or would if it were there. The Constitution can be read by Article on the site or here: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?submenu=3

Second, ask yourself what would this change look like in the constitution itself? The wording? After finding the Article and Section, you will  insert, and or redact language for your final product.

Look here to see examples of proposals submitted to the CRC : http://flcrc.gov/Proposals/Public

So proposals can be submitted on-line, emailed; US mailed, or turned  in by hand at a public meeting.

Once committees are in place, all proposals will be referred to the correct committee and here it will be  determined if the proposal will go before the entire commission for a vote.

So far there are more proposals than 1978 or 1998 and we are far from the finish line!

To give you an idea of past approval numbers: 1998 CRC, nine constitutional amendments went on the ballot and eight were voted and approved by the public to go into the Florida Constitution. 1978 CRC, not one put on the ballot made it. Back then the threshold was 50%; today it is 60%. The Constitution should not be changed easily!

You, the voters, will decide!

So thank you again, get involved and know I am here to help you with the process of  making sure your voice is heard and Florida’s constitution is relevant, living and real.

Sincerely,

Commissioner, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, jacqui.lippisch@flcrc.gov