How Do I Submit My Idea for a Constitutional Amendment to Florida’s CRC? SLR/IRL

How do I submit my idea for a constitutional amendment?

Part #2 in a series about the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) and how to get involved, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, 8-21-17

How Do I Submit My Idea For a Constitutional Amendment to Florida’s CRC?

Now is your opportunity to give input on Florida’s constitution

The Florida Constitution belongs to the people of Florida and is the foundational document of our state government. In that same spirit, I am issuing an open invitation to all interested Floridians to get involved in the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC). Don’t be afraid! The CRC is for you, the public.

Although the words “Constitution Revision Commission” may sound intimidating, the process is not. Getting involved is easy, and you have many options to share your comments, ideas, and proposals with the CRC.

As commissioners, our job is to examine the Florida Constitution and propose changes for voter consideration on Florida’s 2018 General Election ballot. During this process, we consider proposed constitutional changes submitted by Floridians.

*PUBLIC PROPOSAL FILING DEADLINE (SEPTEMBER 22): The CRC is considering September 22 as the deadline to submit public proposals. Many have already been submitted. We encourage all interested Floridians to submit their proposals as soon as possible!

The commission  wants to hear about issues that matter most to Floridians, and there are steps you can take to ensure you submit a compelling proposal that best articulates your position. When creating a proposed change or idea for the Florida Constitution, I suggest you conduct personal research and follow these six (6) steps and see links below:

1. Decide if there are issues that you think the state legislature is ignoring or not putting enough emphasis upon – something so important that it would need to be in our state constitution versus other areas of state or local law.

2. Review Florida’s state constitution. It consists of 12 articles and is available online at flcrc.gov/Constitution. After reviewing, decide which section of the state constitution is most relevant to your specific issue.

3. Review concise and clear writing procedures, such as “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk. There are also many free resources available online. 

4. Go to flcrc.gov/Proposals/Submit to create a free account and submit your proposed change to the Florida Constitution. The online tool allows you to create your proposal using legal language by redacting or adding language. Remember to keep it simple and clear.

5. Using the same program, submit your proposal to the CRC and sign up for the alert emails. Commissioners will review proposals and determine which proposals should be considered to be placed on Florida’s 2018 General Election ballot.

6. You can advocate for your proposals by contacting CRC Commissioners directly via email or phone (flcrc.gov/Commissioners). Better yet, attend a public hearing if one is scheduled in your area at a future date (flcrc.gov/Meetings/PublicHearings).

Remember, the CRC wants your involvement and the process is meant for you! If you do not want to use the online submission tool you can also email the CRC at admin@flcrc.gov or send us your proposal in the mail at the following address:

Constitution Revision Commission
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399

Thank you for getting involved and for caring about the great state of Florida!

Links:

Florida constitution: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?submenu=3

The Elements of Style: http://www.crockford.com/wrrrld/style.html

CRC, Submit a Proposal: http://flcrc.gov/Proposals/Submit

Contact individual commissioners: https://www.flcrc.gov/Commissioners

Public Hearings: https://www.flcrc.gov/Meetings/PublicHearings

CRC website: http://flcrc.gov

Previous post, “What is the CRC Anyway?” https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/tag/crc-what-is-it/

1 thought on “How Do I Submit My Idea for a Constitutional Amendment to Florida’s CRC? SLR/IRL”

  1. A simple amendment: “The South Florida Water Management District shall be required to manage the waters of Lake Okeechobee so that no discharges whatsoever are required to be sent to the St. Lucie Canal other than the occasional opening of the locks for navigation of vessels.”

    I know the Corps makes the final decision to discharge, but SFWMD has the power to put the water somewhere else.

    Maybe another amendment: “South Florida Water Management District shall be required to re-establish a natural flowway of fresh water from Lake Okeechobee south to Florida Bay, and it shall have enough capacity to avoid the necessity of any discharges into the St. Lucie Canal, and only the historical normal volume of fresh water into the Caloosahatchee River.

    Reply

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