Former Florida chief justice challenges Amendment 8, five others as unconstitutionally bundled

Retired Florida chief justice Harry Lee Anstead has asked his former panel to require justification for why six proposed constitutional amendments including Amendment 8 should remain on the November ballot, or to toss them out.  Anstead, joined by former Florida Elections commissioner Robert Barnas, contend in their filing to the state Supreme Court that the six…

Florida locals taxing themselves to cover shortfalls from state cuts in education and transportation funding

For years, Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee have boasted about Florida’s charms as a low-tax state, and according to a recent report, Sunshine State residents do have the lowest tax burden in the continental United States (trailing only Alaska nationwide.)  But with more than 21 million people in the state and hundreds more coming by the day,…

Former Florida Supreme Court chief justice: Amendment 8 ‘misleading,’ ‘deceptive’

It’s still a long way to November, when voters will be asked to vote up or down on 13 proposed amendments to the state constitution. But only a few so far have generated as much debate as Amendment 8, a measure that is the subject of a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters. Read…

Judge sets hearing on education amendment

A Leon County circuit judge will hear arguments Aug. 17 in a dispute about a proposed constitutional amendment that calls for changes in the state’s education system.  Judge John Cooper on Monday scheduled the hearing in the lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida, which is trying to keep the constitutional amendment…

Amendment 8 intentionally misleads voters

If you want an education in political flimflam, one needs to look no farther than Amendment 8, School Board Term Limits and Duties; Public Schools. Commonly referred to as the education amendment, it will be on the November 6 ballot along with 12 other constitutional amendments. Read More

Gradebook podcast: Fighting Amendment 8, with Florida League of Women Voters president Patricia Brigham

Supporters of Florida Constitution Revision Commission Amendment 8 focus on the part that would create school board term limits, viewing it as a popular idea that could push the proposal to the 60 percent vote needed for passage.  Critics say the measure goes much further, though — with some potentially devastating provisions that could dramatically…

Lawsuit: Amendment 8 summary ‘misleading’ about control of charter schools

The summary language of a proposed constitutional amendment that would revoke the exclusive authority of school boards to operate public charter schools is “affirmatively misleading” to voters, according to a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida against Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner. Read More

Thursday Editorial: League of Women Voters is right to sue over deceptive ballot item

The League of Women Voters in Florida was right to challenge a seriously misleading constitutional amendment proposal in court.  Many of the amendments proposed by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission for a November vote have serious flaws, such as lumping four issues into one amendment.  But one of the batched amendments is so deceptive that…

Cotterell: Education amendment looks deceptive

A lawsuit filed last week may or may not succeed in knocking the education amendment off the ballot, but – win or lose – it has already underscored the duplicity of the Constitution Revision Commission.  Amendment 8 on the ballot seems bland enough, proposing eight-year term limits for all school board members and directing the…

Lawsuit challenges education amendment, seeks to remove it from Florida’s ballot

A constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would allow charter school organizers to bypass local school boards to get approval is “intentionally misleading” because it doesn’t directly explain to voters that the amendment is designed to circumvent local control and intentionally leaves out the word “charter,’‘ a lawsuit filed Thursday in Leon County Circuit…