A proposal to impose term limits on school board members will be taken up Monday as the Florida Constitution Revision Commission begins to evaluate 103 measures aimed at changing the state constitution.The term-limit measure (Proposal 43) is sponsored by Commissioner Erika Donalds, a Collier County School Board member. Read More
The Legislature held a fifth round of Interim Committee Meetings last week, Governor Scott released his 2018 Budget Recommendations, the Constitution Revision Commission is considering 103 proposed amendments to the Constitution, and Congress is moving forward with the 2018 federal budget and competing tax reform packages. Please click on the links below to access our…
Logrolling. It’s defined as the practice of including multiple unrelated items in a single legislative bill, with the goal of attracting wider support for the measure as a whole. Florida’s constitution forbids it, stating: “Every law shall embrace but one subject and matter properly connected therewith, and the subject shall be briefly expressed in the…
With the 2018 legislative session just weeks away, key failures of the 2017 Legislature continued to frustrate local elected leaders at separate meetings Tuesday in Collier County. Two positive steps the Legislature could take in the next session that starts in January are to immediately repeal — then start over on components of — House…
Raising the prospect of “irreversible damage” to the public education system, nine school boards want the Florida Supreme Court to block a massive education law approved in May.The school boards late Monday filed a constitutional challenge at the Supreme Court to the bill, which has become known in the education world by the shorthand HB…
The Legislature held a third round of Interim Committee Meetings last week and will hold a fourth round this week. Please click on the links below to access this week’s schedule and our report on last week’s education-related meetings, bills, and presentations that were considered. In addition, we have provided a link to our latest…
The Florida House plans to hold a hearing to explore how the state sends nearly $1 billion for scholarships to mostly unregulated private schools, the subject of the Orlando Sentinel’s recent “Schools Without Rules” series.“The goal of the House has always been a world class education for every child,” said Fred Piccolo, spokesman for House…
Florida House members began moving forward Wednesday with a controversial proposal that would allow public-school students to receive voucher-like scholarships to attend private schools if they have been bullied, harassed or subject to violence. The bill (HB 1), approved by the House Pre-K-12 Innovation Subcommittee, is a priority of House Speaker Richard Corcoran, a major…
Collier County School Board member Erika Donalds thinks she is paid too much. Donalds, a member of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, proposed a constitutional amendment that would eliminate salaries for school board members in Florida. Commissioners will vote in the spring to decide which proposals will be placed on the 2018 ballot. Twenty-two of…
From banning the death penalty to creating an elected secretary of state, members of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission have filed more than five-dozen proposals to change the state Constitution. The 37 members of the commission, which meets every 20 years and has the power to place amendments directly on the November 2018 ballot, had…