Florida Supreme Court hears arguments in campaign to place pot decriminalization on state ballot • Florida Phoenix Sponsors of a citizen’s initiative that could legalize adult use of recreational marijuana in Florida are contesting claims that the proposed amendment conflicts with federal law and that the ballot summary is misleading. On Wednesday, the Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a virtual courtroom, because of COVID-19 precautions, with state officials trying to […]

“The citizens cannot amend their constitution in a way that defies the U.S. Constitution," an attorney for the Florida Senate argued. #FlSupremeCT #marijuana #FLConstitution

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ACLU: DeSantis backs law allowing only super wealthy, special interest groups "to have a say in our direct democracy" • Florida Phoenix A major civil rights group has condemned Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to back a law to create new barriers for citizen groups trying to advance state constitutional amendments. The Republican governor signed the measure (SB 1794) this week, which adds more requirements for initiative campaigns seeking to gather voter signatures in order to put a […]

ACLU: DeSantis backs law allowing only super wealthy, special interest groups “to have a say in our direct democracy”via @flphoenixnews #FlaPol #FloridaNews #ACLU #FLConstitution

floridaphoenix.com/2020/04/10/acl…

Florida Senate is ready to vote on a bill making it harder to amend the state Constitution • Florida Phoenix The Florida Senate on Friday advanced a bill that would make it more difficult for citizen initiatives to reach the ballot. The Senate gave preliminary approval to a measure (SB 1794) that would increase the number of validated voter signatures needed to trigger a Florida Supreme Court review of proposed amendments to the state Constitution. […]

“I do not want to be wasting the Supreme Court’s time when there is enough for them to do." #Florida #FLLegislature #FLConstitution

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Lawmakers want to make it much harder for citizen groups and voters to amend the FL Constitution • Florida Phoenix Floridians wanting to use the 2022 ballot to legalize recreational cannabis or expand Medicaid under the federal health care act will likely face significant financial and regulatory barriers. Those issues were D.O.A. in the 2020 Legislature. But supporters of recreational pot and Medicaid expansion are looking to the 2022 election to put those proposals before […]

“From what we have seen, this bill looks to us like a blatant attempt to abolish the citizen initiative." #Florida #FLLegislature #FLConstitution

floridaphoenix.com/2020/02/26/law…