Florida voters are being asked to decide on 12 amendments to the state’s constitution during the Midterm Election. Two of them are citizen-initiated amendments; three of them were referred by the Florida Legislature; and the remaining seven were referred by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission. Click on the links below to learn more about each of the proposed amendments. Click HERE to see an overview of all of the 2018 proposed amendments.
Amendment One increases the amount of a home's value exempted from property tax.
Amendment Two makes the cap on non-homestead parcel assessment increases permanent. This amendment affects annual non-homestead parcel assessment increases that are set to expire on January 1, 2019. It puts a permanent cap of ten percent for non-homesteaded properties- it wouldn’t change the law, but would extend an existing cap that was set to expire at the end of the year.
Amendment Three requires voter approval of casino gambling.
Amendment Four restores the right to vote for most people with prior felony convictions upon completion of their sentences.
Amendment Five requires 2/3 vote of legislature to impose or increase tax or fee.
Amendment Six adds a Marsy's Law to state constitution, increases judicial retirement age to 75, and prohibits judges from deferring to administrative agencies in interpreting law.
Amendment Seven requires employers to provide death benefits to surviving spouses of first responders who are killed while engaged in official duties; and to surviving spouses of active-duty U.S. Armed Forces members who are accidentally killed or unlawfully and intentionally killed. The same amendment also requires a nine-member vote of a school’s board of trustees, and 12-member vote of its board of governors to increase a college fee. It also places the current structure of the state's system of higher education in the Florida Constitution.
Amendment Eight was removed from the ballot by the Florida Supreme Court.
Amendment Nine bans offshore oil and gas drilling and vaping in enclosed indoor workplaces.
Amendment Ten prohibits counties from abolishing certain local offices, changes start date of legislative sessions, and adds an executive office and executive department to constitution.
Amendment Elevencontains revisions to existing law. Approval of this amendment would repeal a constitutional provision that keeps foreign-born people who are ineligible for citizenship from owning, inheriting, disposing, and possession property. It would also repeal a constitutional provision that called for a high-speed monorail between large cities in Florida -- a voter-backed initiative that was approved in 1999 but never got off the ground, and was eventually repealed in 2005. This amendment also deletes the constitutional provision that a change to a criminal statute does not affect the prosecution of a crime if it was committed before the change was made to the law.
Amendment Twelve Prohibits public officials from lobbying for compensation while in office and six years thereafter.
Amendment Thirteen prohibits pari-mutuel (a type of betting pool) operations from racing greyhounds or any other dogs for wagering, prohibits persons in Florida from wagering on the outcome of live dog races occurring in the state.
