Commentary: What Would You Add to the Florida Constitution?

Orlando Sentinel

By Carlos Beruff, Chairman, 2017-2018 Constitution Revision Commission

October 2, 2017

Over the past six months, the Constitution Revision Commission has been traveling across the state listening to Floridians and their ideas about what should be in the Florida Constitution. Thousands of Floridians have showed up to our public hearings, and thousands more have shared their ideas with the CRC through our website (flcrc.gov), email and social media.

When Gov. Rick Scott appointed me as chairman of the CRC, I made it my priority to get the public involved. In a state as large and diverse as Florida, I knew this would be a sizable task. However, as someone who has spent more than 35 years at the intersection of business and public service, I know that my fellow commissioners and I can’t debate the issues in a vacuum.

You don’t need to “be connected,” be a lawyer or have extraordinary financial resources to get involved in the CRC. The CRC, which is comprised of 37 commissioners and occurs only once every 20 years, is an opportunity for even just one Floridian to have significant impact.

…

Compared to previous commissions, we’ve already received a historic amount of public input. Social media and the Internet have created more access to the CRC process than ever before. In addition to our public hearings, we have received more than 1,400 (and counting) proposed constitutional amendments from the public.

As we review these proposals and comments, it is clear that Floridians share many of the same interests in similar subject areas. Several commissioners have observed this strong interest and are in the process of filing their own proposals based on the public input we have received.

The CRC must complete its work by next May, and we have a lot of work to do before we finish. That is why we have adopted Oct. 6 as the deadline for public proposals to be filed. This deadline, which we previously extended due to the impact of Hurricane Irma on Floridians, ensures that all public proposals are given the proper review and consideration they deserve.

I encourage all interested Floridians who want to have a voice in this process to get involved and send us your proposed constitutional amendments by Friday. We accept them by mail and email. We also have a submission tool on flcrc.gov, which helps you create and submit a proposal.

…

Read the entire commentary by CRC Chairman Carlos Beruff at www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion.

###

ABOUT THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION REVISION COMMISSION (CRC)

Once every 20 years, Florida's Constitution provides for the creation of a 37-member revision commission for the purpose of reviewing Florida's Constitution and proposing changes for voter consideration. The Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) meets for approximately one year, traveling the State of Florida, identifying issues, performing research and possibly recommending changes to the Constitution. Any amendments proposed by the CRC would be placed on the 2018 General Election ballot. For additional information, visit flcrc.gov. Follow the CRC on social media @FloridaCRC (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube).