Constitution Revision Commission: planning the process.

• Author: Douglass, W. Dexter
• Position: Florida

One of the most significant governmental events of this decade will begin in the next few months, and The Florida Bar and other groups are postured to play an important and significant role in the process. This spring, a 37-member Constitution Revision Commission will convene for the purpose of reviewing Florida's Constitution and proposing changes for voter consideration. As mandated in Art. XI, [sections] 2 of the Constitution, the commission will meet for approximately one year, during which time it will travel the State of Florida, identify issues, perform research, debate, and probably recommend changes to the Constitution.

A similar comprehensive review of Florida's Constitution occurred approximately 20 years ago (1977-1978). Since that time, Florida's population has grown by 63 percent, from 8,966,395 to 14,149,317. Equally significant is the projection that Florida's population will exceed 17 million by the year 2010--an increase of more than 3 million people over today's population. This astronomical population growth will affect most issues considered by the commission, including transportation, education, health care, natural resources, recreation, pollution, crime, and most other matters essential to the welfare of all. The ability to deal with such important issues rests primarily in the Constitution, and the members of the Revision Commission will be looking to the citizens of this state for direction and suggestions while bringing their individual talents and knowledge to the process.

Steering Committee

The year 1968 marked the adoption of Florida's existing Constitution. As provided in that document, a Constitution Revision Commission would review the Constitution in 1978 and every 20 years thereafter.(1) The commission has only one year to organize, perform its constitutional mandate, and submit its formal proposals, a time frame that some feel is too short for a thorough review.

In contrast, other groups authorized to review limited sections of the Constitution have been given significantly more time than the Constitution Revision Commission to review and submit recommendations. The Article V Task Force, for example, was created to study only one of the 12 articles of the Constitution--the judicial article(2)--but it was given two years to complete its study and submit proposals to the Florida Legislature.(3) Similarly, the 1990-92 Tax and Budget Reform Commission,(4) which was constitutionally created and authorized to propose constitutional and statutory changes to the taxation and budgetary laws of the state, was granted up to 27 months for deliberations before it was required to file proposed constitutional changes.(5)

In response to the observations regarding the Constitution Revision Commission's comparatively short time frame, Gov. Lawton Chiles, with bipartisan support from the leadership of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate, created, by executive order, the Constitution Revision Commission Steering Committee.(6) The steering committee was created to develop the necessary procedural and substantive framework so that the commission, when appointed, could immediately begin its work, thus allowing the commission to function fully and effectively in the allotted time.

The steering committee, which has met monthly since August of 1996, is composed of five members, each of whom represents one of the five constitutionally designated appointing authorities to the upcoming Constitution Revision Commission. Gov. Chiles appointed General Counsel W. Dexter Douglass as chair of the steering committee. Attorney General Bob Butterworth, Former Senate President Jim Scott,(7) and House Speaker Daniel Webster(8) represent their respective offices. Chief Justice Gerald Kogan appointed Third District Court of Appeal Judge Thomas H. Barkdull, Jr., to represent the Supreme Court. In addition to...