Posted on 06/22/2002 11:13:09 AM PDT by FreeTally
Amendment-cost law goes to court
Lawsuit says certain proposals treated unfairly
By David Twiddy
DEMOCRAT CAPITOL BUREAU
Supporters of two proposed constitutional amendments have filed suit challenging a new state law that requires state economists to affix an estimated cost to their amendments.
The Coalition to Reduce Class Size and Parents for Readiness Education for Our Kids say the law is discriminatory because it doesn't apply to amendments that either have already gone on the November ballot or were created by the Legislature.
They also complain that there's no guarantee the cost estimates will be fair and, unlike the amendments themselves, a paragraph explaining the estimate on the ballot doesn't have to be reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court.
"This is about fairness. It's about weeding out the politics of it all," said state Sen. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, who is pushing an amendment that would force the state to reduce public school class sizes. The other group is campaigning for an amendment granting free pre-kindergarten classes to any 4-year-old whose parents ask for it.
The Revenue Estimating Conference, a group of economists and budget analysts for the House, Senate and governor's office, is scheduled to develop the "fiscal impact statements" for five amendments next Thursday.
The law's supporters, including Gov. Jeb Bush, said the law was fair and voters should know the cost of something before approving or denying it.
"It's unfortunate that these groups want to keep the information out of the hands of voters that would help people make informed decisions," said Lisa Gates, a spokeswoman for Bush.
"We've never been afraid of numbers. How that language is presented on the ballot is what we're concerned about,"(??) responded Mark Herron, a Tallahassee attorney representing the two Miami-based groups. He filed the suit in Leon County Circuit Court on Thursday.
The Legislature passed the law during a special session in May, requiring the estimating conference come up with a cost estimate for all citizen-backed initiatives that hadn't yet received enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
Besides the costs, the conference would add up to 50 words explaining how the amendment would affect state revenue.
Lawmakers said they needed the law after voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment in 2000 requiring the state build a high-speed train, a massively expensive project that could force legislators to pull money from education and social services. Some said they didn't think the amendment would have passed if voters knew how much it could potentially cost.
(No one could believe this passed. Its insane. Some wealthy businessman in central Florida stood to profit from this)
But others cried foul, saying the law would be used to sabotage the class-size-reduction amendment, which many Republicans oppose.
They noted that the law doesn't affect an amendment that would prohibit smoking in restaurants because it already had been placed on the ballot or a Legislature-backed amendment creating a committee to consider eliminating sales tax exemptions, a pet issue of Senate President John McKay, R-Bradenton.
Please, all Florida Freepers, this amendment has got to be defeated.
Could one of you bump this on your "Florida Freeper" list.
Lock and load folks.
What ammendment needs to be defeated?? I support the law requiring "fiscal impact" statement... is there a pending ammendment that would repeal that law? or is it simply going to be reviewed by the SC?
What ammendment needs to be defeated?? I support the law requiring "fiscal impact" statement... is there a pending ammendment that would repeal that law? or is it simply going to be reviewed by the SC?
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