Opinion
By Jim Saunders – News Service Of Florida, Florida Jolt
04-07-24
TALLAHASSEE — With the state Supreme Court this week signing off on ballot initiatives about abortion rights and recreational use of marijuana, Floridians in November will vote on six proposed constitutional amendments. Passage of each proposal would require support from at least 60 percent of voters. Here are brief descriptions of the six issues:
— ABORTION: In what could be 2024’s biggest political issue in Florida, voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. The vote will come after Gov. Ron DeSantis and lawmakers approved preventing abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The proposed constitutional amendment, in part, says: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
— CAMPAIGN MONEY: Lawmakers approved placing a measure on the ballot to again try to repeal a program that offers state matching funds to gubernatorial and state Cabinet candidates. Voters approved the matching-funds program in 1998, and a repeal attempt failed in 2010. When the program was created, supporters said it could help reduce the influence of big-money contributors in statewide elections, but critics have long derided the program as welfare for politicians.
— FISHING AND HUNTING: Fishing and hunting have been traditions for generations of Floridians. Voters in November will decide whether to enshrine a right to fish and hunt in the state Constitution. With the backing of outdoors groups, lawmakers voted almost unanimously last year to place the measure on the ballot. In part, the proposal says hunting and fishing “shall be preserved forever as a public right and preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife.”
— MARIJUANA: Eight years after voters approved a constitutional amendment that broadly allowed medical marijuana, they will decide this year whether to give the go-ahead to recreational use of marijuana. The political committee Safe & Smart Florida, backed heavily by the Trulieve medical-marijuana company, led the drive to put the measure on the ballot. It would allow people ages 21 and older to “possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption.”
Read the full article here: 6 Issues On November Ballot In Florida – Florida Jolt
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida
