Membership to the state's current Constitution Revision Commission was finalized this week.
Florida's constitution undergoes review every 20 years, as established in the constitution. The last review took place in 1997-1998, when Democrats held more power in Tallahassee. This time, the vast majority of appointments were made by Republican leaders.
The 37 appointments are made as follows: the governor appointed 15; Speaker of the House, 9; Senate President, 9; Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, 3; and the attorney general is a designated member of the commission.
Now that commission members have been identified, they will convene to review the current constitution in conjunction with contemporary issues, and propose constitutional amendments for vote in November 2018. Amendments that make it to the ballot must then receive 60 percent of the vote to pass.
In this way, the recommendations of the commission go directly to the public for a vote and do not require approval of the Florida Legislature, Florida Supreme Court or the governor. This process of a periodic review of the state constitution is unique among the states, and likely among democracies throughout the world.
The 2017-18 Florida Constitution Revision Commission members are:
- Chair: Carlos Beruff
- Attorney General Pam Bondi
- Dr. Jose “Pepe” Armas
- Lisa Carlton
- Timothy Cerio
- Hank Coxe
- Jose Felix Diaz
- Erika Donalds
- Don Gaetz
- Emery Gainey
- Anna Marie Hernandez Gamez
- Brecht Heuchan
- Marva Johnson
- Darlene Jordan
- Arthenia Joyner
- Fred Karlinsky
- Belinda Keiser
- Frank Kruppenbacher
- Tom Lee
- Dr. Gary Lester
- Patricia Levesque
- Roberto Martinez
- Rich Newsome
- Chris Nocco
- Jeanette Nuñez
- Jimmy Patronis
- Sherry Plymale
- Darryl Rouson
- William “Bill” Schifino, Jr.
- Chris Smith
- Bob Solari
- Chris Sprowls
- John Stemberger
- Pam Stewart
- Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
- Carolyn Timmann
- Nicole Washington
