Senate Eyes Making It Harder To Amend Constitution

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – Continuing to look at ways to make it harder to amend the Florida Constitution, a Senate committee next week will take up a proposal that would require approval from two-thirds of voters for ballot measures to pass.

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee is slated Monday to consider the proposal (SJR 1238), filed by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Doral.

Currently, proposed constitutional amendments require approval from 60 percent of voters to pass.

The Republican-controlled Legislature has taken a series of steps in recent years to make it harder to amend the Constitution, including approving a measure last year that placed new restrictions on ballot initiatives.

Rodriguez's bill is filed for the legislative session that will start March 2.

If approved by lawmakers, it would go on the 2022 ballot because it seeks to change the Constitution. Rep.

Rick Roth, R-West Palm Beach, has filed an identical proposal (HJR 61) in the House.

(©2021 CBS Local Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.)