Amendment 7 Off 2012 Ballot... for Now

BRADENTON – A 2012 ballot amendment that would have ended the state's Blaine Amendment, a law that bars state aid to religious organizations, was found to be misleading by a Florida judge last week. However, the same judge upheld a new law that will allow Attorney General Pam Bondi to rewrite the amendment's proposed summary and submit it for another review.

Florida Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis ruled that as is, the ballot question did not clearly convey the intent of the proposed law. The Florida Education Association opposed the law mainly because they feared it was an attempt to make it easier to fund private, parochial school vouchers.

"We applaud the judge’s decision. Amendment 7 would have required taxpayers to fund a broad array of religious programs and institutions," FEA president Andy Ford said in a statement. "The judge agreed that taxpayers and voters need to be told the truth and that the purpose and effect of the amendment was not clear in the ballot summary and was misleading to voters."