Review: 2024 State and Local Ballot Referendums

There will be six potential state constitutional amendments decided on November's ballot. Two were proposed by citizen initiatives, while the state legislature is bringing forward four. Amending the constitution via referendum requires 60 % of the vote. There will also be two local referendums on the ballot.

State Referendums

Amendment 1, which was proposed by the Florida Legislature, is entitled "Partisan Election of Members of District School Boards." It would require members of school boards in Florida to be elected in a partisan rather than nonpartisan elections. It would begin with the 2026 elections.

I find it difficult to make an argument that school district politics would need to become even more politicized than they have grown in the past several years, but I suppose the partisan forces that always do their best to make sure any veil of nonpartisanship in these races falls before the election would like to make their jobs easier.

Amendment 2, which the Florida Legislature proposed with bipartisan support, is entitled: Right to Fish and Hunt. It would provide a constitutional right to fish and hunt, including "traditional methods."

Opponents argue that there is no evidence that Floridians need broader access to hunting and fishing and fear that the traditional methods language is meant to circumvent the gill net ban voters passed by referendum in 1994 with 72% support.

Advocates of the referendum argue that Amendment 2 will prevent extremists from taking away citizen rights. Yes on 2 currently enjoys a significant advantage in PAC support.

Amendment 3, which was proposed by citizen initiative, is entitled: Adult Personal Use of Marijuana. It would legalize recreational marijuana throughout Florida for adults, allowing adults to possess up to 3oz of flower and up to 5 grams in concentrated form. Existing medical marijuana facilities would automatically be authorized to become recreational distributors.

Medical marijuana passed with 71 percent of the vote in 2016. However, the drug remains illegal federally. Possession of more than 20 grams is still a felony, while under 20 grams is a misdemeanor, although the Biden administration has instructed the Department of Health and Human Services to begin taking steps toward reclassifying it from a Schedule 1 narcotic to a Schedule 3 drug.

Twenty four states and the District of Columbia have legalized possession of marijuana for adults. It is estimated that legalizing recreational marijuana would raise between $200-400 million in annual sales tax revenues for the state.

Amendment 4, which was proposed by citizen initiative, is entitled: Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion. It would provide a constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability (estimated to be around 24 weeks) or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider.

A yes vote on Amendment 4 supports adding the following language to the Florida Constitution’s Declaration of Rights: “… 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.”

Amendment 4 would maintain a current provision approved by voters in 2004 that allows for a law requiring parents to be notified before a minor can receive an abortion. 

Earlier this year, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution's right to privacy does not include the right to abortion. This decision overturned a 1989 ruling which found that the privacy clause did include a right to abortion.

The ruling allowed the state's 2022 15-week abortion ban to take effect. In 2023, the legislature went a step further, passing the Heartbeat Protection Act to ban abortion at six weeks, which was contingent on the state supreme court overturning its prior ruling.

A no vote on Amendment 4 would preserve the six-week ban that took effect on May 1. Before 2022, abortions were legal in Florida until 24 weeks.

Amendment 5, which was proposed by the Florida Legislature, is entitled: Annual Adjustments to the Value of Certain Homestead Exemptions. It would require an annual inflation adjustment to the value of current or future homestead exemptions that apply solely to levies other than school district levies and for which every person who has legal or equitable title to real estate and maintains thereon the permanent residence of the owner, or another person legally or naturally dependent upon the owner is eligible. It would take effect on January 1, 2025.

If passed, this would increase the size of the exemption this year and each year after that in which the Consumer Price Index increases. In other words, there would be the $25,000 base exemption plus the rise in CPI each year, money that would be lost to local government services.

The Save Our Homes Act already caps homestead tax increases at 3% per year or the CPI, whichever is less, representing an existing loss to local governments. State economists predict that the amendment would reduce local government tax collections by $22.8 million during the 2025-2026 fiscal year, growing to $111.8 million during the 2028-2029 fiscal year, assuming existing tax rates.

Amendment 6, which was proposed by the Florida Legislature, is entitled: People of Public Campaign Financing Requirement. It would repeal the requirement for public financing for campaigns of candidates for elective statewide office who agree to campaign spending limits.

In 1998, Florida voters passed an amendment providing for public funding for candidates for state office by 64%. A 2011 effort to repeal public financing failed. Public financing in Florida is available for gubernatorial candidates and elected cabinet members (attorney general, chief financial officer, and commissioner of agriculture).

To qualify for public campaign financing, a candidate must not be unopposed, agree to expenditure limits, raise $150,000 (for gubernatorial candidates) or $100,000 (for cabinet candidates), limit loans or contributions from the candidate’s personal funds to $25,000, limit contributions from political parties to $250,000, and report campaign financing data to the division of elections and submit to a post-election financial audit.

Public campaign financing is funded via the General Revenue Fund. In 2022, the expenditure limit for gubernatorial candidates receiving public campaign financing was $30.29 million ($2.00 per registered voter), while the limit for cabinet candidates was $15.14 million ($1.00 per registered voter). Public funding of campaigns allows for a broader pool of candidates and works as a bulwark against one-party rule.

Local Referendums

Optional School Board Millage Renewal

The first local referendum is a request by the school district to continue funding for student achievement through the renewal of the optional additional 1 ad volorem millage point from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029.

The funds can be used for school safety and security, recruiting and retaining teachers and staff, additional instructional time and support, early literacy programs, career and technical education, STEM, visual and performing arts, athletics, and public charter schools. An independent citizen committee oversees the spending to ensure proper use of the funds.

Indeed, Manatee County Schools has not always been a good steward of the public's money. Still, the past few years have seen an impressive turnaround under Superintendent Jason Wysong's administration. Furthermore, the district will undoubtedly suffer catastrophic shortages for existing programs if the additional mill is not renewed, and that will impact classroom education.

Tourist Development Tax Referendum

The county is asking to levy and collect an additional one percent Tourist Development Tax from all short-term rentals of all lodging or accommodations to provide additional revenue to fund the improvements and operation of the convention center, sports complexes, aquariums, beaches, promoting tourism, and all other permissible uses.

High-impact tourism counties, as defined by the state, are eligible to put the extra millage point on the ballot. Previously, qualifying counties could pass the increase via the board of county commissioners. Each eligible county, including neighboring Sarasota and Pinellas counties, has done so. However, a 2022 statute passed by the Florida Legislature requires counties to put the increases to a vote. Manatee County just became a high-impact tourism county, meaning it will be among the first to put it on a referendum.

The county has argued that this increase will not impact Manatee County taxpayers because it is almost exclusively paid by tourists who visit the area. However, the increased tax does impact local, tourist-related businesses, as each time the tourist is hit in the wallet, they are less likely to spend money in the local community.  There have also been other aspects of the county's handling of the referendum item that might raise red flags. You can read more in this article by TBT's Dawn Kitterman.