Florida Senate - 2020 SJR 396
By Senator Rodriguez
37-00407-20 2020396__
1 Senate Joint Resolution
2 A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 6
3 of Article XI of the State Constitution to require
4 that any proposals to revise the State Constitution,
5 or any part thereof, filed by the Taxation and Budget
6 Reform Commission be limited to a single subject.
7
8 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10 That the following amendment to Section 6 of Article XI of
11 the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to
12 the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next
13 general election or at an earlier special election specifically
14 authorized by law for that purpose:
15 ARTICLE XI
16 AMENDMENTS
17 SECTION 6. Taxation and budget reform commission.—
18 (a) Beginning in 2007 and each twentieth year thereafter,
19 there shall be established a taxation and budget reform
20 commission composed of the following members:
21 (1) eleven members selected by the governor, none of whom
22 shall be a member of the legislature at the time of appointment.
23 (2) seven members selected by the speaker of the house of
24 representatives and seven members selected by the president of
25 the senate, none of whom shall be a member of the legislature at
26 the time of appointment.
27 (3) four non-voting ex officio members, all of whom shall
28 be members of the legislature at the time of appointment. Two of
29 these members, one of whom shall be a member of the minority
30 party in the house of representatives, shall be selected by the
31 speaker of the house of representatives, and two of these
32 members, one of whom shall be a member of the minority party in
33 the senate, shall be selected by the president of the senate.
34 (b) Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be
35 filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
36 (c) At its initial meeting, the members of the commission
37 shall elect a member who is not a member of the legislature to
38 serve as chair and the commission shall adopt its rules of
39 procedure. Thereafter, the commission shall convene at the call
40 of the chair. An affirmative vote of two thirds of the full
41 commission shall be necessary for any revision of this
42 constitution or any part of it to be proposed by the commission.
43 (d) The commission shall examine the state budgetary
44 process, the revenue needs and expenditure processes of the
45 state, the appropriateness of the tax structure of the state,
46 and governmental productivity and efficiency; review policy as
47 it relates to the ability of state and local government to tax
48 and adequately fund governmental operations and capital
49 facilities required to meet the state’s needs during the next
50 twenty year period; determine methods favored by the citizens of
51 the state to fund the needs of the state, including alternative
52 methods for raising sufficient revenues for the needs of the
53 state; determine measures that could be instituted to
54 effectively gather funds from existing tax sources; examine
55 constitutional limitations on taxation and expenditures at the
56 state and local level; and review the state’s comprehensive
57 planning, budgeting and needs assessment processes to determine
58 whether the resulting information adequately supports a
59 strategic decisionmaking process.
60 (e) The commission shall hold public hearings as it deems
61 necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this section.
62 The commission shall issue a report of the results of the review
63 carried out, and propose to the legislature any recommended
64 statutory changes related to the taxation or budgetary laws of
65 the state. Not later than one hundred eighty days prior to the
66 general election in the second year following the year in which
67 the commission is established, the commission shall file with
68 the custodian of state records its proposal, if any, of a
69 revision of this constitution or any part of it dealing with
70 taxation or the state budgetary process. Any proposal of a
71 revision of this constitution, or any part thereof, filed by the
72 commission with the custodian of state records must embrace but
73 one subject and matter directly connected therewith.
74 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be
75 placed on the ballot:
76 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
77 ARTICLE XI, SECTION 6
78 ESTABLISHING SINGLE-SUBJECT LIMITATION FOR TAXATION AND
79 BUDGET REFORM COMMISSION PROPOSALS.—Proposing an amendment to
80 the State Constitution to require that any proposal of a
81 revision to the State Constitution, or any part thereof, filed
82 by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission with the custodian
83 of state records for placement on the ballot be limited to a
84 single subject and matter directly connected to such subject.