The Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments this morning on the challenge to Amendment 5. As this articles says, the justices were fairly clear about their opinions on the ballot language for Amendment 5. We’ll have to wait and see what they say in their opinion, and don’t know yet when to expect a ruling. However, since ballots need to be completed for printing for the November elections we expect a ruling soon. FAIFA will keep you updated.

September 03, 2008

Justices rip into Amendment 5

Florida Supreme Court justices this morning are voicing nearly universal criticism of the wording of the Amendment 5 "tax swap," suggesting it may be misleading as critics contend.

"The way I read this is it's a quid pro quo," said Justice R. Fred Lewis, referring to the concept of trading school property taxes for higher sales tax. But, as Lewis and other have noted during a hearing now under way, full school funding is only good for one year. After that the Legislature has to come up with a funding formula.

"It's not a lifetime warranty; it's a limited warranty," Lewis said.

Justice Harry Lee Anstead agreed that the public could be mislead. "As I'm going to vote, I read this to say, 'Well, why shouldn't I do this?'"

Mark Herron, one of the lawyers defending the measure, called the ballot title a "caption" and said voters would read it along with the summary to grasp the idea. "We're not hiding the ball," he asserted.

But the skepticism kept flying. Justice Barbara Pariente said she found the hold harmless language the "most offensive" part of the proposal.

The Amendment 5 discussion came after the justices had already put voucher proponents on defensive, questioning whether Taxation and Budget Reform Commission had authority to delve into such issues.

More to come ...

Posted by Alex Leary at 10:15:26 AM on September 3, 2008
in Constitution , Education | Permalink