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CRC Chairman Wants Full Panel To Set Rules

The Constitution Revision Commission meets every two decades to update Florida's founding legal document and has the power to put measures directly on the November ballot.
Constitution Revision Commission
The Constitution Revision Commission meets every two decades to update Florida's founding legal document and has the power to put measures directly on the November ballot.

Constitution Revision Commission Chairman Carlos Beruff is ordering the prestigious, 37-member panel back to the drawing board to settle a dispute over ground rules. A marathon working group meeting in Tampa ended without a full review of draft procedures.

The Constitution Revision Commission meets every two decades to update Florida's founding legal document and has the power to put measures directly on the November ballot.
Credit Constitution Revision Commission
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Constitution Revision Commission
The Constitution Revision Commission meets every two decades to update Florida's founding legal document and has the power to put measures directly on the November ballot.

Commissioner Tom Lee, a former Senate President, complained the proposed rules would give the chairman too much power and invite back room deal making.

“If we don’t have credibility, if we don’t have a process and rules that create the kind of transparency and input…then we will lack credibility as we present issues to the public," he said.

A handful of advocacy groups, including the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union, are also calling for a more open process.

Governor Rick Scott and legislative leaders appoint the bulk of the commission, which meets every 20 years to put proposed constitutional amendments directly on the November ballot.

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Jim Ash is a reporter at WFSU-FM. A Miami native, he is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.
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