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Constitutional amendment - page 5

House passes judicial term limits in close vote

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A judicial term limits initiative that is stalled in the Senate barely passed out of the House Wednesday. The House approved the measure (HB 197) on a 76-38 vote. Because imposing term limits on appellate judges and justices requires changing the state constitution, it needed three-fifths of the House, or at least 72 votes. A companion measure (SB 322) has yet to be heard in the Senate with less than three weeks left in the 2016 Legislative Session. Even if…

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State Supreme Court allows oral argument for Smart Solar amendment

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The Florida Supreme Court on Monday granted requests for oral argument on a hotly contested proposed constitutional amendment on solar power. The court scheduled argument at 9 a.m. May 5 for the amendment called “Rights of Electricity Consumers Regarding Solar Energy Choice” and backed by Consumers For Smart Solar. Among other requirements, proposed amendments to the state constitution must be OK’d by the court to ensure they cover only one subject and that their ballot title and summary aren’t misleading. The proposed summary now reads: This…

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Committee backing medical marijuana amendment raises more than $500K in December

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People United for Medical Marijuana, the political committee backing a push to get medical marijuana on the 2016 ballot, raised more than $500,000 dollars in December. The committee, which runs the United for Care Campaign, raised $571,236 in December. That one-month haul means the organization has raised more than $9.1 million. The committee received hundreds of small donations, or donations under $1,000, from supporters. The Morgan Law Firm, founded by United for Care Chairman John Morgan, continued to be a…

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Fla. Supreme Court green lights medical pot amendment

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The Florida Supreme Court has approved a proposed constitutional amendment allowing medical marijuana in the state, according to an opinion released Thursday. The court on Thursday found that the amendment “embraces a single subject” and that the ballot title and summary and financial impact statement passed legal muster. “We therefore approve the proposed amendment and Financial Impact Statement for placement on the ballot,” the court’s unanimous opinion said. The decision was not necessarily surprising: The court in a 4-3 decision had also…

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San Felasco tees up first protest over medical marijuana

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San Felasco Nurseries is filing what is thought to be the first protest over the state’s licensing process for growers of medical marijuana, according to documents obtained Friday by FloridaPolitics.com. The 41-year-old nursery, based in Gainesville, is challenging its rejection in favor of Chestnut Hill Tree Farm for the state’s northeast region. In its petition to the Florida Department of Health, the nursery says it was the highest-ranked applicant to grow and process medicinal pot in the region, but that a bureaucratic bungle…

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Supreme Court approves first of proposed solar amendments

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A proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Floridians to generate and sell their own solar power passes legal muster, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The court’s purview was limited to whether the language embraces one subject and uses “clear and unambiguous language” in the ballot summary. The majority said yes on both counts. Justice Ricky Polston, however, disagreed on the ballot summary portion, saying it was “confusing.” The decision clears the way for the amendment to go before voters in 2016, assuming it gets…

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Dan Gelber’s op-ed: Riding oil spill momentum

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The Orlando Sentinel’s Thursday editorial, “Fix regs, nix session,” dismissed the call for a special session to address offshore drilling as a “selfish political ploy.” Believe me, in the 10 years I’ve served as a state lawmaker, I’ve seen plenty of selfish political ploys. Placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot to ban offshore drilling is not one of them, and here’s why: It addresses a real likelihood that one day the Florida Legislaturewill submit to the very powerful oil lobby.…

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