1, 2, 3...36 amendments for Florida?

FL CRC to consider at least 36 proposals for the November ballot + CT House confirms McDonald as chief justice Florida Constitution Revision Commission to consider at least 36 proposals for the November 2018 ballot In November 2018, voters in Florida will consider two ballot initiatives, three legislative referrals, and a not-yet-known number of amendments from the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC). The CRC is a 37-member commission that reviews and proposes changes to the Florida Constitution every 20 years. Florida is the only state with a commission empowered to refer constitutional amendments to the ballot. This year’s CRC has until May 10, to review 36 proposals passed by standing committees and refer amendments to the ballot. Among these 36 proposals are amendments to: - repeal the constitution’s Blaine Amendment, which prohibits the state from providing public funds to a church, sect, or religious denomination - create a term limit of eight years for school board members - require a two-thirds vote of each house of the state legislature to increase state college tuition - ban drilling for oil or natural gas on lands beneath state waters In 1998, the CRC approved 39 proposals that were packaged together as nine ballot measures. Voters approved eight of the nine ballot measures. Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, appointed 15 members of the CRC. President of the Florida Senate, Joe Negron (R-25), appointed nine members. Speaker of the state House, Richard Corcoran (R-37) appointed nine members. Jorge Labarga, chief justice of the state Supreme Court, appointed three members of the CRC. In 2018, Republicans control the centers of state political power—the office of the governor, the state House, and the state Senate. Florida is one of 25 Republican state trifectas in the U.S. The attorney general, who also serves on the CRC, is a Republican. Due to this partisan composition, Democrats did not get to appoint any members of the CRC of 2017-2018 (there are, however, three Democratic legislators or former legislators serving on the CRC). [Dive into Florida’s amendment process](→ [Forward This](mailto:?&cc=info@Ballotpedia.org&subject=Check out this info I found from Ballotpedia&body= [blank][Tweet This]( [blank][blank][Send to Facebook]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [blank] Connecticut House confirms McDonald as chief justice of state supreme court 75-74; Senate vote to come This week the Connecticut House of Representatives confirmed current Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Andrew McDonald as the new chief justice of the court on a vote of 75-74. McDonald must still be confirmed by the state Senate. If confirmed by the Senate, McDonald would replace former Chief Justice Chase Rogers, who retired from the court last month. McDonald would also become the first openly gay supreme court justice in the country. Democrats currently hold a 79-71 majority in the chamber with one vacancy. Five Democratic Reps. (Butler, Gonzalez, Linehan, Morris, and Rovero) voted against the confirmation, while Republican Rep. Livvy Floren was the only member of her party to vote in favor. According to the chamber’s official journal, Rep. Tom O'Dea (R-125) recused himself from the chamber during the vote due to a possible conflict of interest. During McDonald's nomination hearings, Republican lawmakers criticized McDonald's close ties to Malloy and also criticized a case in which Mcdonald joined a ruling that Connecticut's ban on the death penalty should apply retroactively to defendants already on death row at the time the ban went into effect. According to the Connecticut Post, McDonald’s nomination could fail in the state Senate. State Sen. Slossberg (D-14) is recusing herself due to a personal conflict with McDonald that originated six years ago while McDonald was Gov. Dan Malloy’s (D) chief legal counsel. With Slossberg recused a party-line vote would give Republicans an 18-17 edge in the tied chamber. McDonald was first nominated to the court by Malloy in 2012 as an associate justice. In January 2018, Malloy announced that he would nominate McDonald again, this time for the chief justice seat. Connecticut uses the commission-selection, political appointment method for judicial selection. A judicial nominating commission screens candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who must appoint a judge from that list. The appointee must then be confirmed by the Connecticut General Assembly. Newly-appointed justices serve for eight years after their appointments, at which time they face renomination by the governor and approval by the assembly. [Learn more→]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Recalls against three members of Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission in Oregon defeated While much of the nation had their eyes on Pennsylvania’s 18th district Tuesday night, our local team at Ballotpedia was also covering elections on the west coast. Recall elections of three of the five members on the Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission in Oregon were defeated. Michael Gardiner, Jim Lewis, and Rick Landt were targeted for recall in response to layoffs at the Senior Center and proposed changes to the city’s senior services. In each recall question, 70 percent of voters voted to retain the official. In 2018, Ballotpedia has tracked 117 recalls against 160 elected officials. Of the 12 elected officials who have faced recall elections so far this year, three officials were recalled. Of the 65 elected officials who faced recall elections in 2017, 37 officials were recalled, for a rate of 56.9 percent. [Learn more→]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Ballotpedia depends on the support of our readers. The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. 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