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High Court Strikes 3 Amendments From Ballot

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 4, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday struck three amendments from November's ballot - one that would have wiped out a quarter or more of your property tax bill, and two more that could have expanded school voucher programs in Florida.

Amendment Five, the so-called tax-swap proposed by the state Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, would have eliminated the portion of property tax the state requires to help pay for K-12 public schools. Lawmakers would have had to replace those lost education dollars, possibly by raising sales taxes and cutting the state budget, but only for the first year.

Wednesday, the high court ordered the proposal off the ballot, just a few hours after listening to arguments in the case.

The justices' detailed written opinion is still forthcoming. During the court hearing, they appeared to agree with attorney Barry Richard that the ballot summary of the amendment was misleading. Richard, representing a coalition of business, education and other groups, argued that the wording would confuse voters because it did not specify that lawmakers would have to replace school revenues only in 2010 and 2011.

"If the average voter is going to read that and say, 'Well, this is like a 'hold harmless' situation, I don't have to worry about the schools not consistently being funded at the same level that they were funded before I voted for this amendment' ... why isn't that misleading from the outset?" Justice Harry Lee Anstead asked Mark Herron, attorney for a political action committee supporting the amendment.

Herron argued that the summary language contained no falsehoods, and that funding levels for schools necessarily change every year.

Afterward, state Senate Committee on Finance and Tax Chairman Mike Haridopolos called the court's decision to strike the amendment "a reflection of what we heard throughout the state consistently - that this amendment was not as first described. This was a bait-and-switch."

In Hillsborough County, school board members expressed joy and relief.

'A Blow To Education'

"Amendment Five would have been a blow to education we wouldn't have been able to overcome," board member April Griffin said. "There is no way we would have been able to budget with a moving target."

Also at issue was Amendment Five's ballot title, which left out the proposal's other sections. The complex amendment would have lowered the assessment cap on nonhomesteaded properties, forced lawmakers to be more discriminating about passing sales tax exemptions and limited how much local districts could choose to tax in support of schools.

Without such a mandate, electoral politics and powerful special interest lobbies will likely keep lawmakers from ever tackling such aggressive tax reform, said former Senate President John McKay, architect of the plan.

McKay was hopeful that lawmakers will pursue at least some part of his proposal to restructure the tax system.

Amendment Five's failure was a blow to the Florida Association of Realtors, which had been planning to pour at least $1 million into the campaign to pass it. Wednesday, Realtors association vice president John Sebree said he had already begun talking with Haridopolos about passing property tax relief in the spring.

"A lot of people have come around to the idea of buying out a portion of the property tax with a penny hike in the sales tax. Hopefully, the Legislature would look at something like that," Sebree said.

The penny-swap concept failed in the Legislature despite backing from House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, said he was less interested in cutting property taxes than in capping government revenue and spending. The senator said he intends to revive a proposal to yoke government revenue growth to the rates of population and inflation increases. "We need to make sure that government revenues do not grow faster than family income."

No Voucher Questions

Also struck from the ballot: Amendments Seven and Nine, which, taken together, could have expanded school voucher programs in Florida. The two amendments took aim at court rulings against a state voucher program championed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush.

"It is extremely disappointing the Florida Supreme Court ruled today to deny millions of Florida voters the right to make their voices heard on improving the quality of education in our state," Bush said Wednesday in a statement.

Amendment Seven would have lifted a constitutional ban on spending state money on religious institutions. Amendment Nine would have permitted the state to fund private as well as public schools.

Hillsborough school board member Jack Lamb said the three proposals are "against public education. The Legislature absolved themselves of their responsibility."

Howard Simon, director of the American Civil Liberties Union, warned that "for some people, privatization of public education and the assault on the separation of church and state are a never-ending crusade. We completely expect that. Though we have prevailed today, this battle will be reprised in the Legislature."

Reporter Marilyn Brown contributed to this report. Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.

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