Jim Rosica
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday ordered legal briefs to be filed for a review of a proposed solar-power constitutional amendment.
The utility-backed Consumers for Smart Solar is sponsoring the amendment titled “Rights of Electricity Consumers Regarding Solar Energy Choice.”
The court asked for briefs by Jan. 11 – the day before the start of the 2016 Legislative Session. Parties then can respond to each other’s briefs by Feb. 1.
The court has to OK a proposal’s language and ballot summary before it can go before voters. An amendment also needs 683,149 signatures to get on the ballot, then must capture 60 percent of the vote to be added to the state constitution.
The amendment in question has 475,134 valid signatures, according to the state Division of Elections.
A competing amendment sponsored by Floridians for Solar Choice, a coalition of progressive and conservative interests, threw in the towel on 2016 and is “exploring options for a 2018 campaign,” according to a spokeswoman.
As FloridaPolitics.com reported, a payment dispute with a signature-gathering firm made it unlikely that it would get enough signatures by the Feb. 1 deadline.
That amendment reported 272,898 valid signatures as of Monday.
