A.G. Gancarski
A bill to abolish the controversial Constitutional Revision Commission cleared its final Senate committee and is ready for a floor vote.
The measure already cleared the House.
On Wednesday, the Senate Rules Committee unanimously OK’d SB 142, which would repeal the CRC and remove statutory references.
The repeal bill passed the Senate last year by a 35-4 vote, and is on track for the same margin in 2020.
Sen. Jeff Brandes is carrying the bill for a second straight year.
Florida NOW and Americans for Prosperity were among the entities in support. Former Rep. Jeff Kallenger, representing the Save Our Constitution group, also backed repeal.
In 2018, the CRC irked lawmakers and observers by “bundling” unrelated propositions in amendments.
Amendment 9, which banned offshore drilling and vaping in indoor workplaces, was the most notable of the several odd combinations from the CRC.
In a surprise considering the incongruity of the propositions, nearly 69 percent of voters approved that amendment, even as editorial boards and others wondered why the two bans were yoked together.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his support for repeal at the end of the 2019 Session, citing the bundling issue as a major source of irritation.
“I didn’t have enough bandwidth to propose it, but I would like to see the CRC eliminated,” DeSantis said. “I think what happened last election with some of those bundled amendments was not good.”
