Bar’s CRC public education effort is reaching millions
As the Constitution Revision Commission’s various committees settle into the nuts and bolts work of considering various proposed constitutional amendments, the Bar’s public education campaign has already made substantial progress since its hurricane-delayed kickoff on October 17.
The Bar’s digital advertising as part of the campaign has made 18.7 million impressions as of early December, according to Board of Governors member Sandy Diamond, chair of the Bar’s Special Committee on the 2017 Constitution Revision. She was reporting at the board’s December meeting.
Diamond said the Bar’s goal is to make a total of 38 million impressions through the online ads, so the Bar is well on its way to that goal.
The digital ads tout the Bar’s website on the CRC process, and that, as of early December, had recorded 140,000 visits, ahead of the goal for that date, she said. The website is protectfldemocracy.org.
Other milestones, Diamond said, are:
• Bar ads have made 804,387 radio “impressions” and there have been many articles about the Bar’s campaign in newspapers, TV, and National Public Radio.
• The Bar has distributed thousands of its printed education guide, with one legislator alone requesting 10,000 copies for constituents and other lawmakers also requesting copies. The guide is available in libraries all over the state and is being distributed through other venues. The Cuban American Bar Association paid for printing 10,000 more copies of the guide in Spanish.
• The Bar has established a social media presence for the education campaign.
• 101 lawyers have joined the Bar’s CRC speakers bureau, nearly 40 talks have been given or scheduled, and the Bar is seeking more venues for the speakers.
• The October 17 kickoff press conference was successful with extensive coverage and boosted interest in the Bar’s online site.
Besides the education project, the Bar is also offering technical and other support and information for CRC committees, which have begun considering various proposed amendments — a total of 103 have been submitted by CRC members. One issue advancing would raise the retirement ages for judges from 70 to 75 (see story in the December 15 Bar News).
That was one of four proposals related to judicial retirement age, and those were among 17 that affected Article V of the Florida Constitution, Diamond said. She added there is speculation the CRC will ultimately send four to six amendments to voters.
Diamond noted that no amendment was proposed that would impose term limits on the judiciary, but said that could be introduced via an amendment to another proposal later in CRC deliberations.
“We are now in the situation between now and May [when the commission must submit any proposed amendments for inclusion on the ballot] where the real work is going to take place,” Diamond said. “We are going to be monitoring it very carefully, both in our committee and with the [Bar] leadership, the president and the president-elect, and all of our legislative consultants.”
Here’s a quick look at how some other proposals, not necessarily related to Article V or the courts, fared in CRC committees:
• P-67 by Sen. Tom Lee would end betting on greyhound races in Florida and sprinted through the General Provisions Committee on November 30. As proposed, the amendment would phase out greyhound racing by July 2021, but the committee amended it to move the date to the end of 2019. The prohibition would not affect card rooms and slot machines operating at some greyhound tracks. The proposal now trots over to the Executive Committee and if it passes there goes to the full CRC.
• P-65 by Lisa Carlton, which adds “vapor-generating electronic devices” to the prohibition of smoking at workplaces, passed the General Provisions Committee 6-0 on November 28, and now goes to the full CRC.
• P-27, which would allow the assignment of county judges across county lines within a multi-county circuit, has been withdrawn from further consideration.
Committee meeting are scheduled for January 11-12; January 18-19; January 25-26; and February 1-2 in Tallahassee.
The CRC has also announced most of its public hearing schedule beginning in Feburary, when it expects to present to the public its tentative list of proposed constitutional amendments. Those hearings are:
• February 6 from 1 to 7 p.m. at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale.
• February 19 from 1 to 7 p.m. at Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne.
• February 20 from 1 to 7 p.m. at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
• March 13 from 1 to 7 p.m. at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus.
Several other hearings have been scheduled for later in March, April, and May. For more details about the hearings and CRC activities, visit it’s website at flcrc.gov.
The CRC is a once-every-20-years entity that is empowered to send constitutional amendments directly to voters, in this case on the November 2018 general election ballot. Its 37 members are appointed by the governor, House speaker, Senate president, and chief justice, and the attorney general is an automatic member.