With pot and abortion on the ballot, these two Florida amendments are getting less attention

TALLAHASSEE – Amid fierce political battles over proposed constitutional amendments on abortion rights and recreational marijuana, two ballot measures on public campaign finance and property taxes are flying “under the radar.”

The measures, brought up for a Nov. 5 vote by the Republican-controlled Legislature, would end a matching fund program available to candidates for governor and state cabinet seats and overhaul the property tax exemption of the property.

Susan MacManus, a retired political science professor at the University of South Florida, said she believes both measures will pass the necessary 60 percent voter support to pass.

“Both of those, in the current economic environment, sound pretty good if you just look at the summary of the vote,” MacManus said.

What appears on the ballot as Amendment 6 is titled “Repeal of Public Campaign Finance Requirement,” while what appears as Amendment 5 is titled “Annual Adjustments to the Value of Certain Property Exemptions.”

University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewett said the effort to repeal public campaign finance, which voters approved in 1998, appears less likely to pass. Jewett said he thinks the proposal could be “a little confusing” and has at least 40 percent voter support.

As for the property exemption measure, while it’s also “pretty confusing,” Jewett said, “it seems like most voters might like the idea of ​​a small property tax cut property”.

While money has poured into campaigns on proposals to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution and allow recreational use of marijuana, there has been less attention, including in polls, to other amendments. In total, there are six proposed constitutional amendments to the vote.

“I think some of these proposed amendments are going to fly under people’s radar,” said Kevin Wagner, associate dean for research and creative achievement at Florida Atlantic University. “This makes the results somewhat unpredictable as we don’t know what they (voters) have seen or understand about some of the amendments. Some may simply be voting against the summary of the vote.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis is leading efforts to defeat abortion and recreational marijuana proposals. Focusing on those issues, Florida Republican Party Chairman Evan Power said only one of the other amendments, a measure that would place hunting and fishing rights in the Constitution, “has a good chance of passing- yes”.

“I’m not sure about the others, because I don’t think anyone has put money behind trying to pass them,” Power said.

After voters approved public campaign financing in 1998, a 2010 proposal by the Legislature to repeal the program fell short, garnering 52.49% voter support.

Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried supports keeping the matching funds program, noting that it helped her when she was elected agriculture commissioner in 2018 by 6,754 votes.

“It allowed me the opportunity to get some additional funds at the end, which put a couple of extra spots on TV, which gave me a little extra flexibility in some of my spending, which pushed me at the finish line,” Fried said. “It benefited Republicans when they were in the minority in our state, and so it’s really been an opportunity to try to even out some of those campaigns.”

Under the program, statewide candidates can receive matches for individual contributions of $250 or less. In return, candidates agree to meet certain campaign spending limits. Matching funds are not available for contributions to political committees or outside state races.

The fund has been tapped for more than $33 million over the four most recent gubernatorial election cycles.

In those contests, Republicans running for governor, attorney general, agriculture commissioner and chief financial officer got $18.65 million in matching funds. DeSantis brought in $10.5 million of the funding for his 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial races.

Fifteen Democratic candidates received $14.618 million from the program.

Fried, the last Democrat to win statewide office, got $158,507 in matching funds in her 2018 bid for agriculture commissioner. Four years later, she got $944,850 in state funding in a unsuccessful bid to become the Democratic candidate for governor.

On the property exemption measure, the proposal would give homeowners slightly larger tax breaks.

Homeowners receive tax breaks on assessed property values ​​up to $25,000 and on values ​​between $50,000 and $75,000.

The proposal would require the currently exempt portion to be adjusted for inflation between $50,000 and $75,000.

Jewett said city and county officials worry the change will affect revenue needed for roads, libraries, parks and first responders. In addition, he said some people and groups are concerned it could lead to changes in taxes on tenants and commercial properties.

“If this one doesn’t pass, it’s probably because it’s confusing and people just don’t get it,” Jewett said.

By Jim Turner, Florida News Service

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