Legislative Update at May Lunch

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Gayle Harrell represents Florida Senate District 25, which includes Martin and St. Lucie Counties and part of Palm Beach County. She was elected to the Florida Senate in November 2018 after serving two term in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000-2008 and 2010-2018.

Senator Harrell has over 25 years of experience in healthcare. She has worked as a Healthcare Administrator, managing the Ob-Gyn. practice of Dr. James E. Harrell and was the founder of the Breast Imaging Center, a mammography center specializing in preventive care for women. Her experience in healthcare has made her a leader in setting healthcare policy for the State of Florida

Senator Harrell is Chair of Committee on Health Policy and Vice Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. Senator Harrell is also a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Military and Veterans Affairs and Space and the Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight.

Senator Harrell has won numerous awards for her legislative service. Among her many awards she has received the Legislator of the Year by the Florida Medical Association, the Legislative Leadership Award by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Legislative Award by the Florida Children’s Forum, an “A” Ranking by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Friend of Free Enterprise Award by the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Legislative Achievement Award by Keep Florida Beautiful, and the Distinguished Legislator Award by the Florida Police Benevolent Association.

A resident of Florida’s Treasure Coast for over 40 years, Senator Harrell is committed to serving our community having served as president of many civic organizations such as Hibiscus Children’s Center, Education Foundation of Martin County, Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Lucie, Indian River, and Okeechobee Counties, and HPS – Helping People Succeed. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish and a Master’s Degree in Latin American History from the University of Florida where she received the Edith Bristol Tigert award as an Outstanding Female Graduate and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Gayle has been married to Dr. James Harrell for 51 years, has four children and eight grandchildren, and is an active member of the First Presbyterian Church in Stuart.

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Rick Roth, a 39 year Wellington resident, grew up in Belle Glade. He is the President of the 5000 acre Roth Farms east of Belle Glade, and has been producing vegetables and sugar cane there since 1976.

Although never holding a public office before 2016, Rick has been involved in politics for years, including fund-raising for former Governor Bob Martinez, and he has held a variety of leadership positions with the Florida Farm Bureau Federation and the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association and is on the board of the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida. In 2016, he defeated Andrew Watt with 62% in the Republican primary and then beat Democrat Robert Simone in the general with 57% of the vote.

NCNC President Sal Faso at April Meeting

April’s speaker will be Sal Faso, President and founder of the North County Neighborhood Coalition (NCNC). The NCNC is composed of 23 communities from West Palm Beach to Jupiter, and represents 45,000 residents and 30,000 voters. Advocating for quality of life issues in the north county, Sal works with county and city elected officials and staff to relay his member’s positions on western development, traffic issues and the environment, and supports community involvement through candidate forums and invited speakers at monthly meetings. NCNC is similar in operation and influence to COBWRA (Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations) which operates in south county.

As developer lobbyists and other special interests have increasing influence on the leaders of our cities, organizations like NCNC organize and present the positions of the citizens and insure us a seat at the table. They also foster awareness of issues and candidates for office.

Sal will present an overview of some of the issues of interest to county residents, such as the State route 7 extension, traffic issues on Northlake Boulevard and elsewhere, the status of the new developments being constructed west of the turnpike, and what to expect from the fresh crop of elected officials sworn in after the March elections in the Gardens, West Palm Beach and the other northern Municipalities.

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Sal is an experienced executive with sales, marketing and operational knowledge in leading businesses both nationally and internationally.

He retired in 2000 from IBM after working 30 years with geographic responsibilities for customers within the United States, Europe and South Africa.

His organizations were responsible for significant revenue and profits. He held positions such as General Manager for all sales within the Midwest United States, he was CEO of IBM South Africa, a public company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and worked with Emerging markets in Europe.

Soon after retiring he engaged with the local communities, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens and became a civic leader. He led the Transition Team for the mayor of West Palm Beach in 2011 and had chaired the City Budget committee and conducted the Fire and Police Pension Task Force. He participated in activities for the WPB and PBG Police radio dispatch system. He currently serves on his community Property Owners Association Board of Directors.

The North County Neighborhood Coalition was formed in 2010 with seven communities and now has grown to 23 communities with 45,000 residents and 36,000 voters. The NCNC promotes working with Government, Business and Community leadership to plan for a better county. The NCNC is a not for profit organization filed as a 617 chapter in the State of Florida.

He recently became the President of the North Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce Foundation and a member of the Strategic Planning committee and Technology and Connectivity committee.

He and his wife celebrated 51 years of marriage and they have two children and four grandsons. Loves golf, tennis and the Arts (Opera). He is a native Floridian born in Coral Gables and graduated from the University of Miami.

March Lunch to Feature Everglades Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg

As CEO of the Everglades Foundation, Erik Eikenberg has helped bring widespread national and international attention to the perennial toxic algae crisis in Florida that threatens the state’s waterways and tourism industry. He leads a team of nationally recognized scientists, educators, lobbyists, and communications and development professionals, all working together to achieve a decades-long campaign to restore America Everglades – roughly three million acres of endangered habitat that is vital to Florida’s economic and environmental viability.

Join us on March 27 to hear Erik’s assessment of the water crisis in the state.

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Eric Eikenberg is a seasoned political strategist and environmental policy expert who leads one of the country’s most prestigious and respected environmental non-profits – The Everglades Foundation, which has an annual operating budget of more than $10 million.

As CEO, Eikenberg oversees a team of nationally recognized scientists, educators, lobbyists, and communications and development professionals, all working together to achieve a decades-long campaign to restore America Everglades – roughly three million acres of endangered habitat that is vital to Florida’s economic and environmental viability.

Appointed CEO by the Foundation’s board of directors in 2012, Eikenberg has extensive policy and political experience in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., and served as chief of staff to former Gov. Charlie Crist and former U.S. Rep. E. Clay Shaw, Jr., the latter who authored the landmark $8.4 billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).

Prior to joining The Everglades Foundation, Eikenberg served as senior policy advisor at the law firm of Holland & Knight, LLP, co-chairing the firm’s Florida Government Advocacy Team with former Gov. Bob Martinez.

A sought-after public speaker on the importance of preserving one of America’s most unique natural habitats, Eikenberg is a regular OpEd columnist and a widely quoted source for national and local media outlets, including National Public Radio, CNN, The Associated Press, U.S. News & World Report, Politico, The Miami Herald, and many others.

Eikenberg has been a long-time champion for expediting Everglades restoration, with a knack for innovation and engaging partners in the corporate, philanthropic and political arenas.

This included, most recently, leading an intense public awareness campaign that ultimately led to the passage of critical state and federal legislation authorizing construction of a $1.6 billion reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee – a key component of CERP.

During his tenure as CEO, Eikenberg has helped bring widespread national and international attention to the perennial toxic algae crisis in Florida that threatens the state’s waterways and tourism industry; launched the world’s largest water incentive prize – the $10 million dollar George Barley Water Prize; expanded the Foundation’s Everglades literacy program to reach tens of thousands of students across Florida; and provided scientific, technical and policy support to numerous decision makers in executing CERP.

A graduate of The American University, Eikenberg, his wife Tonya and four children reside in Miami.

Apply Now for the 2019 Ann Roberts Scholarship

The Republican Club of the Palm Beaches’ Scholarship was named after a long-standing and active member of our Club, Anne Roberts.

The Anne Roberts Memorial Scholarship is available to any resident of Palm Beach County who is a full or part time undergraduate or graduate student seeking to further their education. Students must have a GPA of 3.0 or above and plan to attend an accredited college. Applicants must be registered (or pre-registered under 18 yrs. of age) Republicans. Current members of our Club may refer applicants for this scholarship. The deadline for this application is May 31. The recipient will be eligible to receive up to $500 to be sent to the school they will attend. Award will be presented at the monthly luncheon June 26, 2019.

RCPB Scholarship application 2019

Previous Years Winners

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In 2017, our new winner was Jessica Blakley, majoring in Political Science and Economics at Belmont University (she was also awarded an internship during the 2018 session of the Tennessee Legislature). We also continued Jenna Calderaio, studying entrepreneurship at FSU, Lauren Staff who is studying telecommunications at UF, and Ryan Walker who is at Stetson Law School.

Lauren and Jenna were first time winners in 2016.

Lauren graduated from Dwyer High School in 2015 and is presently a Junior at UF. She writes for the Independent Florida Alligator Newspaper and works for ESPN Gainesville Radio 95.3 researching sports statistics. She tells us that Law School is in her future.

Jenna graduated from Jupiter Community High School in 2016 and is attending Florida State University. Her major in business and entrepreneurship will prepare her for a career in product development. She attended the Florida Sunshine Summit in Orlando witnessing 14 presidential candidates which supported her goal to be a strong conservative leader for the Republican Party on a local or national level.

In 2015, our new winners were Aaron Mejias, who studied Political Science and History at PBAU and Ryan Walker, a political science major at the University of Florida.

In 2014, our previous undergraduate recipients kept up their grades to receive additional scholarship: Dylan Brandenburg, John Clark, Jason Ferrara, and Daniel Kozell. Because of the generosity of our club members, we were able to add a fifth recipient, Hanna Matry, a junior at UF majoring in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering and a member of the University’s Rocket Team in the NASA Hybrid rocket competition.

2013 was an expansive year for our scholarship program, with 6 recipients. They went to Elizabeth Cayson, a county employee who is attending Walden University in Illinois remotely, and Danielle Madsen, who recently graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic and is working at a TV station. Three Florida State students received grants including John Clark (3rd year), Dylan Brandenburg (1st year) and Daniel Kozell (2nd year), and Jason Ferrara who is attending the University of Alabama received his third year scholarship.

In 2012, there were 5 scholarships awarded: James Schackelford in his 3rd year at Florida Atlantic University and Daniel Kozell entering Florida State University. We continued to follow John Clark, Jason Ferrara and Shirley Schaff.

In 2011, there were four scholarships awarded. John Clark attending Florida State University, Jason Ferrara attending University of Alabama, Shirley Schaff attending Northwood University and Kimberly Twoey attending Palm Beach Atlantic University.

In 2010, one scholarship was awarded to Cindy Morris, mother of 5, in her final year with 3.7 GPA at Palm Beach Atlantic College School of Education with endorsements in special education and English and a second language.

The second 2010 scholarship was awarded to James Shackelford, majoring in accounting at Florida Atlantic University. With his passion for politics, he is active in student government and volunteered for Allen West and Marco Rubio campaigns. After receiving his masters in Finance, James plans to attend law school.

The 2009 recipient, Nicole Vega, from Berean Christian High School, aspired to be a civil engineer. After much mentoring by several Club members, Nicole has changed her studies to major in Communications with a minor in Political Science at Palm Beach State College.

RCPB Scholarship application 2019

FH89 Representative Mike Caruso at February Lunch

Our February speaker, newly elected to House district 89, has not yet participated in a Legislative session, but has experienced first hand the chaos that surrounded the 2018 election. As the recount dragged on, his was one of the 4 races that were too close to call, and Mike was down at the SOE facility daily keeping watch on Susan Bucher’s minions as they tried to sort it out in the biggest election fiasco since the butterfly ballot.

Now that Governor DeSantis has replaced Bucher with Wendy Link, we can look forward to 2020 in his words “.. where there’s not any type of circus after the votes are in.”

Join us on February 27th to hear Mike’s thoughts on the matter and what it was like to participate in the that circus as his vote advantage over Jim Bonfiglio shrank with each passing day. The FH89 race was not actually over until Bonfiglio conceded on November 18. The margin was 37 votes.

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Mike Caruso learned from a young age that in order to succeed, he needed to roll up his sleeves and work hard until the job was done. As a child, Mike sold flowers and mowed lawns to earn money. He kept his entrepreneurial spirit alive and worked his way through college at George Washington University, where he earned a degree in Business Administration, specializing in accounting.

After years of experience as a CPA in accounting firms such as KPMG and Grant Thornton International, Mike opened his own CPA firm, Caruso & Caruso, in Palm Beach County. Over the next three decades, Mike used his skills to benefit the community, serving on many community organization boards, and serving as an expert witness in many local and national court cases as a forensic account.

Mike is a proud father of 7, a champion barefoot water-skier, a tennis enthusiast, and enjoys spending time at the beach with his wife and two dogs. Mike is honored to call District 89 his home where he has lived for 32 years.

Since being elected to the Florida House, Mike has been assigned to serve on the following committees: Energy & Utilities Subcommittee; Higher Education & Career Readiness Subcommittee;Insurance & Banking Subcommittee; Joint Legislative Auditing Committee; Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee; and the Ways & Means Committee. He is looking forward to passing meaningful legislation and working on good public policy for the people of Florida.

Defending Liberty against the Power and Reach of Government

Did you ever feel outraged when predatory regulators attack ordinary citizens, take their property, and impose catastrophic fines for behavior that we “thought” was protected by the Constitution?

If that happens to you, “Who you gonna call?”

Pacific Legal Foundation litigates nationwide to secure all Americans’ inalienable rights to live responsibly and productively in their pursuit of happiness. PLF combines strategic and principled litigation, communications, and research to achieve landmark court victories enforcing the Constitution’s guarantee of individual liberty.

Mark manages the Palm Beach Gardens office of PLF and is fresh from his 8-0 victory in front of the Supreme Court in “Weyerhauser vs U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service”, (aka the “dusky gopher frog” case) which protected the rights of a Louisiana property owner against the “critical habitat” designation of the Endangered Species Act.

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Mark Miller, a PLF Senior Attorney, manages PLF’s Florida office in Palm Beach Gardens. He defends your constitutional rights in state and federal court. CBS This Morning, Fox & Friends, The View, The Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio (NPR) have all featured his work.

An expert in appellate practice, Thomson Reuters lists Mark as a Florida SuperLawyer, Florida Trend Magazine has described him as a member of Florida’s Legal Elite, and Martindale-Hubbell awarded him its AV-Preeminent rating, its highest rating. He serves as a director for the boards of Americans United for Life, Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc., Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal Historical Society, and the Martin County Legal Aid Society. He is both a James Madison Institute senior fellow and a Federalist Society expert and approved speaker. He is a past president of the Martin County Bar Association. In 2018, Florida Governor Rick Scott appointed him to serve a four-year term as a member of Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission.

Mark learned to fight for justice and love our country from his two grandfathers: one fought under General George S. Patton in World War II, and the other graduated from NYU Law in the early 1920s. Both men taught Mark to believe in the greatness of the United States but also to keep its government honest; that is what he has done throughout his career and does now as a member of the PLF team.

He attended college and law school at the University of Florida, earning both diplomas with Honors. He elbow clerked for U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr., of the Middle District of Florida and Emerson R. Thompson, Jr., of Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal. Mark has represented clients before local zoning boards and through every court level up to and including the Supreme Court of the United States. He served as co-counsel and second chair before the High Court in United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., one of our recent wins before the Court, and was lead counsel for the family landowners in Weyerhaeuser v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, PLF’s most recent Supreme Court win.

Charles Bender and Monique McCall at December Lunch

Our annual Christmas lunch this year featured Place of Hope CEO Charles Bender and local vocalist Monique McCall.

With a beautiful rendition of “O Holy Night”, Monique got us started, and later ended the meeting with more seasonal fare including her own composition “Everyday is Christmas”. She has performed this song on local radio, and has also recorded “Feel Like Florida” an outstanding boost for the Sunshine State.

Charles, one of the founders of his organization “Place of Hope”, gave us an overview of current operations.

When you think of the leadership at many charitable organizations, you don’t immediately think “Republican”, but Charles defies the stereotype. To drive that point home, he showed off his white “Trump Socks”, a positive sign indeed. He has been in the business for many years and goes way back with our club President Fran Hancock. As the DeSantis organization finds it feet in Tallahassee, Charles will be there as part of the transition team.

Place of Hope is in the group foster home business – they take the really tough cases of kids who have been severely abused and may have had multiple placements in foster care. Many are rescued from sex traffickers at a young age. By the time they are referred by the Florida Department of Children and Families, they are typically in desperate straits as DCF will not remove a child from their parents lightly.

The approach taken at the five Place of Hope facilities is to “parent” the kids, and teach personal responsibility and independent living skills. They also try to keep sibling groups together if at all possible. When a child “ages out” at 18, they do what they can to get them set up in an environment that will help them be successful, and in their years of operations, they have had 300 adoptions.

For more information about Place of Hope or to make a donation, please visit their website at https://www.placeofhope.com. They currently have a 4-star rating with Charity Navigator, with 86% of their $7.6M in annual revenue going to program expenses.

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Next month, please join us on Wednesday January 23 for Mark Miller of Pacific Legal Foundation. Mark will share his interesting perspectives from arguing cases in front of the Supreme Court and will tell us about his recent 8-0 victory in Weyerhauser vs U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service”, (aka the “dusky gopher frog” case) which protected the rights of a Louisiana property owner against the “critical habitat” designation of the Endangered Species Act.

Charles Bender Featured at December Lunch

Place of Hope is a private-sector community-based child-care agency for abused and neglected children. Charles will share his insights into how the private sector can effectively address social issues and work together with government agencies to help low-income individuals and families, the homeless and at-risk/dependent children and youth.

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Charles is the Founding Executive Director of Place of Hope, a faith-based and state-licensed family-style residential child-caring agency for abused and neglected children, located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He earned his B.A. degree in Sociology from Florida Atlantic University and also studied at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida.

Charles came to Place of Hope in 1999 following many years of work with various housing, social, and human services organizations throughout Palm Beach County. He has participated in numerous community committees, task forces, special initiatives, and boards. He has been a team member of several other local leading organizations including: Palm Beach County Housing and Community Development, Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, Inc., the City of Delray Beach Community Development Division. The majority of Charles’ work has involved low-income individuals and families, homeless and substance abusing populations, and at-risk/dependent children and youth. Prior to spearheading implementation of Place of Hope, Charles was a primary volunteer in the multi-year visioning and development processes while still a “vision” of Christ Fellowship (founding church).

Charles has significant experience developing and administering social programs and low-income housing initiatives, executing growth plans, implementing federal, state, and local funding programs, building organizational capacity and community coalitions, enhancing service delivery systems, raising capital and annual operating funds, and managing overall non-profit operations.

Thoughts on the Election Just Past – 11/14

With the election over,  it looks like Florida delivered (subject to a recount on the Senate race).   Although Republicans lost a House Majority, we held our own CD18 seat, the Governor’s Office and (subject to a recount for Ag Commissioner) the cabinet.  At this writing, Rick Scott has about a 22K lead on Bill Nelson.

Nationally, with a Democrat House, it will certainly put a crimp in the Trump agenda and we can look forward to investigations, harassment of administration figures, and the return of “Speaker Pelosi”.   We may even be dealing with the spectacle of impeachment for no reasonable cause – both the President and Justice Kavenaugh.  An expanded Senate majority though, and a new Attorney General will give our side the means of fighting back.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back about your business!

Sid will give his thoughts on what the election results mean for all of us.

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Ballot Amendments Explained

On October 24, our RCPB lunch consisted of a ballot tutorial by Fred Scheibl. Pointing out that the consequences of passage for many of these amendments are subtle, we heard an argument that the “picks” by various groups (including the RPOF) may be missing some key information.

In particular, it was pointed out that:

• Amendment 1 is touted as a tax cut, but in reality it will shift a tax burden from homestead property to business and rental property when localities raise their millage to counter the drop in revenue.
• If Amendment 2 does not pass and the cap on non-homestead property is allowed to expire on January 1, we will see an effective tax increase in the range of $700M next year.
• Amendment 3 does not provide “voter control of gambling”, it just limits who can put such a measure on the ballot and deprives the Legislature of their power to regulate.
• Amendment 6, in attempting to create additional “rights” for victims, actually compromises the constitutional rights of defendants for a fair trial and will significantly complicate the operation of criminal trials.

The following was provided as a handout at the meeting and may be useful in understanding the implications of the amendments. The boxes in the second column show the preference of RPOF, Trump Club 45, Florida TaxWatch, the Palm Beach Post, and the Sun Sentinel. Green is YES, Red is NO.

Ballot	Others	My Pick	Rationale	Your Pick ?
#1 – Increased Homestead Property Tax Exemption	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	Since taxing authorities will simply raise millage to make up for the $600M shortfall, the net effect is to shift a tax burden from homesteaders to businesses and vacation property. Counties and municipalities have booked plans to raise their rates if this passes. Commercial, rental and vacation property owners would see a tax increase on passage, as will homestead owners who fall don’t qualify for the additonal exemption (< $100K)
#2 – Limitations on Property Tax Assessments	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	YES	This simply makes permanent something we have had for 10 years and is set to expire on January 1. If it doesn’t pass, an estimated $700M new taxes will be immediately imposed on non-homestead property owners since their assessed values (20% or more below market value) would immediately rise to market value next year.
#3 – Voter Control of Gambling in Florida	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	If passed, would make it very difficult to challenge the Seminole monopoly on gambling and places wrongful restrictions on the legislative body. It doesn’t give voters more control, it just limits who is permitted to put a gambling referendum on the ballot. This would be the first such restraint on the freedom of action by the Legislature, and would be a dangerous precedent.
#4 – Voting Restoration Amendment	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	There is already a process for a felon to get their voting rights restored after a waiting period, and it requires the felon to ask for it, rather than being an automatic action. Passage could potentially add 10% to the voting population at a single point in time, much larger than the margin of error in recent statewide elections. No one knows how such a large voting block would act, but Democrats believe it will favor them and thus support it overwhelmingly.
#5 – Supermajority to impose / authorize / raise state taxes	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	YES	Anything that makes it harder to raise taxes is a good thing. Andrew Gillum’s plan for increasing taxes would be stymied if this passes and he is fighting hard to defeat it. Support and opposition to this amendment is largely along party lines.
#6 – Rights of Crime Victims, Judges	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	This amendment increases the rights of victims at the expense of the rights of the accused, and it tampers with the judicial process for criminal trials. It would tie the hands of defense attorneys regarding the timing of hearings, and could require criminal defendents to pay restitution to victims. The criminal justice system arbitrates between the charges brought by the state (who must prove guilt) and the accused who defends against the charges. It is not meant to be a means for victims to extract restitution or revenge, or to inject themselves into the process. That activity belongs in the civil courts. If passed this Would make for VERY BAD law. Passage would also let judges stay on the bench another 5 years (to age 75), and prohibit courts from deferring to the rulings of state agencies (aka the Chevron Doctrine.)
#7 – First Responder / Military survivor benefits, colleges	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	Creates another unfunded mandate on local governments who would be required to pay the benefits to local first responders, and adds bureaucracy to the management of colleges and universities. The current organizational structure of the college system would be enshrined in the constitution, making it much harder to change if needed.
#9 – Prohibits offshore drilling, indoor vaping	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	A prohibition on offshore drilling should not be in the constitution. We elect legislators to make these kind of decisions. Removes the Legislature’s control of energy development, limiting future opportunities for tapping oil and gas reserves. Attempts to treat vaping the same as smoking cigarettes, an unproven assertion.
#10- State and Local Government Structure / Operation	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	This amendment would force the eight counties who currently have appointed officials to create elected constitutional offices. This weakens the “home rule” ability of local governments. Our county already has constitutional elected officials, but some would argue appointing them would be an improvement, particularly with the Sheriff. Other provisions establish executive departments that need not be in the constitution, and constrains the Legislative calendar.
#11- Property Rights, cleanup, criminal statutes	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	YES	This will provide flexibility to affect those sentenced under laws that are being repealed, and otherwise cleans up some obsolete sections of the constitution.
#12- Lobbying and Abuse by Public Officers	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	The 2 year restriction already in law is sufficient – most states have similar ethics laws but none goes beyond 2 years. This amendment would leave too much of the details of the proposal to others (Ethics Commission), such as defining what is a “disproportionate interest”. Should be a matter for legislation, not the constitution.
#13- Ends Dog Racing	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	This seeks to eliminate existing businesses and would likely result in a move away from pari-mutual betting to card rooms and slots at existing facilities. Some believe the “humane treatment” language is a trojan horse leading to other restrictions on the treatment of animals (limit hunting for example).
County #1- School Tax increase	RPOF TC45 TAXW PBP SS	NO	The PBC school district just got a 10 year windfall with the sales tax increase. They need to make do with the money they have. According to WJNO’s Brian Mudd, we have the highest per-student spending in the state (over $15K) – much more than even Broward or Miami Dade.

Some additional Resources:
Our 2018 Amendments Analysis:	https://gopclubpb.org/2018-election/2018-ballot-questions/
TaxWatch Voter’s Guide:	http://www.floridataxwatch.org/library/2018voterguide

What is the Constitutional Revision Commission (CRC) ?

The Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) convenes once every 20 years to examine the Florida Constitution and propose changes for voter consideration. Created by Article XI, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution, the CRC is composed of 37 Commissioners. Fifteen Commissioners are appointed by the Governor of Florida, nine by the President of the Florida Senate, nine by the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and three by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. The Attorney General of Florida automatically serves on the CRC. The Governor designates the Chair of the CRC.

The CRC meets for approximately one year, traveling across the State of Florida, identifying issues, performing research and possibly recommending changes to the Florida Constitution. As part of this process, the CRC holds public hearings to learn about issues that matter most to Floridians and considers proposed constitutional amendments submitted by the public. Any proposals that pass the CRC’s final vote would be placed on Florida’s General Election ballot (November 6, 2018) and must secure at least 60 percent voter approval to become law.

The 2017-2018 Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) was the third of its kind in Florida history.

In 1968, Florida voters passed an amendment requiring a CRC every 20 years.

The 1977-1978 CRC placed eight amendments on the ballot and none passed.

The 1997-1998 CRC placed nine amendments on the ballot for and 8 were passed.

The 2017-2018 CRC held 15 public hearings across the state. It adjourned on May 11, 2018, and compressed 905 individual proposals into 8 complex amendments.

The 37 commissioners were chaired by businessman and former Senate candidate Carlos Beruff who ran against Marco Rubio in the 2016 primary. Also on the commission were Pam Bondi (AG is always a member), State Representative and Lt. Governor candidate Jeanette Nunez, FL Senate candidate Belinda Keiser, and former Senate President Don Gaetz.

The commission considered 123 commissioner proposals and 782 from the public, adopting 25 which were packed into the 8 ballot questions.

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