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.

Ballot Amendments to be Explained at October Meeting

The large number of complex ballot questions to appear in November require research to really understand the consequences of their passage. Let us help you through it with a distillation of the important issues and some recommendations on how to approach them. See who put the questions on the ballot, who supports them and who opposes them. You will come away enlightened!

1 Increased Homestead Property Tax Exemption	2 Limitations on Property Tax Assessments	3 Voter Control of Gambling in Florida	4 Voting Restoration Amendment	5 Supermajority Vote Required to Impose, Authorize, or Raise State Taxes or Fees
6 Rights of Crime Victims; Judges	7 First Responder and Military Member Survivor Benefits; Public Colleges and Universities	8 School Board Term Limits, Allow State to Operate Non-Board Established Schools	9 Prohibits Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling; Prohibits Vaping in Enclosed Indoor Workplaces	10 State and Local Government Structure and Operation
11 Property Rights; Removal of Obsolete Provision; Criminal Statutes	12 Lobbying and Abuse of Office by Public Officers	13 Ends Dog Racing		PBC-1 PBC School District Tax Increase

The Ethical Lapses of Andrew Gillum

The following is excerpted from the Sunshine State News:

---

Now that Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is the Democratic Party nominee for governor, the press and voters need to take a much closer look into his service as our ceremonial mayor.

Gillum has been consistently involved in issues that the FBI is investigating as part of their work into corruption at City Hall and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).

While Gillum alleges he was told by the FBI that he’s not a subject of their investigation, no one has ever corroborated that statement.

First and foremost is the ethical concerns around the New York City trip that Gillum took for his former employer. We now know, after persistent questioning by the Tallahassee Democrat, that Gillum stayed on after that meeting, relocating to a plush NYC hotel, the Millennium Hilton, attending the “Hamilton” Broadway play where tickets cost hundreds of dollars, and even going on a boat ride around Manhattan and the Statute of Liberty with Adam Corey and Mike Miller, where pictures were taken.

Gillum has recently told The Washington Post that sometimes his brother Marcus Gillum pays some of his expenses, and he has said that his brother paid his expenses in NYC.

Scott Maxwell Featured at September Lunch

The job of Political Director involves finding Republican candidates for local elections and helping them succeed. As a current Lake Worth Commissioner serving his sixth term, Scott knows how it’s done.

Join us in September to hear Scott’s views on the upcoming election. With highly contested races for Governor, Senator and US Congress, there is a lot riding on what we do in the next 10 weeks. It’s time to saddle up.

---

Scott Maxwell is the Executive & Political Director of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County.

Scott’s earliest political involvement and activism dates to the Gerald Ford campaign of 1976 and continued through the Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush campaigns.

Over the past 20+ years, Scott has worked successfully with various candidates, consultants and fundraisers throughout Palm Beach County and is currently serving his 6th term on the Lake Worth City Commission.

He devotes much of his free time to volunteering for a number of local faith based and non-profit organizations such as Sacred Heart Church & School, Meals on Wheels and Little Free Libraries, to name a few.

Scott serves as a Director on several Civic, Non-Profit, Government and Political boards throughout Palm Beach County, Tallahassee and Washington D.C.

Born at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia; Scott was raised in a military family. He attended Xavier University in Cincinnati and transferred to Palm Beach County from Pittsburgh in June 1983. Scott met his beautiful wife Paula in 1984, and they married in 1988.

In addition to their adult son, Scott Jr., they also have two wonderful English Cocker Spaniels and an Australian Terrier; all rescues, Cody, Domino and Archie “Doodle”.

Scott utilizes his experiences to build relationships and coalitions that encourage others to join, support and actively participate in the Republican Party of Palm Beach County.

Primary Candidate Round-up August 22

More are signing up every day, but so far we have:

Dave Cummings CD18	Javier Manjarres CD22	Belinda Keiser Senate 25	Rick Roth House 85 (November)
Michael Caruso House 89	Matt Spritz House 89	John Mercadante Governor	Bob White Governor
Matt Caldwell Agriculture Commissioner

---

No July Meeting in Support of the Jamboree

Help our Club continue as one of the most staunch supporters of the Bi-annual Old Fashioned Political Jamboree held every other summer in an election year.

We are a co-sponsor with a special tent to sell a little jewelry and some cute desk elephants to raise money for our scholarship fund. Look for our tent at the park.

Bring your reservation check (to Rep Party of PB County) or $30 cash to our scholarship lunch on June 27. We will provide your reservation in a LIST OF ATTENDEES to the Jamboree Organizers.

WHAT:	OLD FASHIONED POLITICAL JAMBOREE, (camaraderie, friends, candidates)
WHEN:	SATURDAY, JULY 14, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
WHERE:	South County Civic Center/Park—16700 Jog Rd, Delray (across from Morikami)
COST:	$30 for the BEST BBQ and all the fixin’s (check or cash)
BRING:	Your appetite and a fan (it’s summer in FL)

Dr. Emma Banks to present the 2018 Ann Roberts Scholarships

Presenting the awards for the club will be our featured speaker, Inlet Grove Community High School CEO Dr. Emma Banks.

---

Dr. Banks, CEO of the Inlet Grove Community High School (Charter School), developed and implemented the first successful Mentor’s Program for teen parent students in the PBC school system. At Inlet Grove under her tutelage, 99% of students get into college or the service industry upon graduation.

As a TV producer, she is working on the documentary “Street Talk”, which provides insight to the needs of the youth who have dropped out and have committed crimes. She is also responsible for “Reality High” a real life drama show, and the children’s teen talk show “Our Future Generation” which was the number one children’s show n the Nielson ratings.

The only child of Jennie Miller and born in the small town in Monticello, Florida, she began her education at Delaware State where she received her Bachelors Degree in Distributive Education, her master’s degree in Administration and her doctorate in Organizational Leadership. She began working for the State Department of Education in Florida in 1978 then she moved to West Palm Beach and began working at an adult vocational school in 1987 as an Assistant Principal. In 2004, the adult vocational school became a charter high school and Dr. Banks became Principal of the 700-student facility. She is now the President / CEO of Inlet Grove.

Rick Roth Updates on Recent Legislative Session

House District 85 Representative Rick Roth, featured at the April lunch, gave us his overview of the recent session in Tallahassee.

Agriculture in the state is declining, he said, with subsidized farms in Mexico taking their toll. The big priority to come will be water – having enough clean and available as the population grows from 20 to 30 million.

The session was dominate by the impact of Hurricane Irma and the Parkland shootings. The Parkland bill was done quickly and is a good first step. Calling it a “massive failure of government” – from BSO to the FBI, the response was bipartisan. $400M was set aside for school safety, resource officers will be added to the schools and more funding will be available for mental health programs.

In the financial area, $170M in tax savings was passed and an additional property tax exemption will be on the ballot in November, along with a proposal to require a 2/3 majority of the legislature to increase taxes or fees.

Through the strong leadership of Richard Corcoran in the House, we passed an $88M budget with additional spending on education, public safety, medicaid, and land conservation. $15K in sales tax savings were granted to nursing homes and assisted living facilities to help with the mandate to buy generating equipment.

On opioids, prescriptions will be registered and there will be new transparency in record keeping.

Some specific bills mentioned were HB37 to allow primary care agreements to not be regulated as insurance, and HB351, which will bring transparency to prescription drug prices.

---

Also at the meeting was Baxter Troutman, candidate for Agriculture Commissioner. A citizen farmer and cattle rancher from Polk County, Baxter has been placing people in farm jobs in Florida and Georgia for 21 years. His five top issues for the campaign are: Water resources, the citrus greening disease that has reduced crops by 75%, Labor – finding enough, land – prevent crowding out of farms by developers, and NAFTA, which is killing Florida agriculture.

Next Month, join us on May 23 for Michele and Joseph Assad, the former CIA agents who have written the book “Breaking Cover”.

Authors of “Breaking Cover” at May Lunch

ARE YOU CAPTIVATED by ESPIONAGE? Do you read Spy Novels? Real Life INTRIGUE ? (Ted Bell, Daniel Silva, Nelson DeMille, Ken Follett, John le Carre’)

Bring your Friends May 23 to hear from TWO former CIA secret agents who have walked the walk and lived the life for 10 years—- Joseph and Michele Rigby Assad—who met in school in central Florida, graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic College, finished graduate studies at Georgetown, Washington DC, and were sent by the CIA after 9-11 to countries whose names had to be redacted from Michele’s book, “BREAKING COVER”, for protection.

Michele believes that God/Providence brought her together with Egyptian immigrant, Joseph Assad to direct both their lives in ways she will explain…..how SHE in particular, was forced to blend in to the middle east culture to obtain highly sensitive information helpful to the US Government’s work there.

Michele and Joseph will keep us in suspense as to their project to vet and re-locate a number of Iraqi migrants and their quest to find a country that would take them; in this case, it was Slovakia. There were many ups and downs when the airport closed frequently on the days they were scheduled to leave due to impending air strikes and many checkpoints to deal with. (This was a featured story on ABC’s 20/20). Both Michele and Joseph continue their work as international security consultants splitting time between the Middle East, Florida, and Washington, DC. We are lucky she has this date free for us.

Michele reports on the 3 handicaps of a CIA agent’s experience: “We are Americans; we are non-believers; we are CIA officers: — and for her, “She was a Woman”.

There will be copies of Michele’s book for purchase.

---

Michele Rigby Assad is a former undercover officer in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Operations. Trained as a counterterrorism specialist, Michele served her country for ten years, working in Iraq and other secret Middle Eastern locations.

Upon retirement from active service, Michele and her husband Joseph (also a former agent) joined a group of Americans who wished to aid persecuted Christians. Their efforts resulted in the evacuation of a group from northern Iraq that was featured on ABC’s 20/20 in December 2015.

Michele holds a master’s degree in Contemporary Arab Studies from Georgetown University. Today she serves as an international security consultant, splitting her time between the Middle East, Florida, and Washington, D.C.

Tallahassee Update with Rick Roth

Rick will give us an update on the accomplishments of the 2018 Legislative Session.

We will also hear from Baxter Troutman, candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture. Baxter is a 4th generation Florida farmer with a lifetime of experience working in citrus and cattle. For two decades Troutman has been chief executive officer of Labor Solutions, a personnel services company that has placed over 50,000 people in jobs throughout Florida.

---

BIOGRAPHY OF REPRESENTATIVE RICK ROTH

Representative Rick Roth was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach and he was raised in Belle Glade Florida. Rick graduated from Belle Glade High School in 1970. He went on to study at Emory University where he graduated with a degree in Mathematics. Family life is busy for Rick and his wife of nearly 40 years, Jeanie. Most importantly to him are his children, Lindsay, Ryan and Ashley and his grandchildren, Hannah, Ezra and Ella. He is a founding member of the Truth Point Church in West Palm Beach.

As the President and principal owner of Roth Farms, Inc. and Ray’s Heritage, LLC Packinghouse, Rick has been a driving force of the agricultural community in western Palm Beach County.

Representative Roth has served in numerous leadership roles in his community. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida. Rick supports many community organizations, including Florida Association of Food Banks, Farmers Feeding Florida and the South Florida Sweet Corn Fiesta.

Representative Roth’s community service includes work with the Central Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce and Belle Glade Rotary Club to name a few. He is the Co-Founder of Farm City Week for the local Chambers and hosts many educational Farm Tours for Elementary Schools.

Representative Roth was elected to serve in the Florida Legislature as a State Representative for District 85. Rick’s election is a culmination of his 35 years of leadership experience in both the public and private sectors. District 85 covers the northern and central parts of Palm Beach County including the Town of Juno Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Village of North Palm Beach and parts of Jupiter and Loxahatchee Groves.

Committees:

• Commerce
• SubCommittees: Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations
• Agriculture & Property Rights
• Oversight, Transparency & Administration
• PreK-12 Quality

« Previous Page — Next Page »