Proposed: Florida Constitutional Amendment 7 First responder and military member survivor benefits; public colleges and universities
Posted October 1, 2018 09:10 am
By
CD Davidson-Hiers
Amendment 7: First responder and military member survivor benefits; public colleges and universities
Ballot summary: “Grants
mandatory payment of death benefits and
waiver of certain educational expenses to
qualifying survivors of certain first
responders and military members who die
performing official duties. Requires
supermajority votes by university trustees
and state university system board of
governors to raise or impose all
legislatively authorized fees if law
requires approval by those bodies.
Establishes existing state college system as
constitutional entity; provides governance
structure."
Florida voters could
face twelve different proposed amendments to
the state Constitution on Nov. 6 – one of
the longest lists ever. The amendments
include complex changes to tax policy,
banning offshore oil drilling and greyhound
racing, expanding gambling, automatically
restoring voting rights for ex-felons,
setting new rules on lobbying, and whether
Florida should ban vaping in public places.
Some of the amendments
“bundle” several different ideas into one,
meaning voters may be forced to vote for
something they don’t like in order to
approve something they want, or vice versa.
(Three of the amendments are mired
in a legal challenge that’s
before the Florida Supreme Court)
What it’s about?
Proposed Florida Constitutional Amendment 7 is the second “bundled” Amendment on the November ballot – meaning it combines several topics. The Amendment has three parts, and voters can only cast a single yes or no vote for all three topics.
It would:
• Change the
way universities go about increasing student
fees such as transportation costs and health
services (but not tuition costs). A
supermajority, nine of the 13 members
of the university Board of Trustees, would
have to vote in favor of an increase (or
decrease) of school fees for it to be
approved. A supermajority of the state’s
university system Board of Governors, 12 of
the 17 members, would then have to vote in
favor of the change for it to go through.
• Cement the already-existing framework and
current governing board into the Florida
Constitution for the State College System,
which is made up of what used to be 2-year
community colleges, though some of these
colleges do offer 4-year programs for
various majors such as nursing. Amendment 7
would cement into the Constitution boards of
trustees, which currently exist and are
appointed by the governor, that oversee
their local colleges and report to the state
education board.
• Require that the employers of first
responders and other state officers who are
killed in the line of duty provide death
benefits to surviving family members. The
state would also waive educational costs for
the surviving family members if they’re
working on a bachelor’s degree, graduate
degree or other educational certificates.
Amendment 7 applies to firefighters,
paramedics, emergency medical technicians,
law enforcement officers, correctional or
correctional probation officers and
active-duty members of the Florida National
Guard or U.S. military who are stationed or
living in Florida at the time of their
death.
Who’s for it:
The Association of Florida Colleges supports adding the State College System to Florida’s Constitution.
Who’s against it:
The Florida Education Association and the League of Women Voters of Florida. The League opposes Amendment 7 because it requires that university boards make supermajority decisions. The League opposes supermajority rule in general and says it impedes swift decisions being made during emergencies.
Other key points:
Florida’s Constitution already provides a State University System for governing public universities. Amendment 7 would elevate the State College System to the same Constitutional level.
Federal law guarantees death benefits for the survivors of U.S. military personnel killed in the line-of-duty.
Florida law already guarantees death benefits, including covering certain educational costs (like bachelor’s and graduate degrees), for the survivors of Florida law enforcement officers, correctional and correctional probation officers.
The Amendment needs 60 percent of the vote to pass.
-------------------------------
CD Davidson-Hiers is a 2017 summa cum laude graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Creative Writing and French. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key honors societies and has received multiple writing awards for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Prior to joining the Florida Phoenix, CD worked at the Tallahassee Democrat and has bylines in Tallahassee Magazine. She is a native of Pensacola.
This piece appeared in the Florida Phoenix and was reprinted by the Columbia County Observer with permission or license.
Graphics and layout by the Observer
