While Florida lawmakers approved a plan this spring to make it harder to place constitutional amendments on the ballot, at least seven proposed citizens’ initiatives have emerged in recent weeks.
The seven proposals have been posted on the Florida Division of Elections website since April 8, with five posted last week.
The initiatives include a proposal, backed by a political committee known as Let Florida Vote, that would lead to an elected education commissioner serving on the state Cabinet. A political committee known as FL5.org has filed five initiatives, including proposals to block construction or expansion of toll roads on conservation and rural lands and a proposal to ban captive wildlife hunting.
Also, a committee known as Floridians for Free and Fair Elections has proposed an initiative that would move to a ranked voting system in general elections.
To get on the 2022 ballot, the committees would need to submit 891,589 valid petition signatures for each initiative and receive approval of the proposed ballot wording from the Florida Supreme Court.
Lawmakers last month approved a bill (SB 1890) that is designed to make the process harder by placing a $3,000 cap on contributions to committees trying to put initiatives on the ballot.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has filed a federal-court challenge to the bill, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law.
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