TALLAHASSEE -- Buckle up, Florida political junkies. 2010 could get wild.
The upcoming campaign season will go beyond electing a U.S. senator, a governor, the state Cabinet, members of Congress, legislators and all sorts of local officeholders.
Down the ballot, voters also will find a series of hot-button political issues.
Citizens groups face a deadline Monday for submitting the 676,811 petition signatures needed to put issues on the ballot. The Legislature still can propose constitutional amendments.
An Early Look at What's Coming
Growth
· GLANCE: Brewing for years, the proposed Florida Hometown Democracy constitutional amendment likely will spur one of 2010's noisiest political fights.
· WHAT IT IS: Amendment 4, which reached the ballot after a long-running petition drive, would require voter approval of changes to local comprehensive plans -- the blueprints for city and county growth.
· PRO: Supporters say the amendment would give residents more power over growth decisions and that the current system too often caters to politically connected developers.
· CON: Opponents, including major business groups, say the proposed amendment would stifle economic development and job creation.
Property Taxes
· GLANCE: Voters passed a constitutional amendment two years ago that -- in the oft-quoted words of Gov. Charlie Crist -- was aimed at making property taxes "drop like a rock." This year, they could try again.
· WHAT IT IS: Lawmakers placed a measure on the ballot, known as Amendment 3, that would further limit increases in the taxable values of businesses and other non-homesteaded properties. Also, the proposal would give an additional tax break to first-time homebuyers.
· ALSO: Separately, voters will decide whether to provide a larger homestead-tax exemption to military members who have been on active duty overseas. Lawmakers placed this measure, Amendment 2, on the ballot.
Political Changes
· GLANCE: Once every 10 years, Florida lawmakers jockey to draw new political districts that will benefit their parties -- and, often, themselves.
· WHAT IT IS: A group called Fair Districts Florida has two constitutional amendments this year that would revamp the redistricting process. Those proposals, Amendments 5 and 6, would place restrictions on how legislative and congressional districts can be drawn, including barring lawmakers from drawing districts to favor or disfavor parties or incumbent politicians.
· CON: Opponents contend the proposed restrictions would hurt efforts to elect minority lawmakers and could lead to a raft of lawsuits about districts.
· ALSO: Voters also will consider Amendment 1, which would repeal Florida's system of public financing for statewide candidates who agree to limit campaign spending.
Class Size
· GLANCE: It is unclear what proposed amendments could get added during the legislative session that starts March 2. But Republican leaders will seek an amendment to try to ease class-size standards.
· PEOPLE'S WILL: Voters in 2002 approved an amendment that required the state to gradually reduce class sizes in public schools. The amendment is supposed to fully take effect with the 2010-11 school year, placing strict limits on how many children are in each classroom.
· CON: Opponents say complying with the amendment would be unwieldy and too expensive. They likely will propose a change to allow compliance based on average class sizes in a school, rather than stricter classroom-by-classroom limits.
