LWVF Logo (better resolution?)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2014

Contact:
Deirdre Macnab
LWVF President
floridaleague@earthlink.net
(407) 415-4559
League of Women Voters Releases Positions on
2014 Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Tallahassee, Fla -- After careful study and discussion, the League has decided to support Amendment 1, which would direct funding towards the preservation of land and water in the state, and oppose Amendment 3, which deals with who has the authority to make judicial appointments. The League will not take a position on Amendment 2, which concerns medical marijuana.

 

"Florida is facing a crisis with quality and quantity of water," says Chuck O'Neal, LWVF Board Director and Chair of the Natural Resources Committee, and one of the speakers on yesterday's call. "We must protect our springs, waterways and drinking water, and not just for the immediate future."

 

Pegeen Hanrahan, Deputy Director of the Yes on 1 Campaign and former Mayor of Gainesville, stressed that Amendment 1 is not a new tax, but a continuation of Florida's investment  in "protecting the brand of Florida and ensuring we have clean drinking water for our children and grandchildren, and will represent only 1 percent of Florida's total budget." 

  

The call also addressed Amendment 3, which the League has come out in opposition to. The League's long-standing position on the need for an independent judiciary to preserve democracy was the key factor in the organization's decision to oppose Amendment 3.

 

Justice Harry Lee Anstead, a former Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, characterized the amendment as a "bizarre solution looking for a nonexistent problem." Amendment 3 would give an out-going governor the authority to make appointments to the Florida Supreme Court or a district court of appeal. "It is the latest in continuing efforts to politicize the third branch of government," Anstead concluded.

 

To download and listen to a recording of yesterday's call with these issue experts, please click here.

 

 

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The League of Women Voters of Florida is a 501c4 organization which serves as the League's advocacy arm and takes positions on issues after long and careful study. 

The League of Women Voters of Florida Education Fund is a 501c3 which maintains a complete toolkit to support the League's voter education efforts, including a Voter Assistance Hotline, 1-855-FL-VOTER (1-855-358-6837), a one-stop website -- BeReadytoVote.org, a mobile site accessible via smartphone, and a 2014 Nonpartisan Voter Guide, available in print in both English and Spanish throughout Florida and online at BeReadytoVote.org.