Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General re Prohibiting State Spending for Experimentation that Involves the Destruction of a Live Human Embryo

959 So. 2d 210, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 288, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 956, 2007 WL 1556636
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedMay 31, 2007
DocketNos. SC06-2286, SC07-54
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 959 So. 2d 210 (Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General re Prohibiting State Spending for Experimentation that Involves the Destruction of a Live Human Embryo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General re Prohibiting State Spending for Experimentation that Involves the Destruction of a Live Human Embryo, 959 So. 2d 210, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 288, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 956, 2007 WL 1556636 (Fla. 2007).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

The Attorney General of Florida has requested this Court’s opinion as to the validity of an initiative petition circulated pursuant to article XI, section 3 of the Florida Constitution, including the corresponding financial impact statement. We have jurisdiction. See art. IV, § 10, art. V, § 3(b)(10), Fla. Const. For the reasons expressed below, we approve the amendment, ballot title and summary, and the financial impact statement for placement on the ballot.

I. FACTS

On November 9, 2006, the Attorney General received a ballot initiative from the Secretary of State seeking to amend the Florida Constitution to prohibit state funding of research that destroys a live human embryo. This amendment is sponsored by Citizens for Science and Ethics, Inc.1 The full text of the proposed amendment reads as follows:

Be it enacted by the people of Florida that a new section for Article X of the Constitution is created to add the following:
No revenue of the state shall be spent on experimentation that involves the destruction of a live human embryo.

The ballot title for the proposed amendment is “Prohibiting State Spending For Experimentation That Involves The Destruction of a Live Human Embryo.” The summary for the proposed amendment states: “No revenue of the state shall be spent on experimentation that involves the destruction of a live human embryo.”

The Financial Impact Statement for this proposed amendment, as prepared by the Financial Impact Estimating Conference, provides as follows: “This amendment is not expected to have an impact on state or local government expenses.”

II. GOVERNING LAW

The citizen ballot initiative process is recognized in the Florida constitution:

The power to propose the revision or amendment of any portion or portions of this constitution by initiative is reserved to the people, provided that, any such revision or amendment, except for those limiting the power of government to raise revenue, shall embrace but one subject and matter directly connected therewith.

Art. XI, § 3, Fla. Const.

The process begins when the sponsoring party files a petition and a copy of the proposed amendment with the custodian of state records, the Secretary of State. Id. Accompanying this petition are signatures collected from electors across the state. Id. Once the Secretary of State verifies that the threshold number of valid signatures has been reached, notice of the initiative is sent to the Attorney General, who then must request an advisory opinion from this Court. Art. IV, § 10, Fla. Const.; § 16.061, Fla. Stat. (2006). The advisory opinion is to address the ballot initiative’s compliance with article XI, section 3 of the Florida Constitution, which requires that an amendment by ballot touch upon “one subject and matter directly connected therewith.” Art. IV, § 10, Fla. Const.

[212]*212Through prior case law and advisory opinions, this Court has explained its standard of review as follows:

The Court’s inquiry, when determining the validity of initiative petitions, is limited to two legal issues: whether the petition satisfies the single-subject requirement of article XI, section 3, Florida Constitution, and whether the ballot titles and summaries are printed in clear and unambiguous language pursuant to section 101.161, Florida Statutes (1999).

Advisory Op. to the Att’y Gen. re Amendment to Bar Gov’t from Treating People Differently Based on Race in Pub. Educ., 778 So.2d 888, 890 (Fla.2000) (citing Advisory Op. to the Att’y Gen. re Right of Citizens to Choose Health Care Providers, 705 So.2d 563, 565 (Fla.1998); Advisory Op. to the Att’y Gen. re Prohibiting Pub. Funding of Political Candidates’ Campaigns, 693 So.2d 972, 974 (Fla.1997)).

When reviewing a proposed amendment to determine compliance with the single subject and ballot summary requirements, this Court has stated that it will “not address the merits or wisdom of the proposed amendment.” Advisory Op. to the Att’y Gen. re Fla. Marriage Prot. Amendment, 926 So.2d 1229, 1233 (Fla.2006) (citing Amendment to Bar Gov’t from Treating People Differently Based on Race in Pub. Educ., 778 So.2d at 891). Additionally:

[W]e have recognized that we “must act with extreme care, caution, and restraint before [we] remove[ ] a constitutional amendment from the vote of the people.” Askew v. Firestone, 421 So.2d 151, 156 (Fla.1982). In elaborating on this latter principle, we have noted that “the Court has no authority to inject itself in the process, unless the laws governing the process have been ‘clearly and conclusively’ violated.” Advisory Opinion to the Attorney Gen. re Right to Treatment & Rehab. for Non-Violent Drug Offenses, 818 So.2d 491, 498-99 (Fla.2002). It is within the framework of these fundamental principles that we review ... proposed amendments] and ballot language.

Fla. Marriage Prot. Amendment, 926 So.2d at 1233 (second and third alterations in original).

A. Single-Subject Rule

The single-subject requirement has two components: “(1) it prevents ‘logrolling,’ a practice that combines separate issues into a single proposal to secure passage of an unpopular issue; and (2) it ‘prevents] a single constitutional amendment from substantially altering or performing the functions of multiple aspects of government.’ “ Id. (quoting Advisory Op. to the Att’y Gen. re the Med. Liab. Claimant’s Comp. Amendment, 880 So.2d 675, 677 (Fla.2004)). To comply with the single-subject requirement, “[a] proposed amendment must manifest a ‘logical and natural oneness of purpose’ in order to satisfy the single-subject requirement.” Med. Liab. Claimant’s Comp. Amendment, 880 So.2d at 677 (quoting Fine v. Firestone, 448 So.2d 984, 990 (Fla.1984)). “This determination requires the Court to consider whether the proposed amendment affects separate functions of government, as well as how it affects other provisions of the constitution.” Id. (citing In re Advisory Op. to the Att’y Gen. — Restricts Laws Related to Discrimination, 632 So.2d 1018, 1020 (Fla.1994)).

1. Logrolling

Logrolling occurs when “several separate issues are rolled into a, single initiative in order to aggregate votes or secure approval of an otherwise unpopular issue.” In re Advisory Op. to Att’y Gen. — Save Our Everglades, 636 So.2d 1336, 1339 (Fla.1994). Thus, part of the goal of this [213]*213Court’s single-subject scrutiny is to “avoid voters having to accept part of a proposal which they oppose in order to obtain a change which they support.” Fine, 448 So.2d at 993. The Court uses a “oneness of purpose” standard, which looks at whether a proposed amendment “may be logically viewed as having a natural relation and connection as component parts or aspects of a single dominant plan or scheme. Unity of object and plan is the universal test.” Id. at 990 (quoting City of Coral Gables v. Gray, 154 Fla. 881, 19 So.2d 318, 320 (1944)).

We find that the proposed amendment only addresses one subject, the prohibition of the state funding of experimentation that involves the destruction of a live human embryo.

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959 So. 2d 210, 32 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 288, 2007 Fla. LEXIS 956, 2007 WL 1556636, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/advisory-opinion-to-the-attorney-general-re-prohibiting-state-spending-for-fla-2007.