Supporters of the change argued that protection of pregnant pigs, designation of English as the official state language and establishment of a state minimum wage would not be repealed - they would just become sort of super statutes. Also moving to the law books, instead of the Constitution, would be three major trophies in the long-running ballot skirmishes between trial lawyers and the medical association.

Those provisions would be virtually untouchable for five years, requiring a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to change or repeal them. But that was not enough for Rep. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, a lawyer on the House Justice Council.

"How dare we make this unabashed attempt to amend the Constitution after the people have spoken?" she said. "This is just a rank power grab by the Legislature. Do you think a cabal of term-limited legislators should know better than the people?"

Republican legislative leaders have long tried to rein in the public initiative process, which allows special interests to put issues to a referendum by rounding up 611,009 voter signatures and getting clearance from the state Supreme Court. Over the years, the process has produced the state lottery, a ban on large trawl nets, the "Sunshine" amendment requiring financial disclosure by public officials and the pre-kindergarten system.

But it has also mandated smaller class sizes in public schools, a later-repealed requirement for a "bullet train" between major cities and the poster-porker for changing the system - a 2002 amendment specifying the size of "gestation crates" for sows.

By a 7-3 vote, the Justice Council approved a revision that corrects some grammar, changes gender-specific language and discards some provisions that have been stricken by federal courts. The council did not tamper with other public-initiative amendments, including creation of the university system Board of Governors and the coastal net ban.

The amendments that would become statutes:

Proclaim English to be Florida's "official language."

Regulate confinement pens of pregnant pigs.

Set a state minimum wage.

Give patients a "right to know" about a doctor's medical-malpractice lawsuits.

Forbid licensing of doctors after repeated medical malpractice.

Limit contingency fees for lawyers in malpractice suits.

Joyner said she dislikes having statutory law in the Constitution. But she said legislators had to accept that the public acted only after elected lawmakers refused to.

"Why do we think we are better than the people who sent us here?" she said.

Rep. Dick Kravitz, R-Jacksonville, said the Legislature was just cleaning up the Constitution, not defying the voters.

"We are officials elected by the public," Kravitz told Joyner. "This helps us get back on track and carry out the duty that the public entrusted to us."

Aside from the constitutional revision, there are some bills pending in the session to make it harder for interest groups to amend the Constitution by public petition.

In the Senate, Judiciary Committee Chairman Daniel Webster, R-Winter Garden, said he was not sure how many petition items could be uprooted - even if they were only transplanted to the statutes. Each item has a constituency that can rally votes against a new Constitution in the fall, Webster said.

"I'm trying to build consensus, not make enemies," he said. "You don't need to pick up a lot of groups that are going to come out against you."

Contact Bill Cotterell at (850) 671-6545 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Originally published April 5, 2006

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