In the state of Florida, the constitution forms and defines the government’s powers, duties, structure, and functions. It also defines the basic laws of the state. The state’s current constitution was approved in 1968. Previously, the state of Florida had been governed by six constitutions. The current constitution of Florida comprises of five articles.
Article Ⅰ: “Declaration of Rights.” This article comprises the bill of rights, which is very identical to the United States bill of rights (James, 2008). There are more explanations, such as that religious freedom should not justify immoral rights, among others. Article Ⅱ: “General Provisions.” This article demands separation of powers between the three arms of government provided by the Florida constitution (James, 2008). Among the various sections, the first section defines the state boundaries, the second defines basic rights, and the third directs the separation of powers (James, 2008). The seventh section issues the consequences of pollution, while the ninth demands that English be used as the official language.
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Article Ⅲ: “Legislature.” The third section requires that the Florida legislature be a bicameral body consisting of an upper smaller body; the senate, with not more than forty members and a lower larger body; the House of Representatives with no more than 120 members. Both members should be elected on a two-year term (Jon, 2015). Article Ⅳ this article governs the election of Florida’s governor and lieutenant governor (Jon, 2015). It also states that the Florida cabinet is consisting of an attorney general and a chief financial officer. Again, the cabinet should contain a commissioner of agriculture with specified defined powers. It states that these should be elected other than appointed (James, 2008).
Article Ⅴ: “Judiciary.” This section establishes the state’s Supreme Court and is district courts of Appeal (Harry, 2007). It defines how they are to be elected and establishes their jurisdiction (Harry, 2007). This section has been amended quite a several times.
Article Ⅵ: “Suffrage and Elections.” This section details what is required of voters and voting conditions (James, 2008). Article Ⅶ: “Finance and Taxation.” This article prevents income tax taxation and sets out taxations’ limitations (James, 2008). Article Ⅷ: “Local Government.” The local government comprises the county and municipal governments and are governed by this eighth section (James, 2008). Article Ⅸ: “Education.” This section talks about public education (James, 2008). Article Ⅹ: “Miscellaneous.” This section includes several sections that discuss several provisions, such as homestead exemption provisions, among others.
Florida’s government is divided into three arms: the judiciary, executive, and the legislature (Harry, 2007). The executive branch is headed by the governor, who tells the legislators in a speech at the beginning of every session. The lieutenant governor assists the governor to keeps issues in the minds of the legislative council. The executive executes the law. The judicial branch executes, determine the facts, interpret the law and make rulings upon the cases brought to court (Harry, 2007).
Among the nine states that do not impose a personal income tax is Florida. The state had imposed a tax on intangible property done away within 2006 (Jon, 2015). A use tax is payable on purchases made out of state and brought into the state within the first six months. Other taxes are corporate income, solid waste, and insurance premiums, among others (Jon, 2015). The state is not allowed to have a budget deficit according to the balanced budget provision.
The state’s budget is funded a third by the general revenue and the other two thirds by the trust funds. The sales tax funds the general revenue. The local government has its own budget, which is funded by the property taxes. The state’s annual budget is prepared by the legislature and signed into law by the governor, who then administers it (Harry, 2007). Most of the budgeted funds are allocated into the following departments: health and social services, education, transportation, criminal justice and corrections, general government, natural resources and environment, reserves, and courts.
The government is designed to ensure that no branch is more powerful than the other (Jon, 2015). This is not always the case since one branch can still be more powerful than the other. In this case, the executive seems to be more powerful than the rest of the branches. This is because it controls all the powers (Jon, 2015). When the parliament is too strong, the government may easily be faced with instability, and it is eventually removed. The executive may become stronger, especially when it teams up with the legislature. The strength of the executive grows and declines with the rule of law (Jon, 2015). Usually, states with a good rule of law are rich, and therefore, the executive can do more staff since it has more money. Contrary, the law declines the power of the executive since it has to follow the law.
Like every other constitution, Florida’s constitution contains the bill of rights, which refers to the constitution’s first ten amendments. It simply shows out the citizen’s rights concerning their government (Jon, 2015). The bill of rights guarantees civil rights and liberties to individuals. These civil rights include; freedom of religion, speech, and freedom of the press. It sets rules for the law processes and reserves all powers not delegated to the federal government to the people.
The first amendment of the bill of rights protects rights such as freedom of speech and the opportunity of asking the government to fix problems. The second one protects the right of keeping bear arms (Harry, 2007). The third amendment protects private homeowners from abuse by the police. The fourth amendment prevents the government from unnecessary searches in residential homes. The Fifth Amendment offers protection to those people that have been accused of crimes (Harry, 2007). For example, a person cannot be prosecuted twice for the same offense. The same case applies to the protection of people accused of crimes such that they are provided with a speedy trial. The seventh amendment ensures a jury trial. The eighth amendment protects citizens from unusual punishment such as excessive bail. The listing of rights does not mean that citizens do not have other rights that have not been stated. This is portrayed in the ninth amendment.
The last amendment states that the federal government has the powers that have been delegated by the constitution. According to various statistics, most citizens claim that the first amendment of the bill of rights is the most important.
References
Harry, L, A. (2007). Florida’s Constitution: A View from the Middle. Nova Law Review. Pg. 3-18. https://unsuworks.nova.edu/nlr
James, R, W. (2008). Municipalities and the Florida Constitution. Wolf gallery. Pg. 2-23. Wolf.373.gallery (f).doc
Jon, M. (2015). Florida Constitution Law. Fall 2015 course syllabus. Pg. 1-24. mills@law.ufl.edu
