Florida Constitution Revision Commission Records
Scope and Content
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) Records include material from the 1st and 2nd Commissions in 1977-1978 and 1997-1998 respectively. Included are transcripts, manuals, guides, polls, articles, committee packets, audio recordings, and other material related to proposed changes to Florida's Constitution. The records are divided into two main series.
Series 1. “Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC), 1977-1978” contains primarily typed transcripts for the commission’s hearings arranged in chronological order and includes a final summary index and other hearing summaries.
Series 2. “Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC), 1997-1998” is primarily composed of material acquired from the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law and Dean Jon Mills who was a former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and served as member of the 1997-1998 Florida CRC as Chairperson of a number of its committees including the “Style and Drafting Committee”, “Select Committee on Article V Costs”, and “Select Committee for Public Education.” The series is divided into four subseries including transcripts of hearings, “Special Order Packets”, audiocassette recordings of the Style and Drafting Committee and Committee on Education, and a “general” subseries that includes articles, proposals, poll reports, manuals, background information, and a bound “Journal of the 1997-1998 Constitution Revision Commission (CRC)”.
Dates
- Creation: 1977-1978, 1997-1998
Creator
- Florida Constitution Revision Commission. (Organization)
Access
The collection is open for research.
Biographical / Historical
In 1968, Florida became the only state that allows for its state constitution to be revisited and changed through a regularly scheduled commission called the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC). The CRC, which meets every 20 years, is a group of 37 commissioners who examine the relevance and applicability of Florida’s Constitution to current and future needs. The Commission meets for approximately one year, traveling the State of Florida, identifying issues, performing research, and possibly recommending changes to the Constitution.
The first commission was held in 1977-1978, the second in 1997-1998, and the third 2017-2018. The first commission was appointed by a single party (the Democrats) and operated under an abbreviated schedule. Eight constitutional amendments were referred to the ballot, voters rejected all of them. The second commission saw the approval of eight of the nine final proposals. The third commission referred eight amendments and although one of the ballots was removed by the court, voters approved all seven. The fourth commission will be held in 2037-2038.
There have been attempts in 1980 and 2022 to abolish the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, but neither have reached the 60 percent vote required to approve the change.
Extent
5 Linear feet (5 Boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Transcripts, manuals, guides, polls, articles, committee packets, audio recordings, and other material related to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission's 1st (1977-1978) and 2nd (1997-1998) Commissions regarding proposed changes to Florida's Constitution.
Physical Location
Please note that this collection is housed in the Auxiliary Library Facility off campus and will require advance notice for timely retrieval. Please contact the Special and Area Studies Collections department prior to your visit.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Material from the second Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) was transferred from the University of Florida's Levin College of Law and donated by Jon Mills in 2022-2023.
Alternate Form of Material
Digital reproductions of items in this collection are available online via the University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC). Please read the Permissions for Use statement for information on copyright, fair use, and use of UFDC digital objects.
Subject
- Mills, Jon L. (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- A Guide to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Dept. Staff
- Date
- March 2005 (Updated January 2025)
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Prepared Using Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is written in English.
Revision Statements
- November 2006: This finding aid was revised in November 2006 by John Nemmers so that it would be in agreement with the 2006 Florida best practice guidelines.
- January 2025: Major addition added covering the 1997-1998 revisions.
Repository Details
Part of the Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Repository
George A. Smathers Libraries
PO Box 117005
Gainesville Florida 32611-7005 United States of America
352-273-2755
special@uflib.ufl.edu