Constitution of Florida
The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current constitution of Florida was ratified on November 5, 1968.
Florida has been governed by six different constitutions since acceding to the United States. Before 1838, only the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was briefly enacted in Florida. A monument commemorating La Constitución de Cádiz still stands in front of Government House in St. Augustine.
Florida's first constitution as a U.S. territory was written and implemented in 1838. On March 3, 1845, Florida was granted admission into the Union as the 27th state. The current constitution of Florida was ratified on November 5, 1968, and has been modified by initiative and referendum several times since.
Constitution
1838 Convention
One of the requirements for Florida to become a state and join the Union was that its constitution must be approved by the United States Congress. In order to fulfill that requirement, an act was passed by the Florida Territorial Council in 1838, approved by Governor Richard Keith Call, calling for the election of delegates in October 1838 to a convention to be held at St. Joseph, Florida. The delegates were to draft a constitution and bill of rights for the Territory of Florida. The Constitutional Convention convened on December 3, 1838, with Robert R. Reid presiding as president and Joshua Knowles secretary. The work of the convention was carried out by eighteen committees, whose members were familiar with that particular area of government. The Convention adjourned sine die on January 11, 1839.A handwritten copy of the 1838 Constitution or "Form of Government for the People of Florida", signed by convention president Robert Raymond Reid and Convention secretary Joshua Knowles, resides at the State Archives of Florida. Considered "a secretary's copy" this document is the only known copy of the 1838 Constitution. The original Constitution, signed by all the delegates, has never been found. The preamble to the Constitution of 1838:
Ordinance of Secession and the 1861 Constitution of Florida
In 1860, the onrush of the American Civil War brought the election in Florida of a convention "for the purpose of taking into consideration the position of this State in the Federal Union." Pursuant to an Act of the Legislature approved November 30, 1860, Governor Madison S. Perry issued a proclamation calling an election on Saturday, December 22, 1860, for delegates to a Convention to address the issue of whether Florida had a right to withdraw from the Union. The Secession Convention met on January 3, 1861, in Tallahassee, and produced for adoption on January 10 an Ordinance of Secession and a Constitution which largely altered the existing Constitution.Some changes related directly to Florida's secession, such as substituting "Confederate States" for "United States," removing the requirement that the governor be a citizen for the United States for ten years prior to his election, and declaring Florida to be "a sovereign and independent nation." The governor's term was changed from four years to two years starting October 1865, an election never realized due to the Confederacy's defeat. The 1861 Constitution also added several sections affecting the power of General Assembly of Florida, such as limiting the duration of sessions, allowing it to license toll bridges and pass general laws for name changes, prohibiting it from allowing married women or minors to contract or manage their estates, and prohibiting it from legitimizing bastards. The General Assembly was also allowed to tax the lands and slaves of non-residents higher than residents and create special tribunals to try offenses committed by slaves, freemen, and mulattoes. Public lands previously ceded to the United States government were deemed reclaimed by Florida but were to be used exclusively for paying the State's debts and necessary expenses, and such lands could not be granted for any other purpose. Prohibitions on certain bankers and certain previous office holders from being elected until the expiration of a year from having left their prior position were removed. The 1861 Constitution was the first Florida Constitution to contain a clause prohibiting individuals from holding two offices simultaneously with limited exceptions. No citizen of any of the States or Territories of the United States then at war with the Confederate States could be admitted to Florida citizenship, be eligible to vote or be elected, hold property, or work in the State of Florida. The articles pertaining to the militia and corporations were largely reworded. The General Assembly lost the ability to amend the Constitution, leaving a State convention as the only method of amendment. The prohibition on the General Assembly forbidding emigrants to the State from bringing their slaves with them was repealed. The article pertaining to the seat of government was removed. Other changes included removing obsolete language stemming from Florida's creation as a State and codifying legislation enacted since Florida attained statehood.
John C. McGehee of Madison County was elected president of the convention, and the convention ratified the Constitution adopted by the Confederate States of America on April 13 and adjourned sine die on April 27, 1861.
Since the convention generally approved of Governor Perry's actions it made no move to interfere with his administration. However, when Governor John Milton took office in October 1861 and reversed some policies of his predecessor, a movement was started to reconvene the convention. Convention president McGehee issued a proclamation on December 13 for the convention to meet on January 14, 1862, at Tallahassee. McGehee expressed concern over two matters: the state's finances and the powers of the governor during wartime. To remedy the latter, the members appointed an Executive Council of four men to share the executive authority because they felt that the powers of a wartime executive should not be placed in the hands of one man. The convention adjourned sine die on January 27, 1862.
The 1865 Florida Constitution (not approved)
In October 1865, delegates met to revoke the Ordinance of Secession and write a new constitution. This constitution, since it limited suffrage to white male citizens, did not meet the requirements of Congress for seating delegates from the former Confederate states, and it was scrapped in favor of the Constitution of 1868.The 1868 Florida Constitution
The Reconstruction era constitution returned civilian control of the state after Florida became subject to the military authority of the federal government in 1867. Pursuant to an act of Congress, General John Pope, commander of the Third Military District, issued an order on April 8, 1867, dividing the 39 counties of the State into 19 districts for the election of delegates to a convention to frame a new state constitution. The new constitution had to conform with the federal constitution, including the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.The convention met in Tallahassee on January 20, 1868. As deliberations got under way, bitterly divided factions were formed. Of the 46 elected delegates, 18 were black and at least 15 were former slaves, who were described as literate, "gentlemen", and "eloquent" by a Northern reporter who was present. According to historian Adam Wasserman, "The radical delegates were in the vast majority and backed by a large militant black electorate." The "moderates" were "a powerful organized lobby of Southern planters, Northern capitalists, and capitalists".
For two weeks, the "radical" and "moderate" factions debated. Under the leadership of future governor Harrison Reed, the "moderates" tried to give the sparsely populated white counties the same voting power as the heavily populated black counties. The "radicals", however, would not agree to such an arrangement.
Seeing no chance of victory, 19 of the "moderate" delegates decamped to nearby Monticello, Florida. The "radical" majority proceeded to craft "the initial and legitimate constitution", signed it, and then adjourned for a week to hear back from the Reconstruction military commander, General George Meade. On February 10, the 21 "moderate" delegates, with the aid of Democratic governor and ex-Confederate general David S. Walker, broke into the hall at midnight. To ensure a quorum, soldiers seized two of the "radical" delegates, and forced them to the hall. Between midnight and 2 AM, the "moderates" drafted a new constitution, "protected by a guard of Federal soldiers outside the hall". When the day came for the legal convention to meet again, soldiers with bayonets prevented the "radicals" from entering the hall.
The two constitutions were both submitted to General Meade; the Committee on Reconstruction subsequently adopted the "moderate" one, on Meade's recommendation. Under its terms for reapportionment, less than one-fourth of voters would be able to elect a majority of the State Senate, and less than one-third could elect a majority of the Assembly. As stated in a letter to Senator David Yulee, "Under our Constitution the Judiciary & State officers will be appointed & the apportionment will prevent a negro legislature." Freedmen's Bureau agent William J. Furman later bragged that he had prevented Florida from being "niggerized".
The constitution was adopted by the people of Florida in May 1868. It conferred the electoral franchise upon "male persons" instead of "white male persons", as in the 1865 Constitution. With its acceptance by the federal military authorities, the State of Florida was recognized as being restored to the Union, and its senators and representatives were admitted to Congress.
This constitution stated that one seat in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate were to be allocated to the Seminoles; the seats were to be filled by a member of their tribe "and in no case by a white man." However, these positions were never filled, and this provision was not carried over into subsequent constitutions.