Two powerful legislative committees in Florida moved a constitutional amendment forward today, voting along party lines to lift the state's ban on funding for religious organizations. Last week, it was the Senate's K-12 Education Committee, and today the Senate Judiciary and House Criminal and Civil Justice Policy Committees followed suit.
Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne, said his bill (SJR 2550) would not allow tax money to be used for any sectarian proselytizing or religious instruction. But, if put on the November ballot and approved by 60 percent of voters, the measure would bar the state from denying funding to any social or educational program simply because it is run by a religious organization.
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Democrats on both committees argued that the constitutional amendment would violate separation of church and state. The Florida Constitution goes farther than the U.S. Constitution, providing that no public money may be used "directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution."
Many believe removing the ban would finally usher in a school voucher program to the state, after numerous rejected efforts.
