Like many states, Florida has a constitutional provision barring the government from sending tax money "directly or indirectly" to any "church, sect or religious denomination." If some lawmakers have their way, though, that church-state protection won't be there for long. Yesterday, a State Senate committee voted 6-2 to send a constitutional amendment to the ballot box.
The campaign to change the constitution became a cause of conservatives after the First District Court of Appeal canceled one of Gov. Jeb Bush's voucher programs in 2004 because it funneled money to religious schools.
A powerful tax commission stocked with Bush-friendly appointees attempted to place a similar measure on the 2008 ballot, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the commission overstepped its bounds and struck the ballot language.
Opponents say this latest effort is also unconstitutional because it would allow government leaders to favor some faiths over others, which is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.
60 percent of state's House and Senate would have to approve the measure to send it to the voters. Changing the Constitution would then require 60 percent of the state's voters in November.
