FrankGoortani/open-us-law huggingface dataset:
Fla. Const. art. I, § 0 — Article I / Section 0
FL Const., Article I
Status: in_force

← Works entitled Constitution of the State of Florida → Search for titles containing or beginning with: "Constitution of the State of Florida" related portals : Constitutional documents , Florida sister projects : Wikidata item This is a disambiguation page . It lists works that share the same title. If an article link referred you here, please consider editing it to point directly to the intended page. The constitution of the U.S. state of Florida has been revised on several occasions since that state's admission to the Union. 60341 Constitution of the State of Florida Constitution of the State of Florida may refer to: Constitution of the State of Florida (1838) Constitution of the State of Florida (1861) Constitution of the State of Florida (1865) Constitution of the State of Florida (1868) Constitution of the State of Florida (1885) Constitution of the State of Florida (1968)
Fla. Const. art. I, § 24 — Article I / Section 24
FL Const., Article I, Section 24
Status: in_force

: Access to public records and meetings [ edit ] (a) Every person has the right to inspect or copy any public record made or received in connection with the official business of any public body, officer, or employee of the state, or persons acting on their behalf , except with respect to records exempted pursuant to this section or specifically made confidential by this Constitution. This section specifically includes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government and each agency or department created thereunder; counties, municipalities, and districts; and each constitutional officer, board, and commission, or entity created pursuant to law or this Constitution. (b) All meetings of any collegial public body of the executive branch of state government or of any collegial public body of a county, municipality, school district, or special district, at which official acts are to be taken or at which public business of such body is to be transacted or discussed, shall be open and noticed to the public and meetings of the legislature shall be open and noticed as provided in Article III, Section 4(e), except with respect to meetings exempted pursuant to this section or specifically closed by this Constitution. (c) This section shall be self-executing. The legislature, however, may provide by general law passed by a two-thirds vote of each house for the exemption of records from the requirements of subsection (a) and the exemption of meetings from the requirements of subsection (b), provided that such law shall state with specificity the public necessity justifying the exemption and shall be no broader than necessary to accomplish the stated purpose of the law. The legislature shall enact laws governing the enforcement of this section, including the maintenance, control, destruction, disposal, and disposition of records made public by this section, except that each house of the legislature may adopt rules governing the enforcement of this section in relation to records of the legislative branch. Laws enacted pursuant to this subsection shall contain only exemptions from the requirements of subsections (a) or (b) and provisions governing the enforcement of this section, and shall relate to one subject. (d) All laws that are in effect on July 1, 1993 that limit public access to records or meetings shall remain in force, and such laws apply to records of the legislative and judicial branches, until they are repealed. Rules of court that are in effect on the date of adoption of this section that limit access to records shall remain in effect until they are repealed. History. --Added, C.S. for C.S. for H.J.R.'s 1727, 863, 2035, 1992; adopted 1992; Am. S.J.R. 1284, 2002; adopted 2002.
Fla. Const. art. V, § 5 — Article V / Section 5
FL Const., Article V, Section 5
Status: in_force

: Circuit courts [ edit ] (a) ORGANIZATION. There shall be a circuit court serving each judicial circuit. (b) JURISDICTION. The circuit courts shall have original jurisdiction not vested in the county courts, and jurisdiction of appeals when provided by general law. They shall have the power to issue writs of mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari, prohibition and habeas corpus, and all writs necessary or proper to the complete exercise of their jurisdiction. Jurisdiction of the circuit court shall be uniform throughout the state. They shall have the power of direct review of administrative action prescribed by general law. History. --S.J.R. 52-D, 1971; adopted 1972.
Fla. Const. art. IV, § 3 — Article IV / Section 3
FL Const., Article IV, Section 3
Status: in_force

: Succession to office of governor; acting governor [ edit ] (a) Upon vacancy in the office of governor, the lieutenant governor shall become governor. Further succession to the office of governor shall be prescribed by law. A successor shall serve for the remainder of the term. (b) Upon impeachment of the governor and until completion of trial thereof, or during the governor's physical or mental incapacity, the lieutenant governor shall act as governor. Further succession as acting governor shall be prescribed by law. Incapacity to serve as governor may be determined by the supreme court upon due notice after docketing of a written suggestion thereof by three cabinet members, and in such case restoration of capacity shall be similarly determined after docketing of written suggestion thereof by the governor, the legislature or three cabinet members. Incapacity to serve as governor may also be established by certificate filed with the custodian of state records by the governor declaring incapacity for physical reasons to serve as governor, and in such case restoration of capacity shall be similarly established. History. --Ams. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision Nos. 8 and 13, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998.
Fla. Const. art. X, § 6 — Article X / Section 6
FL Const., Article X, Section 6
Status: in_force

: Eminent domain [ edit ] (a) No private property shall be taken except for a public purpose and with full compensation therefor paid to each owner or secured by deposit in the registry of the court and available to the owner. (b) Provision may be made by law for the taking of easements, by like proceedings, for the drainage of the land of one person over or through the land of another.
Fla. Const. art. V, § 13 — Article V / Section 13
FL Const., Article V, Section 13
Status: in_force

: Prohibited activities [ edit ] All justices and judges shall devote full time to their judicial duties. They shall not engage in the practice of law or hold office in any political party. History. --S.J.R. 52-D, 1971; adopted 1972.
Fla. Const. art. I, § 13 — Article I / Section 13
FL Const., Article I, Section 13
Status: in_force

: Habeas corpus [ edit ] The writ of habeas corpus shall be grantable of right, freely and without cost. It shall be returnable without delay, and shall never be suspended unless, in case of rebellion or invasion, suspension is essential to the public safety.
Fla. Const. art. IV, § 9 — Article IV / Section 9
FL Const., Article IV, Section 9
Status: in_force

: Fish and wildlife conservation commission [ edit ] There shall be a fish and wildlife conservation commission, composed of seven members appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the senate for staggered terms of five years. The commission shall exercise the regulatory and executive powers of the state with respect to wild animal life and fresh water aquatic life, and shall also exercise regulatory and executive powers of the state with respect to marine life, except that all license fees for taking wild animal life, fresh water aquatic life, and marine life and penalties for violating regulations of the commission shall be prescribed by general law. The commission shall establish procedures to ensure adequate due process in the exercise of its regulatory and executive functions. The legislature may enact laws in aid of the commission, not inconsistent with this section, except that there shall be no special law or general law of local application pertaining to hunting or fishing. The commission's exercise of executive powers in the area of planning, budgeting, personnel management, and purchasing shall be as provided by law. Revenue derived from license fees for the taking of wild animal life and fresh water aquatic life shall be appropriated to the commission by the legislature for the purposes of management, protection, and conservation of wild animal life and fresh water aquatic life. Revenue derived from license fees relating to marine life shall be appropriated by the legislature for the purposes of management, protection, and conservation of marine life as provided by law. The commission shall not be a unit of any other state agency and shall have its own staff, which includes management, research, and enforcement. Unless provided by general law, the commission shall have no authority to regulate matters relating to air and water pollution. History. --Am. C.S. for H.J.R. 637, 1973; adopted 1974; Am. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision No. 5, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998.
Fla. Const. art. V, § 2 — Article V / Section 2
FL Const., Article V, Section 2
Status: in_force

: Administration; practice and procedure [ edit ] (a) The supreme court shall adopt rules for the practice and procedure in all courts including the time for seeking appellate review, the administrative supervision of all courts, the transfer to the court having jurisdiction of any proceeding when the jurisdiction of another court has been improvidently invoked, and a requirement that no cause shall be dismissed because an improper remedy has been sought. The supreme court shall adopt rules to allow the court and the district courts of appeal to submit questions relating to military law to the federal Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces for an advisory opinion . Rules of court may be repealed by general law enacted by two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the legislature. (b) The chief justice of the supreme court shall be chosen by a majority of the members of the court; shall be the chief administrative officer of the judicial system; and shall have the power to assign justices or judges, including consenting retired justices or judges, to temporary duty in any court for which the judge is qualified and to delegate to a chief judge of a judicial circuit the power to assign judges for duty in that circuit. (c) A chief judge for each district court of appeal shall be chosen by a majority of the judges thereof or, if there is no majority, by the chief justice. The chief judge shall be responsible for the administrative supervision of the court. (d) A chief judge in each circuit shall be chosen from among the circuit judges as provided by supreme court rule. The chief judge shall be responsible for the administrative supervision of the circuit courts and county courts in his circuit. History. --S.J.R. 52-D, 1971; adopted 1972; Am. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision No. 13, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998.
Fla. Const. art. IV, § 5 — Article IV / Section 5
FL Const., Article IV, Section 5
Status: in_force

: Election of governor, lieutenant governor and cabinet members; qualifications; terms [ edit ] (a) At a state-wide general election in each calendar year the number of which is even but not a multiple of four, the electors shall choose a governor and a lieutenant governor and members of the cabinet each for a term of four years beginning on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of the succeeding year. In primary elections, candidates for the office of governor may choose to run without a lieutenant governor candidate. In the general election, all candidates for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor shall form joint candidacies in a manner prescribed by law so that each voter shall cast a single vote for a candidate for governor and a candidate for lieutenant governor running together. (b) When elected, the governor, lieutenant governor and each cabinet member must be an elector not less than thirty years of age who has resided in the state for the preceding seven years. The attorney general must have been a member of the bar of Florida for the preceding five years. No person who has, or but for resignation would have, served as governor or acting governor for more than six years in two consecutive terms shall be elected governor for the succeeding term. History. --Am. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision No. 11, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998.
Fla. Const. art. II, § 7 — Article II / Section 7
FL Const., Article II, Section 7
Status: in_force

: Natural resources and scenic beauty [ edit ] (a) It shall be the policy of the state to conserve and protect its natural resources and scenic beauty. Adequate provision shall be made by law for the abatement of air and water pollution and of excessive and unnecessary noise and for the conservation and protection of natural resources. (b) Those in the Everglades Agricultural Area who cause water pollution within the Everglades Protection Area or the Everglades Agricultural Area shall be primarily responsible for paying the costs of the abatement of that pollution . For the purposes of this subsection, the terms "Everglades Protection Area" and "Everglades Agricultural Area" shall have the meanings as defined in statutes in effect on January 1, 1996. History. --Am. by Initiative Petition filed with the Secretary of State March 26, 1996; adopted 1996; Am. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision No. 5, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998.
Fla. Const. art. IV, § 6 — Article IV / Section 6
FL Const., Article IV, Section 6
Status: in_force

: Executive departments [ edit ] All functions of the executive branch of state government shall be allotted among not more than twenty-five departments, exclusive of those specifically provided for or authorized in this constitution. The administration of each department, unless otherwise provided in this constitution, shall be placed by law under the direct supervision of the governor, the lieutenant governor, the governor and cabinet, a cabinet member, or an officer or board appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the governor, except: (a) When provided by law, confirmation by the senate or the approval of three members of the cabinet shall be required for appointment to or removal from any designated statutory office. (b) Boards authorized to grant and revoke licenses to engage in regulated occupations shall be assigned to appropriate departments and their members appointed for fixed terms, subject to removal only for cause.
Fla. Const. art. XII, § 19 — Article XII / Section 19
FL Const., Article XII, Section 19
Status: in_force

: Renewable energy source property [ edit ] The amendment to Section 3 of Article VII, relating to an exemption for a renewable energy source device and real property on which such device is installed, if adopted at the special election in October 1980, shall take effect January 1, 1981. History. --Added, S.J.R. 15-E, 1980; adopted 1980. Note. --This section, originally designated section 18 by S.J.R. 15-E, 1980, was redesignated section 19 by the editors in order to avoid confusion with section 18 as contained in S.J.R. 6-E, 1980.
Fla. Const. art. I, § 4 — Article I / Section 4
FL Const., Article I, Section 4
Status: in_force

: Freedom of speech and press [ edit ] Every person may speak, write and publish sentiments on all subjects but shall be responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press . In all criminal prosecutions and civil actions for defamation the truth may be given in evidence. If the matter charged as defamatory is true and was published with good motives, the party shall be acquitted or exonerated. History. --Am. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision No. 13, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998.
Fla. Const. art. V, § 11 — Article V / Section 11
FL Const., Article V, Section 11
Status: in_force

: Vacancies [ edit ] (a) Whenever a vacancy occurs in a judicial office to which election for retention applies, the governor shall fill the vacancy by appointing for a term ending on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of the year following the next general election occurring at least one year after the date of appointment, one of not fewer than three persons nor more than six persons nominated by the appropriate judicial nominating commission. (b) The governor shall fill each vacancy on a circuit court or on a county court, wherein the judges are elected by a majority vote of the electors, by appointing for a term ending on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of the year following the next primary and general election occurring at least one year after the date of appointment, one of not fewer than three persons nor more than six persons nominated by the appropriate judicial nominating commission. An election shall be held to fill that judicial office for the term of the office beginning at the end of the appointed term. (c) The nominations shall be made within thirty days from the occurrence of a vacancy unless the period is extended by the governor for a time not to exceed thirty days. The governor shall make the appointment within sixty days after the nominations have been certified to the governor. (d) There shall be a separate judicial nominating commission as provided by general law for the supreme court, each district court of appeal, and each judicial circuit for all trial courts within the circuit. Uniform rules of procedure shall be established by the judicial nominating commissions at each level of the court system. Such rules, or any part thereof, may be repealed by general law enacted by a majority vote of the membership of each house of the legislature, or by the supreme court, five justices concurring. Except for deliberations of the judicial nominating commissions, the proceedings of the commissions and their records shall be open to the public. History. --S.J.R. 52-D, 1971; adopted 1972; Am. C.S. for S.J.R.'s 49, 81, 1976; adopted 1976; Am. H.J.R. 1160, 1984; adopted 1984; Am. C.S. for S.J.R. 978, 1996; adopted 1996; Ams. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision Nos. 7 and 13, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998.
Fla. Const. art. IX, § 2 — Article IX / Section 2
FL Const., Article IX, Section 2
Status: in_force

: State board of education [ edit ] The state board of education shall be a body corporate and have such supervision of the system of free public education as is provided by law. The state board of education shall consist of seven members appointed by the governor to staggered 4-year terms, subject to confirmation by the senate. The state board of education shall appoint the commissioner of education. History. --Am. proposed by Constitution Revision Commission, Revision No. 8, 1998, filed with the Secretary of State May 5, 1998; adopted 1998.
Fla. Const. art. VIII, § 3 — Article VIII / Section 3
FL Const., Article VIII, Section 3
Status: in_force

: Consolidation [ edit ] The government of a county and the government of one or more municipalities located therein may be consolidated into a single government which may exercise any and all powers of the county and the several municipalities. The consolidation plan may be proposed only by special law, which shall become effective if approved by vote of the electors of the county, or of the county and municipalities affected, as may be provided in the plan. Consolidation shall not extend the territorial scope of taxation for the payment of pre-existing debt except to areas whose residents receive a benefit from the facility or service for which the indebtedness was incurred.
Fla. Const. art. VI, § 3 — Article VI / Section 3
FL Const., Article VI, Section 3
Status: in_force

: Oath [ edit ] Each eligible citizen upon registering shall subscribe the following: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida, and that I am qualified to register as an elector under the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida."
Fla. Const. art. III, § 2 — Article III / Section 2
FL Const., Article III, Section 2
Status: in_force

: Members; officers [ edit ] Each house shall be the sole judge of the qualifications, elections, and returns of its members, and shall biennially choose its officers, including a permanent presiding officer selected from its membership, who shall be designated in the senate as President of the Senate, and in the house as Speaker of the House of Representatives. The senate shall designate a Secretary to serve at its pleasure, and the house of representatives shall designate a Clerk to serve at its pleasure. The legislature shall appoint an auditor to serve at its pleasure who shall audit public records and perform related duties as prescribed by law or concurrent resolution.
Fla. Const. art. X, § 19 — Article X / Section 19
FL Const., Article X, Section 19
Status: in_force

: High speed ground transportation system [ edit ] To reduce traffic congestion and provide alternatives to the traveling public, it is hereby declared to be in the public interest that a high speed ground transportation system consisting of a monorail, fixed guideway or magnetic levitation system, capable of speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour, be developed and operated in the State of Florida to provide high speed ground transportation by innovative, efficient and effective technologies consisting of dedicated rails or guideways separated from motor vehicular traffic that will link the five largest urban areas of the State as determined by the Legislature and provide for access to existing air and ground transportation facilities and services. The Legislature, the Cabinet and the Governor are hereby directed to proceed with the development of such a system by the State and/or by a private entity pursuant to state approval and authorization, including the acquisition of right-of-way, the financing of design and construction of the system, and the operation of the system, as provided by specific appropriation and by law, with construction to begin on or before November 1, 2003. History. --Proposed by Initiative Petition filed with the Secretary of State September 3, 1999; adopted 2000; Am. proposed by Initiative Petition filed with the Secretary of State February 18, 2004; adopted 2004. 1 Note. --This section was repealed effective January 4, 2005, by Am. proposed by Initiative Petition filed with the Secretary of State February 18, 2004; adopted 2004. See s. 5(e), Art. XI, State Constitution, for constitutional effective date.
Fla. Const. art. III, § 10 — Article III / Section 10
FL Const., Article III, Section 10
Status: in_force

: Special laws [ edit ] No special law shall be passed unless notice of intention to seek enactment thereof has been published in the manner provided by general law. Such notice shall not be necessary when the law, except the provision for referendum, is conditioned to become effective only upon approval by vote of the electors of the area affected.