| 1 | House Joint Resolution |
| 2 | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 4 of |
| 3 | Article VI of the State Constitution relating to suffrage |
| 4 | and elections, to provide for restoration of felony |
| 5 | offenders' rights to vote and hold office and to delete |
| 6 | inoperative provisions. |
| 7 |
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| 8 | Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 9 |
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| 10 | That the amendment to Section 4 of Article VI of the State |
| 11 | Constitution set forth below is agreed to and shall be submitted |
| 12 | to the electors of Florida for approval or rejection at the |
| 13 | general election to be held in November 2006: |
| 14 | ARTICLE VI |
| 15 | SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS |
| 16 | SECTION 4. Disqualifications.-- |
| 17 | (a) No person convicted of a felony involving the use or |
| 18 | threat of physical force or violence against any person, or |
| 19 | adjudicated in this or any other state to be mentally |
| 20 | incompetent, shall be qualified to vote or hold office until he |
| 21 | or she has been released from incarceration and any |
| 22 | postconviction supervision restoration of civil rights or |
| 23 | removal of disability. No person adjudicated in this or any |
| 24 | other state to be mentally incompetent shall be qualified to |
| 25 | vote or hold office until removal of disability. |
| 26 | (b) No person may appear on the ballot for re-election to |
| 27 | any of the following offices: |
| 28 | (1) Florida representative, |
| 29 | (2) Florida senator, |
| 30 | (3) Florida Lieutenant governor, or |
| 31 | (4) any office of the Florida cabinet, |
| 32 | (5) U.S. Representative from Florida, or |
| 33 | (6) U.S. Senator from Florida |
| 34 |
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| 35 | if, by the end of the current term of office, the person will |
| 36 | have served (or, but for resignation, would have served) in that |
| 37 | office for eight consecutive years. |
| 38 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the title and substance of the |
| 39 | amendment proposed herein shall appear on the ballot as follows: |
| 40 | RIGHT TO VOTE AND HOLD OFFICE |
| 41 | Proposes an amendment to Section 4 of Article VI of the |
| 42 | State Constitution to provide that a felony offender whose |
| 43 | offense did not involve the use or threat of physical force or |
| 44 | violence against any person would no longer be disqualified from |
| 45 | voting and holding office and one whose offense did involve the |
| 46 | use or threat of physical force or violence against any person |
| 47 | would have such disqualification removed once released from |
| 48 | incarceration and postconviction supervision. The amendment also |
| 49 | deletes inoperative provisions relating to term limits for |
| 50 | members of Congress and U.S. Senators, which provisions have |
| 51 | been determined by the U.S. Supreme Court to violate the U.S. |
| 52 | Constitution. |