Senate Bill sb0148

    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SJR 148

    By Senator Lynn





    7-177-05

  1                 Senate Joint Resolution No. ____

  2         A joint resolution proposing an amendment to

  3         Section 4 of Article VI of the State

  4         Constitution, relating to suffrage and

  5         elections, to provide for restoration of voting

  6         rights to certain persons convicted of felonies

  7         whose convictions are subsequently overturned.

  8  

  9  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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11         That the following amendment to Section 4 of Article VI

12  of the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted

13  to the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the

14  next general election or at an earlier special election

15  specifically authorized by law for that purpose:

16                            ARTICLE VI

17                      SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS

18         SECTION 4.  Disqualifications.--

19         (a)  No person convicted of a felony, or adjudicated in

20  this or any other state to be mentally incompetent, shall be

21  qualified to vote or hold office until restoration of civil

22  rights or removal of disability, except that the legislature

23  may provide for restoring the right to vote or hold office for

24  a person who has been convicted of a felony and subsequently

25  exonerated after his or her judgment and sentence have become

26  final.

27         (b)  No person may appear on the ballot for re-election

28  to any of the following offices:

29         (1)  Florida representative,

30         (2)  Florida senator,

31         (3)  Florida Lieutenant governor, or

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SJR 148
    7-177-05




 1         (4)  any office of the Florida cabinet,

 2         (5)  U.S. Representative from Florida, or

 3         (6)  U.S. Senator from Florida

 4  

 5  if, by the end of the current term of office, the person will

 6  have served (or, but for resignation, would have served) in

 7  that office for eight consecutive years.

 8         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following statement be

 9  placed on the ballot:

10                     CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

11                      ARTICLE VI, SECTION 4

12         RESTORATION OF RIGHTS.--Proposing an amendment to the

13  State Constitution to allow the Legislature to restore the

14  rights to vote and to hold office of a person convicted of a

15  felony who is subsequently exonerated of the offense. The

16  amendment also deletes inoperative provisions relating to term

17  limits for members of Congress and U.S. Senators, which

18  provisions have been determined by the U.S. Supreme Court to

19  violate the U.S. Constitution.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.