ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20029
No(s). SC19-328 (Fla. Jan 9, 2020)

In an advisory opinion to Florida's attorney general, the Florida high court concluded that a proposed initiative to amend the Florida Constitution to restructure the state's electricity markets should not be placed on the ballot. The attorney general argued that the initiative's title and summary failed to adequately inform voters of the "true meaning and ramifications of the proposed amendment." The court found that the ballot summary affirmatively misleads voters to believe that the initiative grants a personal right to sell electricity when, in fact, the initiative at no point grants a freestanding constitutional right to sell electricity, and thus that the summary did not satisfy the state's clarity requirements. It therefore concluded that the initiative should not be included in the ballot.