CRC takes up Art. V proposals.

More than a dozen proposed constitutional amendments affecting Article V of the Florida Constitution--four dealing with the judicial retirement age and one apparently opening up judicial deliberations to public scrutiny--have been proposed by Constitution Revision Commission members. Several more have been filed that are of interest to the legal profession.

The size of the CRC's task became clear with the October 31 deadline for members to file their amendments. All told, 103 amendments have been filed, which include six citizen-proposed amendments that have been advanced by the commission (see story in the November 15 Bar News.) The rest are sponsored by CRC members, although many are based on public testimony from several CRC hearings.

The proposed amendments touch on a wide range of topics: turning the Department of Environmental Protection into a Cabinet agency with an elected secretary; specifying that the lieutenant governor will serve as the secretary of state; prohibiting betting on greyhound racing; and creating an independent redistricting commission to do legislative and congressional reapportionment maps (more about that last one later in the story). One amendment would apparently open conference deliberations of Supreme Court justices, district court of appeal judges, and other judicial sessions.

One notable absence from the submitted amendments: There was no proposal to impose term limits on Supreme Court justices and district court of appeal judges, something the Florida House has been pushing and the Senate resisting.

Here's a quick look at proposals of interest to the legal profession:

* Proposal 1, by Roberto Martinez, amends Art. V, [section]8, by substituting 75 for 70 as the age judges and Supreme Court justices must retire. Those more than halfway through their terms when reaching that age would be allowed to finish their terms.

* Proposal 5, by Chris Nocco, vastly expands the rights of crime victims to be informed about and participate in criminal cases as spelled out in the Art. I (Declaration of Rights), [section]16.

* Proposal 6, by Martinez, creates [section]21 in Art. V and addresses the "Chevron Doctrine." It would require courts and administrative law judges to interpret statutes or rules de novo rather than defer to an administrative agency's interpretation. This amendment has already received a favorable vote from the CRC's Judicial Committee.

* Proposal 8, by Don Gaetz, increases the judicial retirement age to 75, but does not allow jurists hitting that age to finish out an unexpired term. It also requires Senate confirmation of all gubernatorial appointments to the Supreme Court and district courts of appeal.

* Proposal 10, by Gaetz, creates a new section in Art. IX requiring that civic literacy be taught in Florida schools. That's been a goal of numerous Bar programs like the Benchmarks adult education program, the Trial...