Constitutional Amendments: What You Need to Know

Amy Keller | 10/1/2008

Amendment 8
New Sales Tax for Community College Districts

What it does: Voters in a county could choose to impose a local option sales tax to supplement community college funding. Any taxes approved by the counties would sunset after five years but could be reauthorized by the voters.

"We have constitutional language which governs and empowers our boards of governors for the university system. We have Article IX, which spends an awful lot of time dealing with the K-12 system, but as you go through the Constitution, we haven’t yet elevated the community college system to constitutional status and created some constitutional powers for the community colleges. This is a good step in that direction." — Ron Meyer, Florida Education Association lawyer

Background: While the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission focused mostly on trying to scale back taxes for Floridians, it voted almost unanimously (23 to 1) in favor of creating an optional tax for community colleges. Eduardo J. Padrón, president of Miami Dade College and a key supporter of the initiative, says that the institutions that have “become the most important access point to higher education in this state” should be recognized in the Constitution. He says the measure will give citizens the opportunity to “support institutions that make a difference for the welfare and progress of their respective communities.” It’s unclear whether the rest of Florida’s community colleges are as enthusiastic about the proposal. Only nine of the Florida’s 28 community college districts serve just one county; it’s questionable whether the institution’s host county would vote to raise its taxes to support the school unless the neighboring counties vote similarly. Currently, the community college systems in at least 20 states — including California, Texas, Ohio, New York and North Carolina — receive some form of municipal or county support in addition to state funding.

Proponents: Florida Education Association, Associated Industries of Florida, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, United Faculty of Florida, Florida TaxWatch

Opponents: No organized opposition

Financial impact: Unknown

Tags: Politics & Law, Government/Politics & Law