Q&A of the Day – Citizen-Led Proposed Amendments That Might Be on Florida’s 2026 Ballot
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station page in the iHeart app.
Today’s entry: Brian- thanks for the analysis of the proposed property tax amendments the legislature has proposed. Something I’ve not heard any discussion of are any Citizen led proposed amendments that might be on next year’s ballot. Are there any that are likely to make it?
Bottom Line: As has historically been the case in Florida, there are many citizen-led ballot measures, 20 in total, that are currently seeking inclusion on 2026’s general election ballots, two have already found their way onto it. In this year’s state legislative session, the legislature passed two proposals onto our ballots. They are these:
- Changes to Budget Stabilization Fund Amendment
- Exempt Tangible Personal Property Used for Agriculture or Agritourism from Property Taxes Amendment
Speaking of property taxes, it’s likely that proposal will have company on next year’s November ballot as both the governor and state legislature are seeking varied forms of property tax relief. With today’s question focused on citizen-led proposed constitutional amendments, I’ll save further discussion and analysis of the first two proposed amendments for another day (and will eventually issue my recommendations on those proposals as I always do with proposed amendments).
For citizen-led proposals to make their way onto ballots, sponsors must first procure 880,062 verified signatures, equal to 8% of the votes cast in the preceding presidential election. Those signatures must be collected and verified no later than February 1, 2026. Once 25% of needed signatures (220,016) have been collected, proposals are eligible for a judicial review by the Florida Supreme Court. There is only one proposal which has collected enough signatures to trigger a judicial review:
Similar to the previously attempted effort towards marijuana legalization in prior election cycles, here’s what the proposal once again led by the Smart & Safe Florida PAC seeks to do:
- Allows adults 21 and older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana for non-medical consumption. Establishes possession limits. Prohibits marketing and packaging attractive to children. Prohibits smoking and vaping in public. Maintains prohibition on driving under influence. Applies to Florida law; does not change, or immunize violations of, federal law. Allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers to acquire, cultivate, process, transport, and sell marijuana to adults. Provides for creation of licenses for non-medical marijuana businesses
Most recently the proposal had 662,543 valid signatures, or about 75% of the required total for potential ballot inclusion. There’s also currently a legal challenge by the state seeking to potentially invalidate approximately 200,000 of the signatures collected. In response the PAC backing the proposal recently sued Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd alleging that his effort to invalidate verified signatures is unlawful.
At issue is the way the petitions for signatures were presented. The state is currently arguing that the full text of the proposal wasn’t presented to those who received mailers seeking signatures for the proposal with a prepaid return envelope. The Smart & Safe Florida PAC is arguing that state law doesn’t require the full text to be provided to those being petitioned. The outcome of this legal challenge may well determine whether or not the proposal qualified for the ballot.
With so little time left in the process, it's likely the marijuana proposal is the only citizen-led proposal with a realistic path towards potential inclusion on next year’s ballot.