Florida voters who heartily approved important amendments to the state Constitution can only wonder how the will of the people is being strangled by the obstructionist toils of the Republican-led Legislature.Lawmakers insist they are merely refining details for measures approved by voters on the environment, medical marijuana, solar power, education and anti-gerrymandering rules affecting their own districts.

Florida Republicans Squelch the Voice of the People

Florida voters who heartily approved important amendments to the state Constitution can only wonder how the will of the people is being strangled by the obstructionist toils of the Republican-led Legislature.

Lawmakers insist they are merely refining details for measures approved by voters on the environment, medical marijuana, solar power, education and anti-gerrymandering rules affecting their own districts. But it’s increasingly clear that legislators are trying to foil and blunt the ballot-approved initiatives.

In the case of the amendment to expand access to medical marijuana, approved last November by 71 percent of the voters, Republican lawmakers are proposing tighter rules on doctors’ prescriptions, as well as other obstacles for patients who want to use medical marijuana.

Similarly, a constitutional amendment to expand the use of solar power, which drew 73 percent approval last year, has been met by a raft of obstructionist proposals that would bog down rooftop solar installation. They include rules language drafted by the state’s major utility, Florida Power & Light. This isn’t healthy legislative give-and-take, as supporters claim. It is transparent homage to…

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