It’s almost the end of February and 13 of the 37 members for the 2017-18 Constitution Revision Commission have been selected.  The Commission consists of 15 members appointed by the Governor, 9 by the Senate President, 9 by the Speaker of the House, and 3 by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. The Attorney General also serves on the commission as the 37th member

Earlier this month Florida Chief Justice Jorge Labarga started the process by announcing his three appointments.  Justice Labarga’s appointments are: 

• Hank Coxe (Jacksonville Attorney)
• Arthenia Joyner (former state Senator)
• Roberto Martinez (former U.S. Attorney)

When making his selections Chief Justice Labara noted that he looked for people not only skilled in law, but also people who understood all functions of government and its impact on everyday lives of Floridians. 

A few weeks after Justice Labara’s selections, Senate President Joe Negron made his 9 appointments.  They included:

• Don Gaetz (former Senate President)
• Anna Marie Hernandez Gamez (past president of the Cuban American Bar Association)
• Patricia Levesque (chief executive officer of the Foundation for Excellence in Education)
• Sherry Plymale (previous chair of the State Board of Community Colleges)
• William “Bill” Schifino, Jr. (president of The Florida Bar) 
• Chris Smith (former state Senator)
• Bob Solari (Indian River County Commissioner)
• Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch (former teacher and City Commissioner)
• Carolyn Timmann (Martin County Clerk of Court)

Senate President Negron’s goal was to select people who represented a diverse cross-section of Florida.  This included diverse personal, professional, and political life experiences.   President Negron also mentioned that the most important issue for him was a passionate commitment to individual liberty and personal freedom guaranteed by our state and federal constitutions. 

The remaining 24 appointments must be made before the start of the 2017 Legislative Session, which begins Tuesday March 7th.