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The Washington Economics Group: Amendment 4 to Result in Positive Economic Impacts For Florida

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MEDIA ADVISORY

The Washington Economics Group will announce the findings of an economic study, which affirms that restoring the eligibility to vote for Floridians who have made past mistakes would result in positive economic impacts to Florida taxpayers.  Dr. J. Antonio Villamil of The Washington Economics Group, who authored the study, will be available to media to announce the major impacts:

WHO: Dr. J. Antonio Villamil, Senior Advisor, The Washington Economics Group
Jackie Lee, Campaign Manager, Second Chances Campaign

WHEN: Thursday, May 17th at 10:00AM

WHERE: RSVP to [email protected] to receive the call-in information

Amendment 4 restores the eligibility to vote of Floridians with felony convictions only after they complete all terms of their sentence and pay their full debt to society – including parole, probation, and restitution, if imposed by a judge. Those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses will not be eligible under Amendment 4.

To learn more about the Second Chances Campaign, please visit SecondChancesFL.org.

Pd. pol. adv. paid for by Floridians for a Fair Democracy, Inc.

Floridians Are Ready to Vote YES on Amendment 4

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WHAT THEY ARE SAYING…

On 150th Anniversary of Florida’s Disenfranchisement Law
Floridians Are Ready to Vote YES on Amendment 4

Florida enshrined disenfranchisement in its constitution 150-years ago today. This law was put in place in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Today, Florida is one of only four states with a lifetime ban on voting and permanently excludes 1.4 million Floridians, who have served their time and paid their debts to society, from voting. Now is the time to retire this antiquated law by voting YES on Amendment 4 in November. Here’s what Floridians from all walks of life and all parts of the Sunshine State are saying:

[Read more…] about Floridians Are Ready to Vote YES on Amendment 4

Statewide Poll Shows 74 Percent of Floridians Back Amendment 4

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A new bipartisan poll conducted jointly by North Star Opinion Research and EMC Research shows that nearly three-quarters of Florida voters support Amendment 4—the Voting Restoration Amendment—on the ballot this November. Amendment 4 gives Floridians who have made past mistakes the eligibility to vote after they have paid their full debt to society. An amendment to Florida’s constitution requires 60 percent of the vote to become law.

“This amendment has the strong bipartisan support needed to pass with Florida’s 60 percent threshold,” said, Dan Judy of North Star Opinion Research, the pollster for Senator Marco Rubio. “Regardless of party, gender, race, or region of the Sunshine State, Floridians strongly support Amendment 4.”

The poll shows that a supermajority of Floridians from each political party support the amendment. According to the survey, 61 percent of Republicans, 78 percent of Independents, and 88 percent of Democrats are in support. In terms of ideology, 92 percent of those who call themselves liberal support the amendment as do 59 percent who identify as conservative.

“In an added indication of the measure’s strength, there are very few undecided voters on the amendment,” said Dave Beattie of EMC Research. “Only 3 percent of voters surveyed said they didn’t know about or had no opinion about the issue.”

EMC Research and North Star Opinion Research conducted a live telephone survey of 1,303 likely November 2018 general election voters in the state of Florida from March 22 – April 2, 2018. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish, and both landlines and mobile phones were included. The margin of error for overall results is ±2.7 percentage points.

Amendment 4 restores the eligibility to vote of Floridians with felony convictions only after they complete all terms of their sentence and pay their full debt to society – including parole, probation, and restitution, if imposed by a judge. Those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses will not be eligible under Amendment 4.

“These poll results reflect what our grassroots movement has found after literally hundreds of thousands of conversations,” said campaign manager Jackie Lee. “Floridians believe in second chances and support the ability of people who have made a mistake to earn back their eligibility to vote. They strongly support Amendment 4 because it impacts people and families from every community and all walks of life. Vote YES for Second Chances and vote YES on Amendment 4 in November.”

To learn more about the Second Chances Campaign, please visit SecondChancesFL.org.

About North Star Opinion Research
North Star Opinion Research provides strategic guidance to Republican candidates, trade associations, non-profit organizations, and corporations. Located in Washington, D.C., North Star is a full-service research firm offering a broad range of capabilities and expertise. For more information about North Star Opinion Research, visit northstaropinion.com.

About EMC Research
EMC Research is a national public opinion and data analytics firm with offices in Columbus, OH, Irving, TX, Oakland, CA, Orlando, FL, Portland, OR, Seattle, WA and Washington, D.C. EMC Research tailors unique research solutions to complex problems for government agencies, private companies, non-profit organizations, ballot measure campaigns and candidates for public office. For more information about EMC Research, visit emcresearch.com.

Pd. pol. adv. paid for by Floridians for a Fair Democracy, Inc.

Second Chances Campaign: Let Voters Decide on Amendment 4

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Desmond Meade, Chair of Floridians for a Fair Democracy and spokesperson for the Second Chances Campaign issued the following statement on Judge Walker’s orders for Florida’s Cabinet to create a new voting restoration system:

“Through a grassroots movement, Floridians put Amendment 4 on the ballot to fix the current, broken system and take these decisions out of the hands of politicians – which is why we believe a stay should be issued to let voters decide on Amendment 4 in November.

“Current law outlines a difficult process to restore an individual’s eligibility to vote, and Judge Walker recently determined that the restoration process is arbitrary and unconstitutional. The problem is that without Amendment 4, any fix still leaves this decision in the hands of politicians and a person’s eligibility to vote should not be left up to politicians and election cycles.

“Through the hard work of Florida voters and unwavering dedication of a truly grassroots movement, over 1 million petitions were collected statewide to place Amendment 4 on the ballot and recent public polls indicate over two-thirds of Florida voters overwhelmingly support the amendment. Let’s take matters into our own hands and VOTE YES on Amendment 4 to give Floridians who have made past mistakes the eligibility to vote only after they have completed their full debt to society – including parole, probation, and restitution. These are our family members, friends, and neighbors that have paid their full debt to society and earned the opportunity to participate in and give back to their communities.”

Amendment 4 implementation bill passes committee unanimously

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Legislation enacts property tax exemptions for solar and renewable energy source devices

Senate Bill 90, renewable energy source devices, passed the Senate Committee on Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities today. The bill passed with unanimous support. If adopted, the legislation will exempt solar and renewable energy devices from property tax in Florida.
“Floridians expect access to more renewable energy in the Sunshine State,” stated Senator Brandes. “This bill will further encourage growth in clean energy jobs in our state. We will be in a better position to take advantage of increased energy diversity while addressing environmental concerns. Florida should be a leader in solar, and the passage of this bill brings us one step closer to that reality.”
The bill implements Amendment 4, which passed with 73 percent support by the voters on the 2016 primary election. The bill exempts solar and renewable energy devices from property taxes on real and tangible personal property installed on commercial and industrial property. This reflects an extension of the existing exemption in law for solar and renewable energy devices on residential property. The proposal encourages expansion of solar and renewable energy production in Florida, complimenting an industry that has experienced significant growth in recent years. The tax exemption of the bill will begin in 2018 and extend for 20 years.
For more information on SB 90 please visit http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/0090