TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Voters will decide if taxpayers will continue to fund campaigns for state offices. Money from the state budget has been available for people running for governor and the three other cabinet positions for decades. Amendment 6 would remove that budget item.
“I think those taxpayers dollars could be used more effectively,” Sen. Travis Hutson, (R) St. Augustine, said during a legislative hearing in January.
Sen. Hutson sponsored the bill that would become Amendment 6 on the November ballot. The proposal repeals a constitutional amendment voters approved in 1998 allowing candidates who run for governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner to get money from the state’s general fund.
“This is money coming out of General Revenue and I believe we should put the question back to voters to see if they would like us to spend general revenue on things other than advertising for statewide office,” Sen. Hutson said.
The state says more than $13 million was spent on campaigns in the 2022 election. Sen. Hutson didn’t respond to interview requests, but told a Senate committee in January he didn’t think taxpayers should pay for political campaigns.
“I think the money can be used for other things that voters want, like education, health care, affordable housing,” Sen. Hutson said.
However, critics of the amendment said the current amendment allows for more people to run.
“For candidates who have less access to wealth, this provides a way for them to figure out can they open this opportunity for new candidates to be able to run for office,” Common Cause Florida Executive Director Amy Keith said.
Keith wants the public campaign finance law to stay. Candidates must meet certain conditions to access the money, such as donation caps and spending limits. Keith said those conditions help donations from average Floridians go further.
“It increases the influence of everyday voters on campaigns and our politics more broadly,” Keith said.
She said she’s surprised there’s a chance to repeal the public campaign finance amendment since voters appeared to like the program which has helped candidates from both parties.
Content retrieved from: https://www.wctv.tv/2024/10/29/amendment-6-would-repeal-public-campaign-finance/.
