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Third time’s a charm: Court approves Hometown Democracy financial statement

Posted Jul 9, 2009 by Catherine Dolinski, Tribune Tallahassee Bureau

Updated Jul 9, 2009 at 12:25 PM

The Florida Supreme Court has just approved the latest financial impact statement from Hometown Democracy petitioners, after rejecting their previous two submissions.

The high court has already approved the HD ballot question for the 2010 statewide ballot; the proposal would require voters to approve local land use plans. But without a valid financial impact statement, the question would have appeared with a notation indicating that no such information was available, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

The court rejected HD’s prior two impact statements on grounds that they were misleading and/or vague. The new one, according to a court opinion released today, is “clear, unambiguous, consists of no more than seventy-five words, and is limited to address the estimated increase or decrease in any revenues or costs to the state or local governments,” and therefore passes legal muster.

Per this latest financial statement, the impact of Hometown Democracy’s proposal “on local government expenditures cannot be estimated precisely. Local governments will incur additional costs due to the requirement to conduct referenda in order to adopt comprehensive plans or amendments thereto. The amount of such costs depends upon the frequency, timing, and method of the referenda, and includes the costs of ballot preparation, election administration, and associated expenses. The impact on state government expenditures will be insignificant.”