The Florida AFL-CIO representing 500,000 members and the Florida League of Women Voters a non-partisan, not-for-profit corporation with over 2,800 members and 27 independent local leagues across the state of Florida, have resoundly come out AGAINST Amendment 4!
According to several recent Internet sources, Florida AFL-CIO members voted overwhelmingly to oppose Amendment 4 even though they “certainly support efforts to increase land conservation in our state to protect our unique and fragile environment.” They contend that Amendment 4 is irresponsible at a time when the state isn’t adequately funding important programs and services for its citizens. “Our careful monitoring, analysis and advocacy efforts during the Legislative process have led us to believe with all certainty that Florida is in the midst of a budget crisis that is unprecedented in our state’s history, and that many of our elected officials have yet to admit the severity of the problem to the public. We believe that these amendments (3 and 4) in the current context will exacerbate this problem,” the AFL-CIO said.
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Likewise, the Florida League of Women Voters indicates in their August President’s Newsletter: “The League of Women Voters of Florida opposes this amendment. The League supports management of land as a finite resource and land-use planning that reflects conservation and wise management of resources. This amendment does not link land-use planning to conservation and would further limit the ability of local governments to obtain revenue from real estate (their primary source of revenue).”
According to Against4.org’s, founder, J. Terry Ryan in Tallahassee, “Although preserving pristine lands is a laudible goal, Amendment 4 is poorly written and leaves the taxpayer without adequate information to make an informed decision. The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission did a grave disservice to Florida citizens by omitting the standard Financial Impact Analysis so commonly found on proposed legislation. It is now understandable! Billions of dollars are at stake!”
“Amendment 4 should be rejected and everyone go back to the drawing board. Similar proposed legislation by Georgia may provide ideas of ways to protect citizens and counties in endeavoring to protect pristine lands. “
Against4.org headed by J. Terry Ryan, community activist in Tallahassee, was formed to formally speak out against Amendment 4 and provide the public with more knowledgeable information. Mr. Ryan is a former commercial banker of twenty (20) years and now runs a successful national mortgage banking and national and international mortgage software development company based in Tallahassee.
As Paul Harvey would say, now it’s time for the “rest of the story”
Florida’s proposed Constitutional Amendment 4 protects Florida’s water resources and wildlife habitats by providing incentives for private landowners who choose to conserve their property.
If approved by 60% of Florida voters on November 4, the Amendment 4 will:
• Exempt land that is permanently set aside for conservation from all property taxes.
• Allow land that is being used for conservation purposes, but which hasn’t been permanently set aside, to be taxed according to its conservation use.
Amendment 4 is a non-partisan proposal with support across the political spectrum. Republicans, Democrats and Independents support the Amendment, as do a diverse array of groups including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Association of Counties, Florida TaxWatch, the Florida Wildlife Federation, Florida Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy.
For more information, please visit http://www.Amendment4Florida.com.
Odd to focus exclusively on these three critics when there are something like 80 groups on the Amendment 4 website that have endorsed it, including pretty much every environmental group in the state.