Carroll v. Firestone; Todd v. Firestone

Summary

The Florida Supreme Court reviewed challenges to a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing state-operated lotteries and providing for lottery proceeds to be deposited into an education trust fund. The court held that the amendment satisfied the single-subject requirement, that its ballot summary complied with Florida law, and that the asserted fraud and legislative-amendment objections did not warrant removal from the ballot. The court affirmed the lower court's judgment and denied the petition for a writ of mandamus.

Holdings

1. The proposed amendment embraces one subject and matters directly connected with that subject because the authorization of state lotteries and the tentative designation of lottery revenue for an education trust fund are sufficiently related.
2. The ballot summary complied with section 101.161 because it informed voters of the amendment's chief purpose: authorizing state lotteries and providing for lottery proceeds to be deposited in the State Education Lotteries Trust Fund, subject to legislative action.
3. The alleged promise that the lottery could produce more than $300 million annually did not warrant removing the amendment from the ballot.
4. Allowing the schedule of implementation to be amended by general law does not violate article XI, section 1 because the provision reflects the voters' decision to leave the disposition of lottery proceeds to legislative discretion rather than permitting the legislature to amend the Constitution.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the proposed lottery amendment embraced only one subject and matters directly connected with that subject under article XI, section 3 of the Florida Constitution.
2. Whether the ballot summary adequately disclosed the chief purpose and substance of the proposed amendment as required by section 101.161, Florida Statutes.
3. Whether alleged misrepresentations about the amount of lottery revenue constituted a basis for removing the amendment from the ballot.
4. Whether the provision allowing the implementation schedule to be amended by general law violated article XI, section 1 of the Florida Constitution.

Disposition

affirmed