Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: When was the Florida Constitution written?
Florida's first constitution as a U.S. territory was written and implemented in 1838. On March 3, 1845, Florida was granted admission into the Union as the 27th state. The current Constitution of Florida was ratified on November 5, 1968, and has been modified by initiative and referendum several times since.
The Florida Constitutions of 1838, 1861, 1865, 1868, and 1885 are available with transcripts and digitized images of the original documents. From the State Library & Archives of Florida The current Constitution, From Florida Legislature Website (unofficial translation).
Since the passage of the Florida Amendment 2 in November 4, 2008, by a vote of 61.9% in favor and 38.1% opposed, both same-sex marriage and civil union had been banned by Florida's state constitution. Despite that temporary setback, a major victory for LGBT rights on November 25, 2008, when Judge Cindy S. Lederman declared the ban on homosexuals adopting children violated the equal protection rights under the Florida Constitution. Florida Third District Court of Appeal ruled in "" favor of the ruling on September 22, 2010, thus legalizing same-sex adoption in Florida after 33-year ban.
Attorney General Pam Bondi lead an effort to keep the measure off the ballot, ultimately failing when the state's Supreme Court ruled in favor of the proposed ballot measure. Bondi, backed by Rick Scott, filed suit to prevent the proposed constitutional amendment from appearing on the ballot. This is the third citizen backed initiative to amend the Florida Constitution to allow for the medical use of cannabis however, several "hail-mary passes" which consisted of filing legal challenges with seconds remaining on the clock have successfully kept this matter off the ballot for years. Court documents alleged each year that the proposed amendment failed to meet the rules of statutory construction regarding vagueness and violated the single subject matter rule. A citizens for compassion petition for a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution on the matter of decriminalizing the medicinal use of cannabis was drafted with a simplified statement using elementary language and petitioners began gathering the requisite minimum number of voter signatures well in advance of the deadline in order to preemptively place the proposed ballot language before the Court anticipating the inevitable legal challenge. Under Florida's Constitution Florida's Supreme Court has ultimate authority and jurisdiction over proposed state constitutional amendment approval. Florida's top court ruled, in a split decision, that the language of the proposed amendment was not unconstitutionally vague nor confusing and the proposed amendment specifically addressed only one subject matter as required under the Florida Constitution and will be placed before the voters. The Court used not so subtle cues by citing the rules of review from an advisory opinion titled "Advisory Op. to Att'y Gen. re Right to Treatment & Rehab. for Non-Violent Drug Offenses", finding, "This Court has traditionally applied a deferential standard of review to the validity of a citizen initiative petition and "has been reluctant to interfere" with "the right of self-determination for all Florida's citizens" to formulate "their own organic law." 
Florida's debtor protection homestead provision is one of the broadest in the United States. The value of the property that can be protected is unlimited, so long as the property occupies no more than one-half acre (2,000 sq m) within a municipality, or 160 acres (650,000 sq m) outside of a municipality. The provision is written into the Florida Constitution, Article X, section 4, so it cannot be removed without a constitutional amendment.
Florida's Constitution of 1885, its fifth, was drawn up by the Constitutional Convention of 1885. The convention was held from June 9, 1885 until August 3, 1885
in Tallahassee, Florida "for the purpose of reforming the "Carpetbag" Constitution of 1868", according to course literature from the University of Virginia. It was Florida's fifth constitutional convention and restored the election of many public officials, reduced the salaries of the governor and other state officers, made the governor ineligible for reelection, abolished the office of lieutenant governor, and provided for a legislature of fixed numbers.
The Florida Constitutional Convention of 1885 produced a constitution that reversed some of the aspects of the 1868 Constitution. It established the makeup of the state government that continued until 1968.
The Florida Constitution defines how the statutes must be passed into law, and defines the limits of authority and basic law that the Florida Statutes must be complied with. Laws are approved by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by the Governor of Florida. Certain types of laws are prohibited by the state constitution.
The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitution of Florida was ratified on November 5, 1968.
In February 2017, Florida Senate President Joe Negron appointed Thurlow-Lippisch to serve on the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC). The CRC is a 37 member commission that is assembled pursuant to Article XI, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution and meets every 20 years. The CRC adopts its own procedure, examines the Constitution, and holds public hearings. If the CRC recommends revisions to the Florida Constitution, the revisions are placed on the ballot for voter approval. 
A handwritten copy of the 1838 Constitution or "Form of Government for the People of Florida," signed by Convention President, Robert Raymond Reid, and Convention Secretary, Joshua Knowles resides at the State Archives of Florida. Considered "a secretary's copy" this document is the only known copy of the 1838 Constitution. The original Constitution, signed by all the delegates, has never been found.[1] The preamble to the Constitution of 1838:[2]
Miami-Dade County has operated under a unique metropolitan system of government, a "two-tier federation", since 1957. This was made possible when Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1956 that allowed the people of Dade County (as it was known) to enact a home rule charter. Prior to this year, home rule did not exist in Florida, and all counties were limited to the same set of powers by the Florida Constitution and state law.
Incumbent Governor of Florida Claude R. Kirk Jr. was the first Republican who held Florida's governorship since Reconstruction. He was elected in 1966, when Republicans has made some gains in traditionally Democratic Deep South. During his tenure as governor, the Florida Legislature created a new Constitution in 1968, which was approved by voters on November 5, 1968. As part of the new Constitution, the office of Lieutenant Governor was re-established. Kirk appointed Ray C. Osborne, a Florida House of Representatives member from Pinellas County. The new Constitution also allowed for the Governor of Florida to serve two terms. Kirk was thus eligible for re-election in 1970.
When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a "written constitution"; if they are written down in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a "codified constitution". Some constitutions (such as the constitution of the United Kingdom) are uncodified, but written in numerous fundamental Acts of a legislature, court cases or treaties.
Pursuant to the state constitution, the Florida Legislature has enacted legislation, called "chapter laws" or generically as "slip laws" when printed separately. These are in turn compiled into the "Laws of Florida" and are called "session laws". The "Florida Statutes" are the codified statutory laws of the state.
When written constitutions became the norm for modern states in the 19th century, several European states carried this tradition over to their founding documents and then retained it, while others – notably laicist France and states influenced by it – did not do so, so as to preserve the state's religious neutrality. European countries whose constitutions do "not" make reference to God include Norway (1814), Luxembourg (1868/1972), Iceland(1944/68), Italy (1947), Portugal (1976) and Spain (1978); some of those who do are listed below. In the United States, the federal constitution references God in Article VII, with "the year of our Lord", and the constitutions of the states of California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Colorado, Washington, Nevada, Iowa, Texas, and Massachusetts, and the U.S. territory Puerto Rico, do. They generally use an "invocatio" of "God the Almighty" or the "Supreme Ruler of the Universe".
The method of "compilation" for the Florida Constitution is unlike that of the federal constitution. When the Florida Constitution is amended the official text of the document is edited, removing language that is no longer in force. The Division of Statutory Revision within the Office of Legislative Services is responsible for codifying new amendments and removing obsolete language.[15]
By 1837 St. Joseph had become the most populous place in Florida, with an reported population between 4,000 and 12,000 inhabitants. (The 1840 federal census counted 125 heads of household and approximately 750 free whites in St. Joseph.) In 1838 the town hosted the first Constitutional Convention for Florida, which drew up a proposed constitution to be used when Florida became a state.
After Florida's entrance into the union in 1845, and the ratification of the State's first Constitution, the Supreme Court of the State of Florida was born. It is the successor to the Florida Territorial Court of Appeals and the court system that existed under Spain prior to the acquisition of Florida through the Adams-Onis Treaty. Though the constitution created a Supreme Court, it vested it with no judges and little power. Florida Circuit Court judges served in the capacity of Supreme Court Justices until 1851 when an 1848 constitutional amendment took effect granting the state legislature power to choose three justices. In 1853, another constitutional amendment was adopted that provided for the popular election of Justices to serve six-year terms.
The Florida Judicial Nominating Commissions are 26 separately constituted bodies responsible for providing the governor of Florida with a list of possible appointments to the various state courts (the Florida Supreme Court, the five Florida District Courts of Appeal, and the twenty Florida Circuit Courts). These commissions are required under Article V of the Florida Constitution.
The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs (FDVA) is a government agency of the state of Florida under the authority of the Governor of Florida charged with helping veterans and their families to receive all benefits they are legally entitled to.
Florida first began assisting military veterans when they returned from World War II in 1944, but it wasn't until 1988 that a constitutional amendment was approved by Florida's voters to create a specific agency for that purpose. The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs was created in 1989.
In 2000 Dockery authored a Florida Constitutional Amendment which required the construction of a high-speed rail network throughout Florida starting with a link between Tampa and Orlando. To implement the constitutional amendment the Florida High Speed Rail Authority was created by the Florida Legislature. He served as a member of that authority. Governor Jeb Bush got the constitutional amendment rescinded by the voters in 2004. Dockery has remained an enthusiastic supporter of high-speed rail, which surfaced again when President Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and pledged more than $2 billion for the construction and operation of the Tampa/Orlando link. Governor Charlie Crist supported the effort but it was again derailed with the election of Governor Rick Scott in 2010 at the urging of the Florida Tea Party, which was vehemently opposed to President Obama’s stimulus plans and the construction of the rail link.
Westcott served as territory secretary and a member of the Florida Territorial Legislative Council until 1834 and then as Attorney General of the territory's middle district until 1836. He then returned to the legislature as part of the convention to create a U.S. state constitution. When the first Florida Constitution was completed in 1838, Westcott's signature was present (as was that of his former duel-mate, Thomas Baltzell). Seven years later, with the constitution approved, Florida was officially a state.
The Florida Comptroller was the state comptroller of Florida from 1845 to 2003 (when the position was merged with the position of Florida State Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal to create the post of Chief Financial Officer of Florida following amendments to the state Constitution). The Comptroller was a member of the Florida Cabinet and was elected by the Florida Legislature until 1865, when it became an elected office.
The colonial governors of Florida governed Florida during its colonial period (before 1821). The first European known to arrive there was Juan Ponce de León in 1513, but the governorship did not begin until 1565, when Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine and was declared Governor and "Adelantado" of Florida. This district was subordinated to the Viceroyalty of New Spain. In 1763, following the transfer of Florida to Britain, the territory was divided into West Florida and East Florida, with separate governors. This division was maintained when Spain resumed control of Florida in 1783, and continued as provincial divisions with the Spanish Constitution of 1812. The Spanish transferred control of Florida to the United States in 1821, and the organized, incorporated Florida Territory was established on March 30, 1822. This became the modern State of Florida on March 3, 1845.