TALLAHASSEE, FL – Today, the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County held a hearing regarding the lawsuit challenging the financial impact statement that would accompany the proposed constitutional Amendment 4, which would limit government interference with abortion.
The statement was issued by the state’s Financial Impact Estimating Conference (“FIEC”) on November 16, 2023, with the intent to provide voters with an estimated financial impact of the proposed amendment’s effects on government revenues and the state budget.
However, the financial impact statement was drafted before the six-week ban went into effect. The lawsuit—filed by Amendment 4 sponsor Floridians Protecting Freedom, represented by ACLU of Florida attorneys Daniel Tilley, Samantha Past, Nicholas Warren, and Michelle Morton, along with co-counsel Margaret Good—argued that the financial impact statement was unlawfully ambiguous, unclear, and confusing at the time it was drafted, and that it is now additionally outdated, inaccurate, and misleading given that the six-week ban is in effect.
At the hearing, the Court agreed with Floridians Protecting Freedom that the financial impact statement is unlawfully inaccurate, ambiguous, misleading, unclear, and confusing, and ordered the FIEC to rewrite the statement.
Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida stated the following:
“Florida voters are entitled to accurate and clear information on their ballots. Yet, the state’s current financial impact statement is misleading and deceptive. Left unchecked, it would obstruct the integrity of this citizen-led ballot initiative. We are pleased the Court agreed with our arguments and ordered the state to rewrite it to reflect that the six-week ban is in effect.
“Floridians have had the right to amend the state’s Constitution for over 50 years through the ballot initiative process. Floridians affirmed the power of this process to safeguard our rights when politicians interfere. And, the vast majority of Floridians do not want the government interfering in our personal medical decisions. The state’s insistence on using an outdated and inaccurate financial impact statement demonstrates how far it is willing to go to confuse voters and stop them from overturning the near-total abortion ban in the state. This is government interference at its worst.
“If the initiative passes, there will be direct cost savings to state and local governments. With its passage, state resources and expenditures will not be allocated toward surveilling, arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating medical providers for providing safe abortion care.
“Floridians have a right to vote on this amendment without confusing or misleading information. We look forward to the state’s compliance with the law and a clear and honest statement of this amendment’s financial impact.”
