Florida Constitution

The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, 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.

Florida has been governed by six different constitutions since acceding to the United States. Before 1838, only the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was briefly enacted in Florida. A monument commemorating La Constitución de Cádiz still stands in front of the Government House in St. Augustine.

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 modified by initiative and referendum several times since.

One of the requirements for a United States territory to become a State of the Union is that its constitution must be approved by the United States Congress. In order to fulfill that requirement, an Act was passed by the Florida Territorial Council in 1838, approved by Governor Richard Keith Call, calling for the election of delegates in October 1838 to a convention to be held at St. Joseph, Florida. The delegates were to draft a constitution and bill of rights for the Territory of Florida. The Constitutional Convention convened on December 3, 1838, with Robert R. Reid presiding as president and Joshua Knowles secretary. The work of the Convention was carried out by eighteen committees, whose members were familiar with that particular area of government. The process was a relatively simple one since they used the constitutions of several other Southern states as models. Only on the subject of banking did much debate take place. The Convention adjourned sine die on January 11, 1839.

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