Summary: When voters go to the polls in Florida on November 4, they won’t find Amendment 5, an initiative that would have eliminated a minimum local property tax for schools. AIA Florida, working with the Coalition to Protect Florida’s Economy, also sees the Florida Supreme Court decision to remove the amendment as another victory against the possibility of a sales tax on professional services.

The unanimous decision, which the court handed down September 3, was that the 90-word summary to the amendment proposed by the 2007 Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission was misleading.

With its many PAC events and strong grassroots network, AIA Florida was an integral part of the coalition fighting the amendment, which represented groups including health-care providers, engineers, CPAs, manufacturers, and other small and large businesses.

"This is great news and a big political win for AIA Florida and our business coalition," says Mickey Jacob, AIA, AIA Board director for the Florida/Caribbean region. "It was a great team effort. Everyone played a role, from the staff at AIA Florida to our members who used their time to go to Tallahassee and testify to our business partners in the Coalition to Protect Florida's Economy. It was the coalition's efforts that gave us this win, and we are grateful that the Supreme Court recognized the misleading nature of the initiative."

Just hours after hearing 20-minute arguments from both sides, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled to toss the controversial Amendment 5 off the November ballot-upholding Circuit Court Judge John Cooper's initial ruling, reports AIA Florida EVP Vicki Long, CAE.

Amendment 5 sought to eliminate the required local effort (RLE), a minimum local tax rate established by some states to fund schools. The ballot summary of the proposed law implied that the state would have covered an estimated $9-$11 billion budgetary hole for more than the one year the actual law stated. That ultimately could have forced the legislature to fill it the gap with other taxes, including a possible tax on professional services. The coalition felt that a local property tax was a fairer means of raising funds for education.

"AIA Florida was an active partner in the Coalition to Protect Florida's Economy," says Long. "That partnership eventually led to this court case and the demise of the proposed constitutional amendment. We've fought four times and won four times, and we are pleased that the Supreme Court agreed with our position."

"What fantastic news," said AIA Florida President Don Yoshino, FAIA, when informed in September. "Congratulations to staff and the Coalition for their hard work and continuous updates for the membership."