Florida SB 728: K-12 Instructional Personnel Salary Schedules

Bill Text

728 
State Reapportionment 
2025-12-03T06:59:06Z 
Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to revise reapportionment methods and revise upward the number of Senate and House of Representatives districts, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
SJR 
Joint Resolution 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SJR 728 

 By Senator Jones 

 34-01042-26 2026728__ 
 1 Senate Joint Resolution 
 2 A joint resolution proposing an amendment to Section 
 3 16 of Article III of the State Constitution to revise 
 4 reapportionment methods and revise upward the number 
 5 of Senate and House of Representatives districts. 
 6 
 7 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 8 
 9 That the following amendment to Section 16 of Article III 
 10 of the State Constitution is agreed to and shall be submitted to 
 11 the electors of this state for approval or rejection at the next 
 12 general election or at an earlier special election specifically 
 13 authorized by law for that purpose: 
 14 ARTICLE III 
 15 LEGISLATURE 
 16 SECTION 16. Legislative apportionment.— 
 17 (a) INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS. The state shall 
 18 be apportioned by three independent redistricting commissions, 
 19 one each for the senatorial, representative, and congressional 
 20 reapportionment processes. 
 21 (1)a. Each redistricting commission will establish a 
 22 screening panel composed of thirty-seven members. The president 
 23 of the senate, speaker of the house of representatives, minority 
 24 leader of the senate, and minority leader of the house of 
 25 representatives shall each appoint nine members. The chief 
 26 justice of the supreme court shall appoint one member. 
 27 b. To apply for the commissioner position, each applicant 
 28 must have voted in two out of the last three presidential 
 29 elections and two out of the last three gubernatorial elections. 
 30 The following persons may not apply for a commissioner position 
 31 or serve as commissioner: 
 32 1. Someone currently serving, or who has served, in an 
 33 office or a position that is filled by vote of the electors. 
 34 2. Someone who, within the past fourteen years, has been a 
 35 party officer, a registered lobbyist, paid while working as part 
 36 of a campaign staff, or has worked for the executive office of 
 37 the governor. 
 38 3. Someone who, within the past eighteen years, has worked 
 39 for the legislature. 
 40 4. Any parent, spouse, child, sibling, parent-in-law, 
 41 child-in-law, or sibling-in-law of, or a cohabitating member of 
 42 a household with, those mentioned in sub-subparagraphs 1. 
 43 through 3. 
 44 c. After review, the screening panel will select for 
 45 further consideration fifteen applicants from each of the 
 46 following categories: 
 47 1. Applicants who are registered members of the political 
 48 party that received the most votes in the last statewide 
 49 election. 
 50 2. Applicants who are registered members of the political 
 51 party that received the second-most votes in the last statewide 
 52 election. 
 53 3. Applicants who are registered as independent or minor 
 54 party affiliates. 
 55 
 56 The screening panel shall ensure the selected applicants are, as 
 57 a whole, representative of the racial, ethnic, geographic, and 
 58 gender diversity of the state. 
 59 (2)a. The president of the senate, the speaker of the house 
 60 of representatives, the minority leader of the senate, and the 
 61 minority leader of the house of representatives may each strike 
 62 two applicants from each of the categories described in sub 
 63 subparagraphs (1)b.1. through 3. 
 64 b. The screening panel shall then randomly draw five 
 65 applicants from each of the categories described in sub 
 66 subparagraphs (1)b.1. through 3. to create each final 
 67 independent redistricting commission. 
 68 (3) The initial group of commissioners shall begin their 
 69 terms in 2027. Each commissioner shall serve a ten-year term and 
 70 may not serve consecutive terms. A person who has served on a 
 71 commission may not run for an office for which the commission 
 72 established the districts during his or her term as a 
 73 commissioner or within ten years after the adoption of those 
 74 districts. 
 75 (4) A member of the commission shall receive compensation 
 76 fixed at the legislative per diem rate during commission travel 
 77 and meetings and shall be allowed all reasonable and necessary 
 78 expenses incurred in the performance of his or her duties. 
 79 (5)a. All meetings must take place in person and be 
 80 streamed on the Florida Channel. 
 81 b. All records and documents of the commission, including 
 82 any individual or group performing delegated functions of the 
 83 commission or advising the commission, related to the 
 84 commission’s work shall be considered public records. This 
 85 includes internal communications of the commission and 
 86 communications made to the commission. 
 87 c. Commissioners, st