The Legislature retains the power of the purse, regardless of Amendment 1.
That’s the argument lawyers for the House and Senate are making in response to a lawsuit filed by authors of the 2014 ballot measure.
Environmentalists are hoping a Leon County circuit court judge will order lawmakers to redirect nearly $300 million they budgeted for routine operations for four state agencies.
According to the plaintiffs, voters demanded the money be spent instead on land conservation.
But lawyers for the House and Senate are answering with their own interpretation. They say the constitution allows the money to be spent on a variety of conservation activities, including quote, “land management.”
