Environmental advocates want the lawsuit over Amendment 1 conservation spending to skip straight to Florida’s Supreme Court.
Voters passed Amendment 1 in 2014, and trusted it would create a channel for funding land and water conservation. A year later, when advocates found out some of that money went to things like salaries for state agency employees, they promptly filed a lawsuit.
A Leon County judge ruled against House and Senate leaders Richard Corcoran and Joe Negron in June, but their case is headed to the First District Court of Appeals.
David Guest, an attorney for the activist groups suing, wants it in a higher court.
"It controls the outcome of about $12 billion of expenditures. The Legislature ought to be apprised of what the Court construes the amendment to mean before the next Session," Guest said. "So, those are good reasons why the First District Court of Appeal could and should simply certify it to the Supreme Court."
Guest says the Legislature has not yet responded to his request. He says they have until the end of this coming week to reply.
