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49 Stetson L. Rev. 575 (2019-2020)
The Greening of Florida's Constitution

handle is hein.journals/stet49 and id is 605 raw text is: THE GREENING OF FLORIDA'S CONSTITUTION Clay Henderson* L INTRODUCTION Florida's Constitution, like other state constitutions, is the organic law of the land. It defines the unique structure of its state and local government, establishes rights of its citizens, distributes power amongst branches of government, and places limitations on that power. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, state constitutions are more detailed, contain more issues, and are otherwise a limitation on the power of the state.' Thus, while the U.S. Constitution makes no mention of environmental protection or natural resource conservation, many state constitutions do, as they are far more detailed, generally more modern, and much easier to amend.2 Indeed, environmental law often entails cooperative federalism, where the federal government enacts broad national environmental goals while states are left to implement programs and policies to achieve those goals.3 Florida's Constitution provides authorization for statutory and regulatory environmental provisions, as well as proprietary functions of government. Inasmuch as any constitution is a living document,4 the Florida Constitution reflects the * 9 2020, Clay Henderson. All rights reserved. J.D., Samford University Cumberland School of Law, 1979; B.A., Stetson University, 1977. The Author has long been associated with environmental policy in Florida. He was elected to two terms on the Volusia County Council and was appointed to various boards, including the 1997-1998 Constitution Revision Commission, Florida Greenways Coordinating Council, Administrative Procedure Act Review Commission, and Property Rights Study Commission. He sponsored or participated in drafting many of the environmental provisions of the Florida Constitution. He is retired faculty at Stetson University and adjunct professor of law at Stetson University College of Law. The genesis of this Article was a memo produced for a joint presentation with Talbot Sandy D'Alemberte to the Constitution Revision Commission in September 2017. 1. TALBOT D'ALEMBERTE, THE FLORIDA STATE CONSTITUTION 25 (2d ed. 2017). 2. Art English & John J. Carroll, State Constitutions and Environmental Bills of Rights, in THE BOOK OF THE STATES (2015), available at http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/system/files/English %20Carroll%2020 15.pdf (discussing the environmental rights provisions in the state constitutions of Illinois, Pennsylvania, Montana, Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Rhode Island). 3. Environmental Law 101, ENVTL. L. INST., https://www.eli.org/keywords/governance (last visited Apr. 19, 2020). 4. WOODROW WILSON, CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 157 (1908).

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