Amendment 1: The Big Utility Showdown

** Reposted with permission from Occupy My Soapbox **

The largest utilities in Florida bankrolled Consumers for Smart Solar and Amendment 1. They want to maintain their monopoly control over energy in the State. Amendment 1 was looking to suppress competition from rooftop solar via constitutional ballot amendment. Thankfully, those in Sarasota and Manatee Counties as well as the rest of Florida saw through the ruse and voted it down on Election Day 2016. However, the story of Amendment 1 is a bit more complicated and Machiavellian, pitting the corporate and financial power of Big Utilities against the Power of the People.

As it stands now in Florida, only utilities can sell power to retail customers. Due to this restriction, landlords cannot sell power from solar panels to their tenants. It also effectively shuts down solar leasing. With leases, an outside company pays the high upfront cost of solar panels, and their customers sign long-term contracts to buy the power. Such leasing has made residential solar the fastest-growing part of the U.S. solar market. But it is simply not legal in Florida. Each utility has monopoly control of the sales and distribution of electricity. 

For many years, both citizens and politicians have wanted to open up the utility monopolies to competition from solar companies. The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting interviewed Paige Kreegel, who was a State Representative back in 2009. He was chair of the state House’s Committee on Energy. He considered himself a free-market Republican and he wanted to get government out of the way of the growing solar industry. But the rest of the Committee Members wouldn’t touch solar energy and he found himself an outsider on the Energy Committee he chaired. It turns out that Florida’s utility companies have heavily funded Florida political campaigns - to the tune of $12 million between 2010 and 2015. Those donations included contributions to every member of the Florida Senate and House leadership and a whopping $1.1 million to Governor Rick Scott's 2014 reelection campaign. According to State Sen. Jeff Brandes, “Here’s how the power companies control the Legislature: they ask the chairman of committees to never meet on the issue.”

To circumvent the lack of action in the Florida legislature, Floridians for Solar Choice attempted to place a constitutional amendment on the Florida ballot.

California & Washington State Initiatives PASSED

Two super bright spots in the November 2016 election were the two successful initiatives seeking a U.S. Constitutional Amendment that constitutional rights belong only to individuals, not corporations, and constitutionally-protected free speech excludes the spending of money - one in Washington State and one in California.

In Washington State, Initiative 735 urged the Washington state congressional delegation to propose a federal constitutional amendment. This amendment applied to labor unions and non-profits along with corporations. 63% of Washington voters voted in favor.

In California, Proposition 59 supported advising the state's elected officials to use their authority to overturn the Supreme Court Citizens United decision, potentially through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 2014, a nearly identical legislative advisory was did not make it onto the ballot due to litigation. In 2016, 53% of California voters voted in favor.

California and Washington State join Colorado and Montana in passing similar referendums. In 2012, Colorado Amendment 65 and Montana Initiative 166 were both successful with almost three-quarters of voters supporting these measures.

We Asked Vern Buchanan to Co-Sponsor We The People Amendment

Left to Right: Diane Desenberg, Arlene Sweeting, Rhana 

Bazzini, and Terry Scalzo, waiting to meet with 

Representative Buchanan

Today Manasota Move To Amend members met with our Congressional Representative, Vern Buchanan.  We asked Representative Buchanan to co-sponsor the We The People Amendment (H.J. Res. 48).  We explained that this Constitutional Amendment would clearly state that the rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of human beings only and that it is the purview of governments to regulate political campaign spending. After some discussion, we did find common ground. Congressman Buchanan told us that he is dismayed at the huge amounts of dark money that can flow in support of a candidate during the last days or weeks leading up to an election with no disclosure requirements. He voiced a clear desire for transparency regarding campaign funding. Buchanan also expressed the notion that gargantuan spending on campaigns overwhelms the free speech of ordinary people. Given the Supreme Court's rulings on these issues, a Constitutional Amendment is needed to enable our lawmakers to address these problems. Toward that end, Manasota Move To Amend encourages Congressman Buchanan to co-sponsor the We The People Amendment.

Gyrocopter Activist Welcomed Home

Gyrocopter activist, Doug Hughes, recently came home from prison. In 2015, the Ruskin resident landed his gyrocopter on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol, seeking to personally deliver individual letters to all members of Congress. His mission was to shine a light on the corruption that accompanies the large sums of money injected into our political system. Doug's letter started with a quote from John Kerry's farewell speech to the Senate in 2013,

"The unending chase for money I believe threatens to steal our democracy itself. They know it. They know we know it. And yet, Nothing Happens!"

Rhana Bazzini, the Sarasota activist who trekked all the way to Tallahassee for similar purposes was there when Doug set off for prison, and she was there to welcome him home four months later.

Doug has garnered some recent news coverage. WFLA news interviewed Doug, who continues to feel he did the right thing. And the Tampa Bay Times reports that the federal government will be destroying the gyrocopter. Does that count as government waste?

Candidates 2016 Pledge To Amend Results

Several weeks ago, Manasota MTA sent out the Pledge To Amend Candidate Questionnaire.  We asked candidates running for local and state offices where they stood regarding amending the U.S. Constitution to make clear that corporations and other artificial entities do not have Constitutional rights and that money is not speech.  If elected, how would they use their office to support the Movement to Amend the Constitution.

The results are in.  Drumroll please ...

Sarasota County Charter Review Board

• Arlene Sweeting .. I support amending the U.S. Constitution 
    Click to see responses
• Tom Patalano .. I support amending the U.S. Constitution
    Click to see responses
• Ray Porter .. I support amending the U.S. Constitution
    Click to see responses
• Karen Collins-Fleming .. I support amending the U.S. Constitution
    Click to see responses
• Mike Shlasko .. I support amending the U.S. Constitution
    Click to see responses

Florida State Senate, District 23

• Frank Alcock .. I support amending the U.S. Constitution
    Click to see responses

Florida State House, District 73

• James Golden .. I support amending the U.S. Constitution
    Click to see responses

North Port City Commission

• Cory Hutchinson .. I support amending the U.S. Constitution
    Click to see responses

Manatee County Commission, Districts 3, 7

• David Zaccagnino .. I support amending the U.S. Constitution
    Click to see responses

Sarasota County Charter Review Board

• Tony Sawyer .. Declined to Participate
• Donna Barcomb .. Declined to Participate
• Robert Neff .. Declined to Participate
• Pat Wayman .. Declined to Participate
• Jody Hudgins ... Declined to Participate
• David Samuel ... Declined to Participate

Florida State Senate, District 23

• Greg Steube .. Declined to Participate

Florida State Representative, Districts 70, 72, 73, 74

• Newt Wengay .. Declined to Participate
• Cori Fournier ..  Declined to Participate
• Edward James .. Declined to Participate
• Alex Miller .. Declined to Participate
• Joe Gruters .. Declined to Participate
• Julio Gonzalez .. Declined to Participate
• Manny Lopez .. Declined to Participate

Sarasota County Commission

• Fredd Atkins .. Declined to Participate
• Mike Moran .. Declined to Participate

North Port City Commission

• Vanessa Carusone .. Declined to Participate
• Cory Hutchinson .. Declined to Participate
• Christopher Hanks .. Declined to Participate
• Jacqueline Moore .. Declined to Participate
• Debbie McDowell .. Declined to Participate
• Andrew Sias .. Declined to Participate

Manatee County Commission, Districts 3, 7

• Matthew Bower .. Declined to Participate
• Stephen Jonsson .. Declined to Participate
• Betsy Benac .. Declined to Participate
• Jack Richardson .. Declined to Participate

To view candidate responses from the rest of the country, click here.

Last updated: October 5, 2016

Constitution Day in Sarasota Schools

Manasota Move To Amend participated in the annual Constitution Day activities in two public schools in Sarasota County. Jaime Canfield and Arlene Sweeting enlivened five classes of 7th to 10th grade Pine View students. Jaime reports taking them on

"a journey through the history of the struggle of various segments of our society to be considered as part of the expression We The People. From the original wording and subsequent evolution of the Constitution, through the enactment of the existing 27th Amendments and the influence of judicial activism, the presentations were designed to illustrate the need for a new 28th Amendment to the Constitution to reestablish the original intent of the expression We The People to include all of the people and exclude corporations. Additional discussions were inserted to include a second as important assertion that the malignant influence of money in our political process must be eliminated."

Later in the day, Carol Lerner and Rhana Bazzini formally introduced twenty one fourth grade students from Garden Elementary School in Venice to the U.S. Constitution. Discussion points included the purpose of the US Constitution, how it defined the structure of US government, and how it established human rights for the citizenry. Carol reports that

“the students applied this learning to writing a mock constitution for their class. Using a timeline and photographs, the students also discovered the process of amending the Constitution. The students particularly looked at the Amendments that expanded the right to vote in the United States. Using photographs representing different segments of the population (photos showing gender, race, class and ethnicity), the students sorted the photos to guess which group was able to vote at different points in US history. They were surprised to learn that only around 6% of the population, just white, male property holders, could vote when our nation was founded. They learned about the struggles, like the women's and civil rights movements, to expand the number of voters through Amendments and legislation. These young students asked outstanding, meaningful questions and were extremely excited to learn about the evolution of the U.S. Constitution.”

Our Manasota Move To Amend team is already excited about participating in Constitution Day next year. Get in touch, if you are a teacher or school administrator, in Sarasota or Manatee Counties, in a public or private school - and you're looking for an exciting Constitution Day option.

Doug - Gyrocopter Man - Reports to Prison

Doug Hughes' cake celebrates America.

Remember Doug Hughes from just north of Manatee County in Ruskin, Florida?  He landed a gyrocopter on the West Front of the Capitol in an attempt to deliver mail to each member of Congress.  The letters demanded that our Congressional representatives refuse to take large contributions from big donors and corporations, because this corrupts the democratic process.  As Doug wrote -

"That much money is a megaphone which drowns out the voices of 'We the People.'"

Most of the media attention on Hughes focused on the illegal landing of his gyrocopter and the lack of security that allowed it.  Hughes was sentenced to jail-time for his action.  After months of house arrest and losing his job with the postal service, Doug has just started serving his prison sentence. Manasota Move To Amend activist, Rhana Bazzini, spent time with Hughes just prior to the commencement of his prison sentence. He even had a cake specially made for the occasion. Brenna Williams from CNN reported on his last hours of freedom.  Most remarkably, Doug Hughes spent his last couple of hours of freedom lobbying Tim Cannova to get big money out of politics.

Public Comment with the Manatee County Commissioners

Manasota Move To Amend pressed forward with the Manatee Board of County Commissioners during the Public Comment period of their June 7 meeting.  Jaime Canfield, William Dennison, Mary Sheppard, and Frank Dellert took to the podium to catalog some of the problems associated with corporate power from a local perspective. This was their second attempt to speak.  On May 24, a group of Move To Amend supporters did not get a chance to speak due to a large group that monopolized the microphone. They persevered and returned two weeks later.

Hands Across The Sand, Englewood Beach

Last weekend in Sarasota County, folks came together at Englewood Beach. And they were not an isolated group; they joined thousands around the world to speak out against dirty energy industries.

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran into a reef in Prince William Sound. The resulting oil spill devastated the nearby town and ecosystem. Just twenty one years later during the Deep Horizon spill, BP took a page from Exxon's playbook. They dramatically underestimated the size of the spill, downplaying all aspects. And they capped liability right at the beginining.

The underlying crisis, it seems, is a crisis of democracy. Corporations have become so powerful that our government isn’t able to regulate them sufficiently to keep such disasters from occuring. And when such inevitable accidents do happen, government is unable to hold these corporations accountable.

But people are speaking out. Hands Across the Sand formed in 2010 in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It has grown into an international movement. Every year, people come together to join hands, forming symbolic barriers against spilled oil and to stand against the impacts of other forms of extreme energy.

Sarasota Marches Against Monsanto

Monsanto produces the world’s top selling herbicide. They make genetically modified seeds, created to withstand the chemicals they produce. Several of their factories are now toxic Superfund sites.

Yesterday, Sarasota and dozens of other cities worldwide participated in the March Against Monsanto. The folks protesting demanded that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) be labeled. They marched down 1st Street, heading over to the Bayfront. Under the Unconditional Surrender sculpture, they held signs and chanted. Cars honked in support.

But it's how Monsanto uses their size and power that makes them such a prime target. They get seed dealers to not stock many of their competitors products. When licensing their patented genetically engineered traits to seed companies, they restrict the seed companies’ ability to combine Monsanto’s traits with those of their competitors. And, as has been widely publicised, farmers who plant Monsanto seeds are forbidden from saving and replanting their own seeds. Yet, to date, U.S. laws have not put an end to these practices. That comes as no surprise, since they spend millions lobbying the U.S. government every year. Not too many companies so clearly reflect the harm that can come from corporate power and their political spending.