Any proposed amendment to the state constitution must be accompanied by a statement approved by a committee called the Fiscal Impact Assessment Board, which is generally considered nonpartisan.
Last fall, the committee approved language saying the impact of Amendment 4 was “uncertain.” Since then, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R) have appointed new members to the committee that voted to change the financial statements that will be put to the vote.
One of the new members, Chris Spencer, represents DeSantis’ office on the committee. He said at last week’s meeting that the amendment would “result in a reduction in the delivery of educational services.”
Another new addition to the board, Rachel Gressler, is a member of the conservative Heritage Foundation and co-author of the organization’s controversial Project 2025 plan.
DeSantis’ office also hired Michael New, an assistant professor at the Catholic University of America, as counsel to the committee. At the meeting last week, New said that if Amendment 4 passes, “an overall decline in birth rates will result in less federal funding, a worsening credit rating and a worsening fiscal output for the state of Florida.”
The board approved the new financial impact statement at its meeting Monday night.
Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Yes on 4, accused the DeSantis administration of hatching a “sleazy ploy to mislead voters.”
“They’re trying to create confusion and hide the real issues. Amendment 4 is about ending Florida’s extreme anti-abortion laws that ban abortions before many women even know they’re pregnant,” she said.
Spencer, Gressler and New did not respond to requests for comment.
The amendment was approved by the Florida Supreme Court in April, the same day the court upheld a six-week abortion ban.
DeSantis has campaigned against the ballot measure, titled “An Amendment to Limit Government Involvement in Abortion.” He called it “radical” and has formed a fundraising committee to oppose it.
Groups supporting the amendment have raised about $12 million in the two months since the six-week ban took effect on May 1.
“This financial impact report shows that we have politicians who are afraid of the Yes on 4 campaign because they know they passed a deeply unpopular, near-total abortion ban with no real exceptions for women’s health or rape or incest,” Brendzel said, “and they know that Floridians want to change it.”
