Louis Alfred Nickolas Stalwart Institute

With regard to Florida Amendment #1, the Position of the Louis Alfred Nickolas Stalwart Institute is as follows:

1. Florida experienced one of the biggest and profound expansions of its population in modern history in the early 2020’s during the “COVID-19 Pandemic.” So profound was this increase that Florida is set to receive anywhere between two and four additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives at the next decennial U.S. Census in 2030. The state ranks amongst one of the highest states in the Union for major metropolitan areas – most of which saw rapid expansion from 2001 to present. Amongst the U.S. States with the highest number of major metropolitan areas, Florida’s major metropolitan areas lay in some of the highest density linear corridors in the Union. Tallahassee is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the state’s 67 counties and 411 municipalities have access, should the require it, to adequate funding for the sort and type of Capital Acquisition and Improvement Programmes necessary to ensure the adequate physical and cyber infrastructure to service the state’s population.

2. Florida’s ecological position is both highly complex and tenuous. For example, with over 4,000 native species (including 369 found nowhere else on the Planet), Florida ranks seventh (7^th) Nationally for overall species diversity. Tallahassee has a responsibility to ensure that adequate funding is at the ready to ensure that the highly complex and tenuous needs of the state’s ecological position can be adequately served.

3. Florida’s geo-political position is of great import to the Union. When California’s Ports were virtually non-operational during the “COVID-19 Pandemic,” Florida’s Ports were able to step-up and fill the gaps. As all sixteen (16) of Florida’s primary, deep-water Sea-Ports are Government Sponsored Enterprises, Tallahassee must ensure that it has funding at the ready for the sort and type of Capital Acquisition and Improvement Programmes so as to ensure that Florida’s Ports are ready and able to perform above and beyond as they did during the “COVID-19 Pandemic.”

4. Amendment #1 proposes to increase the percentage of General Revenues collected to be transferred to the state’s Budget Stabilisation Fund from 10% to 25%, requires, save where suspension conditions are met, the state Legislature to transfer $750 million or the variance needed to reach the 25% cap, into the Fund per Annum, and permits, provided that the Fund’s balance exceeds 15% of General Revenues collected and any draw does not drop the Fund’s balance below 10% of General Revenues collected, critical state need withdrawal.

5. Instances that have an impact as it concerns pointes one through three would certainly meet the critical state need withdrawal requirement as proposed by the Constitutional Amendment.

6. Given and in consideration of the aforementioned pointes and all information made available to the general public on this matter, this Institute sees no valid reason to be against Amendment #1.