For voters in the state of Florida today, they will notice something on this year’s election ballot called “Amendment 4″. Amendment 4 in Florida states the following:

REFERENDA REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLANS.

“Establishes that before a local government may adopt a new comprehensive land-use plan, or amend a comprehensive land-use plan, the proposed plan or amendment shall be subject to vote of the electors of the local government by referendum, following preparation by the local planning agency, consideration by the governing body and notice. Provides definitions.”

Basically if you vote “YES” on Amendment 4 in Florida, you are saying you would like a special ballot to be set up for the public to vote on changes to land-use plans. This means that any changes to city and county comprehensive land-use plans would have to be sent to a public vote. If you vote “NO”, you support keeping the current system of not having a public vote.

There are pros and cons to this Amendment, as a “YES” vote would certainly give the public more say in land-use planning, but at the same time, would cost tax payers a lot more money in order to hold these additional ballots.

It is a tough decision for a lot of people since no one really says how many additional funds would be needed. Some studies suggest that Amendment 4 would also cost close to 270,000 jobs in Florida. That’s not something too many people want to see in the current economical situation that the state is already in.

How do you feel about Amendment 4 in Florida?