Orlando Attorney John Morgan said he will sue if Florida lawmakers try to thwart implementation of a minimum wage amendment.
Morgan spent upwards of $5 million dollars getting a $15 dollar an hour minimum wage amendment passed on election day. Last night, 61 percent of voters approved Amendment 2, which will raise Florida鈥檚 minimum wage to $10 an hour in 2021 and to $15 an hour in five years.
Morgan, speaking to reporters Tuesday, was asked about the Florida Legislature implementing Amendment 2. Morgan said the language in the amendment is unambiguous.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e gonna do or try,鈥� Morgan said. 鈥淚 hope not. I鈥檓 lucky I鈥檓 friendly with them, so we can have a conversation. But if they try to undermine the will of the people, I鈥檒l do what I did last time: I鈥檒l sue the state. And I鈥檒l win.鈥�
Morgan said he has no plans to run for political office, and will not fund another constitutional amendment. He said getting a $15 dollar an hour minimum wage amendment will be his last real foray into politics.
鈥淚 never see a situation where I run for any political office in Florida,鈥� Morgan said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just as happy with Ron DeSantis doing his good job up in Tallahassee. I never see myself doing another amendment. They鈥檝e made it very difficult.鈥�
Amendment 2 was opposed by business groups in Florida, including Associated Industries of Florida.
鈥淚t is unfortunate that this mandate on Florida businesses will be written into our state鈥檚 constitution.,鈥� said Brewster Bevis, senior vice president of state and federal affairs for AIF. 鈥淎IF continues to believe that this will be a death knell for many small employers in our state who are already struggling with the economic slowdown caused by the continuing COVID pandemic. It is now an unfortunate and sad reality that job creators are going to have to struggle with moving forward.鈥�
All six proposed constitutional amendments in Florida got more than 50 percent of the vote. But in Florida, 60 percent is the magic number for constitutional amendments.
Amendment 3 and Amendment 4 failed. Amendment 3 would have eliminated Florida鈥檚 closed primary system for a top-two, or open primary. That did not pass. Neither did Amendment 4 which was a dark-money funded amendment requiring future constitutional amendments be approved twice.
Three amendments passed with wide margins: A citizenship requirement to vote got more than 75 percent of the vote, and tax breaks for homeowners and the spouses of deceased veterans were also approved.
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