The Florida attorney general’s rewrite of a religion amendment scheduled for the November ballot is disappointing, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Amendment 7 would repeal provisions in the state constitution that prohibit the use of public funds for religious institutions, yet the language of the ballot measure does not make that fact clear. Legal experts say the measure actually requires the government to fund religious institutions.

Americans United and allied organizations filed suit in state court challenging the amendment’s deceptive wording. In a Dec. 13 decision, Judge Terry P. Lewis of the Second Judicial Circuit Court of Leon County agreed the measure is misleading and allowed Attorney General Pam Bondi to rewrite it.

Bondi’s new version was announced yesterday.

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, “I am deeply disappointed with the attorney general’s rewriting of this amendment. Her version still fails to make it clear to the voters that Amendment 7 mandates taxpayer funding of religion.

“If this goes on the November ballot,” Lynn continued, “I hope voters do their homework. This amendment is not about religious freedom; it’s about forcing all Florida taxpayers to subsidize houses of worship, religious schools and other ministries whether they want to or not.”

Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, lead plaintiff in the Shapiro v. Browning lawsuit, observed, “The Florida Constitution, as it now stands, ensures our right to contribute our hard-earned money only to the religious institutions of our free choice. Amendment 7 takes away that right and allows the politicians in Tallahassee to make that decision for us.

“It’s imperative,” said Shapiro of Temple Shalom in Deltona, “that voters know what’s at stake here. The legislature is trying to pull a fast one, and Floridians need to know it.”

In addition to Shapiro (who serves as president of the Americans United Board of Trustees), other clergy who joined the lawsuit include the Rev. Harry Parrott of Clay County, who is a retired Baptist minister; the Rev. Harold Brockus of St. Petersburg, a retired pastor of a Pinellas Park congregation affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA and the United Church of Christ; the Rev. Kent Siladi of Rockledge, who is the Conference Minister for the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ; Rabbi Jack Romberg of Temple Israel in Tallahassee; and the Rev. Bobby Musengwa, who is pastor of Maximo Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg.

Leaders in the Florida Education Association, Florida School Boards Association and Florida Association of School Administrators are also serving as plaintiffs.

Several organizations joined with Americans United in filing the lawsuit, including the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, the ACLU Foundation of Florida, the Anti-Defamation League, the Florida Education Association and the National Education Association.

Americans United Associate Legal Director Alex J. Luchenitser, in consultation with AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, assisted in preparation of the legal papers in the case. Attorney Ronald G. Meyer of Meyers, Brooks, Demma and Blohm in Tallahassee is serving as lead counsel.