A Florida Judge ruled today that Florida's constitution prohibits the use of vouchers to pay for private religious schools. His holding was based upon the section of the state constitution which requires that "no state money can aid any church or religious institution."
A state constitution can offer more protections than the federal constitution. The Judge decided that citizens' tax money couldn't be spent in a manner that strays from the more explicit limitations defined in the Florida Constitution. Don't know exactly why, but this decision made me happy that Delaware's Legislators acted to add freedom of speech to the Delaware Constitution this year. Not that I expect anything to abridge the federal right to expression. I'm just glad that we have a state-based right also.
