The panel of wizards assigned to fix Florida's gross tax inequities has impulsively broadened its scope to a social issue in which its expertise is even more dubious.
By a margin of 17-7, the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission voted last week to place on the November ballot an amendment that would erase from the constitution a long-standing ban on subsidizing religious institutions with public dollars.
If the measure passes, Florida would be the first state in the country to formally trash the concept that the roles of church and government should be separate.
The unseen hand behind this crusade belongs to former Gov. Jeb Bush, who was stung when his overhyped school-voucher program was struck down as unconstitutional -- a judicial decision that surprised hardly anyone except Bush.
Under his plan, students at underperforming schools could receive tax dollars to switch to private schools, many of which are run by churches and teach religious doctrine.
The vouchers basically amounted to a public payout, and the First District Court of Appeal properly nixed the idea as a blatant breach of church-state separation.
Florida's constitutional position against funneling taxpayer funds to sectarian institutions is more strongly worded than that in the federal constitution. As proposed, the amendment would strip away the state's ''no-aid'' language and replace it with this: ``Individuals or entities may not be barred from participating in public programs because of religion.''
Translation: Rush out and start your own church as soon as possible, because deals are waiting in Tallahassee.
The person leading the push to change the constitution is Patricia Levesque, who worked as Bush's educational policy advisor and is now waving his sword over the tax commission.
Levesque says the appellate court's anti-voucher decision threatens drug-treatment programs and other services offered by ''faith-based'' providers currently receiving public money.
It's a melodramatic and groundless claim. The court ruling addressed the spending of tax dollars to preach religion to students -- a far cry from funding programs that help crack addicts kick the pipe.
Les Miller, a Baptist deacon and one of the seven responsible members of the tax commission, called Levesque's argument a ``scare tactic.''
He pointed out that the voucher ruling has had no impact on Medicaid funds to hospitals with religious affiliations, or on state scholarship grants to religious universities.
A Baptist minister and a rabbi also spoke out against the Levesque amendment, saying they were uncomfortable with the idea of meddling with the constitutional wall between church and state.
Of those commission members defending the radical amendment, the most surprising was Roberto Martinez, a respected former prosecutor and usually a smart guy.
He said not to worry -- the church-state protections set forth in the U.S. Constitution will serve as a ''backstop'' to protect Floridians from having their tax dollars doled out to religious enterprises.
Martinez knows full well that the current Legislature has no grasp of, or concern for, constitutional law. Once the door is opened to church-related subsidies, the money will start flying out of Tallahassee by the millions.
The only practical backstop would be a federal lawsuit derailing the amendment, which is a certainty. There's absolutely no point in picking a fight like this at a time like this, unless Republicans are hoping to rally conservative evangelicals who'd otherwise take a pass on the November elections.
If that's the case, Bush and Levesque have outsmarted themselves. Most voters couldn't care less about school vouchers; they want to hear about school budgets.
It's outlandish that the topic of church-state separation was seriously debated and voted upon by a tax-and-budget commission. It tells you all you need to know about the panel's political sense of mission.
In case these goobers hadn't noticed, Florida's fiscal health is a wreck. There are a few issues slightly more urgent than pursuing the thwarted agenda of an ex-governor -- and far better uses for our dwindling tax revenues.
The commissioners soon will take another vote on the church-state amendment, to tidy up the language. Levesque's goal will be to make it appear harmless, which it isn't.
To further obscure its flaws, the measure might be bundled with a batch of others that the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is sending to the ballot.
That would actually make the voter's task much less complicated. Just say no to all of them, because this gang cannot be trusted with Florida's future.
