Is the Florida Department of Transportation a state agency and public entity of the state?

Plain-English summary

This is a one-page certification letter, not an opinion resolving a disputed legal question. The Florida Department of Transportation wanted to use unmanned aircraft (drones) for transportation-infrastructure and geological mapping work, and the FAA required a letter from the Florida Attorney General confirming FDOT is "an entity of the state." Attorney General Pam Bondi provided it.

The reasoning is short. Chapter 20, Florida Statutes, lays out the organization of state government. Section 20.03 sets uniform terminology and defines "department" as the principal administrative unit within the executive branch, and section 20.23 creates the Department of Transportation by statute. So FDOT is a department of Florida state government and a public entity of the state. The letter is careful to certify only that point and not to comment on any other issue.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the letter covered

State agencies and their counsel

The letter confirmed that the Florida Department of Transportation is a department of state government and a public entity, the status the FAA required for FDOT's drone program. It is a clean example of grounding that status in the state-government organization statutes, Chapter 20, rather than in any program-specific authority.

Common questions

Q: Is the Florida Department of Transportation a state agency?
A: Yes. The letter certified that FDOT is a department of Florida state government and a public entity of the state.

Q: What law makes FDOT a state department?
A: Chapter 20 organizes state government; section 20.03 defines "department" as the principal administrative unit of the executive branch, and section 20.23 creates the Department of Transportation.

Q: Why did FDOT need this letter?
A: The FAA required confirmation that FDOT is an entity of the state in connection with its use of unmanned aircraft for transportation-infrastructure and geological mapping.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 20, Florida Statutes, is the state's executive-branch reorganization law. Section 20.03 provides uniform nomenclature across state government and defines a "department" as the principal administrative unit within the executive branch. Section 20.23 creates the Department of Transportation as one of those departments. Together these provisions establish FDOT as a department of state government, which is all the certification the FAA's request required.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• § 20.03, Fla. Stat. (uniform nomenclature)
• § 20.23, Fla. Stat. (Department of Transportation)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/unmanned-aerial-system-dept-of-transportation
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/8078

Original opinion text

Ms. Jacqueline Jackson

Manager, UAS Tactical

Operations (AFS-85/AJV-115)

FAA Headquarters

490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Suite 3200

Washington, DC 20024

Subject: Public Entity Validation

Reference: Unmanned Aerial System – Transportation Infrastructure and Geological Mapping

Dear Ms. Jackson:

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has advised this office that the Federal Aviation Administration requires the department to obtain a letter from the Florida Attorney General certifying that the department is an entity of the state. This letter serves as the official confirmation by Florida's Attorney General that the Florida Department of Transportation qualifies as a department of the State of Florida.

Chapter 20, Florida Statutes, sets forth the organizational structure for Florida state government. Section 20.03, Florida Statutes, provides uniform nomenclature throughout the state executive branch of government and states that "'Department' means the principal administrative unit within the executive branch of state government."[1] Section 20.23, Florida Statutes, creates the Department of Transportation. Thus, the Florida Department of Transportation qualifies as a department of government of the State of Florida.

In sum, under Florida law, the Department of Transportation is considered to be a department of state government and a public entity of this state. This letter constitutes the Florida Attorney General's assurance that FDOT is a department of Florida state government and may not be understood to constitute comment on any other issue or matter.

Sincerely,

Pam Bondi

Attorney General

PB/tgh

[1] See ss. 20.03(2) and 20.04, Fla. Stat.