Florida Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Florida, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Could a Florida city let a private company operating its building department set building inspection fees?
No, not as the final decision-maker. The informal opinion concluded that the municipal governing body remained responsible for adopting a reasonable inspection-fee schedule, though it could consider…
Could a Florida city collect impact fees outside its limits and impose an educational impact fee for school capacity?
The informal opinion said Chapter 180 allowed agreements with owners outside city limits for authorized municipal utilities. It viewed reliance on that chapter for educational impact fees as tenuous…
Did Florida's Condominium Act preempt the Florida Building Code or local building ordinances for condominium projects?
No. The informal opinion found nothing in the Condominium Act indicating that condominiums were removed from the Florida Building Code. It separately explained that the Act's surveyor certificate…
Could a Florida town commission make a prospective appointment to fill a vacancy under its charter?
The Attorney General's office did not interpret the town charter, but offered historical guidance that a prospective appointment was valid only if the appointing officer or body remained in office…
Could a federal magistrate judge with jurisdiction in Florida solemnize a marriage under Florida law?
A federal magistrate judge with jurisdiction in Florida would appear to qualify as a judicial officer authorized to solemnize marriages if the magistrate was vested with judicial powers under…
In 2008, could a complainant obtain a Florida professional-licensing investigation after no probable cause was found?
No under the law discussed in this 2008 informal response. The Attorney General's office said Section 455.225 kept the complaint and investigative material confidential when a case ended without…
Did Florida police have to give a victim-rights brochure after every crime, including minor property crimes?
Yes. The AG concluded that police had to provide a victim-rights information card or brochure to every crime victim, without limiting the duty by the type of crime or whether the victim suffered…
In 2008, could a Florida county add its own surcharge to state civil traffic penalties?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Section 318.121 had preempted local fees, fines, surcharges, and costs added to civil traffic penalties since 1996, except for amounts expressly authorized by…
Were vacant lots held by a Florida Habitat for Humanity affiliate exempt from property tax before homes were built?
Not automatically. The affordable-housing exemption in section 196.1978 did not cover vacant lots that were not yet providing housing, while any broader charitable-use exemption depended on facts…
Could St. Augustine impose a fire-services special assessment on the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind?
No. The AG concluded that the city could not impose the fire-services special assessment because the school’s real property was titled to the State of Florida and no statute authorized the local…
In 2008, did every Florida community development district need an annual financial audit?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Chapter 190's specific annual-audit requirement for community development districts controlled over the more general audit schedule for special districts in…
In 2008, who maintained sidewalks and medians along a county road inside a Florida city?
The city. The Attorney General concluded that a city was responsible for sidewalks and medians along county roads within its limits, unless the city and county had a maintenance agreement providing…
Did Florida's 1996 harbor-master amendment repeal Port St. Joe's special act?
The office declined a formal opinion because the request did not establish the port authority's duties over the harbor master. Informally, it said the legislative history did not indicate an intent…
Could a Florida county hire a private company to administer pet registration records containing confidential rabies information?
Yes. The AG concluded that a local government could contract with a private entity to administer animal registration, but the contractor had to apply the Public Records Act and protect exempt…
Could Sarasota County use court-facility surcharge revenue to renovate a courthouse tower and café?
Yes. The AG concluded that surcharge revenue could renovate the courthouse's structural tower and could also renovate the café if the county had determined that space was a reasonable and necessary…
Did Florida's 2008 electronic-sale law let clerks charge an extra $60 on top of the existing judicial-sale fee?
The office declined a formal opinion on a clerk's authority. Informally, it observed that the final legislation appeared to replace an additional charge with the same $60 service charge used for the sale.
When did a Florida board vacancy arise if a member resigned effective on a future date?
The letter said tender and acceptance of the future resignation created the vacancy for purposes of starting the replacement process. The member could still serve and receive compensation until the…
Did Florida's 2008 municipal-utility law cover Vero Beach, and how were its undefined customer and service-territory terms interpreted?
The Attorney General's office declined to decide whether Vero Beach qualified as an affected municipal electric utility because that mixed question of law and fact required a court. It said…
Could a Florida county use an additional criminal court-cost assessment to fund a juvenile alternative-sanctions coordinator, and did it have to fund a judge's request?
The AG concluded in 2008 that the county could use the designated court-cost revenue for an alternative-sanctions coordinator. The county, however, retained discretion over whether to fund a local…
Could a qualified interpreter attend a closed Florida Sunshine Law litigation session for a deaf board member?
Yes. The AG concluded in 2008 that a qualified interpreter could attend a closed litigation-strategy session for a deaf board member because the interpreter functioned as the member's means of equal…
Could one person serve on both Florida's Lemon Law Arbitration Board and the Workforce Florida board?
No. The AG concluded that a Lemon Law arbitrator exercised quasi-judicial authority and a Workforce Florida director exercised state policy and funding powers, making both positions public offices…
Could a trustee or beneficiary of a Florida land trust claim the homestead property-tax exemption?
In 2008, the AG concluded that a resident trustee could qualify because the land-trust statute vested legal and equitable title in the trustee. A separate beneficiary needed a qualifying residence…
Could the Santa Rosa Island Authority reduce commercial lease fees by the amount of property tax a leaseholder paid?
No. The AG concluded in 2008 that reducing lease fees by the amount of ad valorem tax paid would operate as an unauthorized tax exemption, and the special district lacked power to grant it.
Could a Florida city give retirees one chance to continue city insurance and bar later reentry after they dropped coverage?
Yes. The AG concluded that Margate could require a written election within 30 days after retirement and could deny a later chance to rejoin after a retiree dropped coverage, while still satisfying…
Was a Florida community residential home with six or fewer residents exempt from the Florida Building Code?
No. Treating a small community residential home as a single-family, noncommercial use for local zoning did not exempt it from the statewide building code, and those homes were not listed among the…
Could a Florida village hold a public meeting in a private home under the Sunshine Law?
The informal opinion did not impose a categorical ban on private homes, but warned that the same public-access rules applied there. A meeting site had to accommodate reasonably expected attendance,…
Could South Miami pay the legal fees of a winning commission candidate named in a lawsuit contesting the election?
No. The Attorney General's office concluded that the city could not use public money to defend the successful candidate merely because election-contest law required that candidate to be joined as an…
What happens if a Florida tax certificate holder wins a tax deed sale but refuses to pay stamp tax and recording fees?
For non-homestead land with no higher bidder, the opinion treated the certificateholder as the buyer and payment of documentary stamp tax and recording fees as a condition before the clerk issues…
Could a Pasco County city change its municipal election date by ordinance under Florida's voting device exception?
The AG declined a formal ruling, but informally read section 101.75 as allowing an ordinance to change a municipal election date when voting devices could not handle concurrent elections. Otherwise,…
Did Florida's 2008 shooting-range law make local permits easier to obtain?
The AG's office said section 790.333 appeared aimed at immunity from certain government lawsuits over projectiles in the environment, not at streamlining local permits for a shooting range. The…
Can a Florida school district hold several continuing contracts for design services and choose a firm without another bid?
In this 2008 informal letter, the AG said the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act did not limit how many continuing contracts an agency could have at once. An agency could set criteria for…
Does a judge on a Florida children's services council count toward the vote needed to raise its property tax rate?
No. The AG said the judge was barred from voting or participating in setting ad valorem taxes, so the judge could not be counted when calculating the council vote required for a millage rate under…
Can a Florida city commission abolish its charter-created city clerk and treasurer jobs without a voter referendum?
No. The AG concluded that Indian Rocks Beach had to submit a charter amendment abolishing its city clerk and treasurer offices to voters. The unanimous-vote exception for abolishing municipal…
When does a Florida police department's 24-hour deadline start for sending a domestic violence report to a shelter?
The AG said the 24-hour period begins when the law enforcement agency's records custodian timely receives the initial report for filing. The agency, rather than the investigating officer or…
Can a Florida city give a historic preservation property tax exemption to an apartment building whose historic facade is visible from the street?
The AG said Coral Gables could treat a designated apartment building as regularly open to the public when its facade is the historically significant feature and visitors can observe it from a…
Could a Florida charity sell instant bingo tickets without live bingo, or dispense them from a money-operated machine?
The AG concluded that an authorized organization could sell instant bingo tickets only where live bingo games were conducted. A money-operated machine dispensing tickets that could win a chance…
Could Polk County apply residential zoning to a proposed shooting range despite Florida's firearm preemption laws?
The Attorney General said Polk County could apply existing zoning and land-use rules when siting a proposed sports shooting range. It could not enforce newly created or amended zoning or land-use…
Could Orlando issue more temporary fireworks sales permits after the 2008 task force report?
The Attorney General's office said the 2008 task force report did not, by itself, lift the statutory cap on temporary fireworks retail permits. The law tied the stated exception to enactment of…
Did Florida require a public works bond for a county contract to clear aquatic weeds?
The Attorney General said aquatic weed removal had no apparent connection to construction or improvement of a fixed work. He did not decide whether Citrus County's particular contract was a public…
Could a reporter see names of Florida correctional officers reassigned during an internal investigation?
Yes, for the administrative-duty records described to the Attorney General. Although the complaint and information obtained through its investigation were confidential while the inquiry remained…
Could a Florida physician assistant start a Baker Act involuntary evaluation in 2008?
The Attorney General said a licensed physician assistant could refer a patient for involuntary evaluation if the assistant had experience diagnosing and treating mental and nervous disorders and the…
If a Florida driver repaired a cited vehicle defect, did court costs still apply in 2008?
Yes. For the specified equipment violations, timely repair and the required affidavit reduced the fine to $7.50 under the 2008 statute, but the Attorney General said applicable court costs,…
Could a reporter obtain the names of Florida employees who requested home-address protection?
Yes, if the property appraiser maintained the requested list. In this 2008 opinion, the Attorney General said the exemption protected specified personal information, including home addresses, but…
Could a Florida sheriff voluntarily take less than the salary set by law?
No. The Attorney General said a sheriff could not lower the salary that Chapter 145 prescribed. The sheriff could receive the statutory amount and then donate some or all of it to the county.
Could South Florida's transit authority decide how to spend county contributions?
Yes, within the authority's legal purposes. The Attorney General said section 343.58(1) required counties to transfer funding but did not direct the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority…
Could Broward County use tourist development taxes to build a hotel beside its convention center?
No. The Attorney General said Broward County could not use the tourist development tax under the cited provision to build, furnish, or equip a hotel adjacent to its county-owned convention center.…
Could a Florida mosquito district reimburse commissioners for supplies or buy their computers?
The Attorney General said the Anastasia district could reimburse commissioners for district-business supplies within its charter's $100 monthly and $1,200 annual limits. The district could also buy…
Did a Florida school board have to give a union protected addresses of police officers' spouses?
No. The Attorney General said the school board was not required to give the certified bargaining representative home addresses and other protected personal information of employees who were spouses…
Could a Florida police department withhold past patrol trip sheets as tactical plans?
Generally no. The Attorney General said patrol trip sheets recording an officer's past movements were not themselves comprehensive emergency deployment or tactical plans and were generally open.…
Could a Florida city grant a business tax exemption that outlasted its voter-approved grant authority?
Yes. The Attorney General said a city acting while its voter-approved authority remained in force could grant a qualifying economic development property-tax exemption for up to 10 years. The…
Did Fort Myers have to advertise leasing submerged land it owned before creating a redevelopment area?
No under the facts described. The Attorney General said section 163.380's redevelopment-disposition notice rule did not apply to Fort Myers submerged land acquired for another purpose before its…
Could Florida EMS give patient call records to local police even if police did not regulate EMS?
Under the Florida statute reviewed in 2008, yes. The Attorney General said an EMS transportation licensee could release emergency-call records including a patient's identifying and medical…
Did a Florida business get a separate tangible property tax exemption at each business site?
Yes, under section 196.183 as enacted in 2007B and applied to the 2008 tax roll: each site where the owner transacted business required a separate return and qualified for an exemption of up to…
Did two Florida city council members make a citizens police academy class a public meeting?
No. The Attorney General said the attendance and course participation of two or more city council members did not turn West Melbourne's citizens police academy into a Sunshine Law meeting. He…
Could a Florida hospital district discuss its corporation's lawsuit in a closed attorney meeting?
Yes, when the district was the real party in interest in pending litigation naming its hospital corporation. The Attorney General said it could use the statutory closed session for settlement…
Did a Florida school advisory council have to match its students' racial percentages?
No. The Attorney General said the council had to represent the ethnic, racial, and economic community in the geographic area served by the school, not mirror its student body or the district as a…
Could a Florida city council member also sit on county investment and airport advisory boards?
For the two bodies described, yes. The Attorney General concluded that Brevard County's investment committee and Valkaria Airport Advisory Board were advisory bodies created by county legislative…
What public-interest review did Florida counties owe when buying or selling water utilities?
The 2008 informal letter said a county buying or selling a covered water, sewer, or wastewater reuse utility, or entering a wastewater facility privatization contract, had to hold a public hearing…
Could a Florida town keep a telecom tower lease payment secret as proprietary information?
No. The Attorney General said the town did not have to treat the payment amount in its telecom tower lease as confidential proprietary information under section 202.195. The jointly made lease was…
Could a married Florida homeowner claim a second homestead for a dependent child next door?
No on the described facts. The Attorney General said a married couple living together in one permanent residence could not claim a second homestead exemption for the former home next door merely…
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Attorney general opinions in Florida are written by the Florida Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.