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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Can a Florida value adjustment board member also serve on a city commission?
The AG concluded that a citizen member of a county value adjustment board cannot simultaneously be a member or employee of a municipality, because a city is a 'taxing authority' barred by section…
Can one person be both a value adjustment board special magistrate and a city hearing officer in Florida?
The AG concluded that a value adjustment board special magistrate appointed for a calendar year cannot also serve as a city's hearing officer, even if the two sets of hearings happen in different…
Is the VA's VAFL 27-333 letter the only document a Florida property appraiser can accept to grant a disabled veteran's property tax exemption?
No. The AG concluded that the federal VAFL 27-333 letter was not the only acceptable proof. Section 196.081(1) requires a letter from the United States Government or the U.S. Department of Veterans…
Can Florida educational property get a tax exemption when one company owns the school and a separate company owns the land, even if the same people own both?
No. The AG concluded that section 196.198 deems property 'owned by an educational institution' only when the entity owning 100% of the school is owned by the identical persons who own the real…
Can a Florida county let its code enforcement officers carry firearms on the job, and do officers who are also certified police get law-enforcement benefits?
No on both counts. The AG concluded that a code enforcement officer is not authorized to carry a firearm within the scope of that job, and that designation as a code enforcement officer does not…
Does a Florida development permit get extended automatically after a state of emergency?
The AG concluded that section 252.363 tolls and extends development permits after the Governor declares a state of emergency, but the city has no duty to act to grant the extension. The burden is on…
Does a private business leasing public airport land have to post a payment and performance bond to build on it under Florida's Little Miller Act?
Yes. The AG concluded that because the ground lease made any improvements the property of the Sanford Airport Authority (a governmental entity), the construction was a 'public work' under section…
Can a Florida newspaper that only recently switched to weekly publication run legal notices, even if it published twice a month for over a year?
No. The AG concluded that a newspaper must have been published on a weekly-or-more-often schedule for one full year before the first publication of a legal notice to qualify under Chapter 50. A…
Can a Florida city manager also serve as a reserve police officer in another county or city without breaking the dual office-holding ban?
Likely not. In an informal advisory letter, the Attorney General's Office indicated that both city manager and certified reserve police officer are 'offices' under Article II, section 5(a) of the…
Can an individual Florida school board member hold a town hall meeting on school property, and does it break the Sunshine Law if other members attend?
In an informal advisory letter, the Attorney General's Office declined to resolve the intra-district dispute but offered general guidance: a school board's powers are exercised 'as a board,' not by…
Can Florida tourist development tax revenue be used to pay for trash and debris removal on state-owned bridges in the county?
In an informal advisory letter, the Attorney General's Office declined to issue a formal opinion because the question turned on the county commission's authority and the commission did not join the…
Can a Florida railroad 'special officer' also serve as an unpaid reserve deputy sheriff without violating the dual office-holding ban?
Yes. The AG concluded that a special officer for a carrier under Chapter 354 is an 'officer' for dual office-holding purposes (commissioned by the Governor, holding a term, with arrest powers and…
Can a Florida county levy a special assessment to fund emergency medical services under section 125.271?
Yes, for qualifying counties. The AG concluded that section 125.271 lets a county within its definitions (including Baker County, a designated rural area of critical economic concern) fund emergency…
Can a Florida bailiff with a concealed weapons permit carry a gun in the courthouse if the presiding judge gives permission?
Yes. The AG concluded that section 790.06(12)(a)5. lets a presiding judge decide who may carry a concealed weapon in the judge's courtroom, and that this authority necessarily allows the authorized…
What are the rules and enforcement limits for Florida school zone speed limits under section 316.1895?
In an informal advisory letter, the Attorney General's Office said it could not give a formal opinion because a school superintendent is not charged with establishing, designing, or enforcing school…
Can a Florida county adopt a 'piggyback' procurement policy for road construction instead of competitively bidding to the lowest responsible bidder?
In an informal advisory letter, the Attorney General's Office said it could not formally review the county's resolution, but offered guidance: sections 336.41(4) and 336.44 require county road…
Does Florida farmland lose its agricultural tax classification just because the owner puts it up for sale?
In an informal advisory letter, the Attorney General's Office declined to address matters pending before the Polk County Value Adjustment Board, but offered general guidance on Chapter 2010-277:…
Can a Florida police department record incoming and outgoing phone calls, and is a beep enough notice that a transferred call is still being recorded?
The AG concluded that once a caller is told at the start that the line is recorded, a periodic audible beep is sufficient notice (and implied consent under section 934.03(2)(d)) that a transferred…
After Florida rewrote its Power of Attorney Act in 2011, are military springing powers of attorney made under 10 U.S.C. 1044b still valid in Florida?
Yes. The AG concluded that the second sentence of the military power-of-attorney provision does not limit the first, so all 'springing' military powers of attorney executed under 10 U.S.C. section…
Can a Florida city change its police and firefighter pension board by ordinance, including who serves on it and what counts as a quorum?
Two different answers. The city could not add criteria for picking the board's fifth member, because section 185.05(7) forbids a participating municipality from altering that section. But nothing in…
Is the Lauderhill Housing Authority the exclusive public body administering housing projects within the City of Lauderhill?
Yes. The AG concluded the Lauderhill Housing Authority, created by city resolution under the Housing Authorities Law, was the exclusive public body authorized to administer housing projects within…
Can a Florida county sell eminent domain property back to its former owner below the acquisition price after the market value dropped?
No, not as a straight buy-back below the original price. The AG concluded that under section 73.013(1)(f), within 10 years of a taking a county must give the former owner the chance to repurchase…
Is section 95.18(7) the only way a Florida property appraiser can remove an adverse possession notation from the tax roll?
Yes. The AG concluded that section 95.18(7), as amended in 2011, is the legislatively prescribed (and exclusive) method for a property appraiser to remove an adverse possession notation from a…
Can a single county commissioner in Florida ask a department head for records without the whole board's approval or a public records request?
Informally, yes. The office said it was aware of no Florida law or Suwannee County ordinance requiring an individual commissioner to get the full board's permission before asking staff for…
Does a Florida school district have to give its employees' Social Security numbers to the teachers union?
Mostly no. Employee Social Security numbers held by a school district are confidential and exempt. A union claiming to be a 'commercial entity' can reach them only to verify numbers it already…
Can a Florida county outside Miami-Dade or Broward authorize slot machines at a pari-mutuel facility through a local referendum?
No. Attorney General Bondi concluded the state could not license slot machines at a pari-mutuel facility in a county that simply held a referendum. Under section 551.102(4), a county outside…
Does a private company building on leased public airport land have to post a performance and payment bond under Florida law?
Yes, under the lease. The Attorney General's office gave informal comments noting that the answer turned on Ground Lease 2003-08, which expressly required the lessee to provide a section 255.05…
Is the name of a 911 caller that ends up in a police offense report confidential under Florida's public records law?
It depends on the source. Information taken from the 911 call that identifies the caller is confidential while the agency holds it. But identifying information gathered separately, through a…
Can a Florida city use a city-owned building as collateral for a loan without a voter referendum?
No, not for a loan over 12 months. The office advised that when a city borrows money and grants a security interest in its property, with a right of foreclosure, for a term longer than 12 months,…
Does a Florida regional planning council have to follow the state severance-pay cap for its employees?
Yes. Attorney General Bondi concluded the South Florida Regional Planning Council is a 'unit of government' under section 215.425, as amended in 2011, so its contracts have to follow the…
Can a county museum board member also serve as a special magistrate for the value adjustment board in Florida?
No. Attorney General Bondi concluded that members of the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Trust board are appointed officials of Miami-Dade County for purposes of section 194.035(1), so they are barred…
Can a Florida city contract to provide police services to any city in the county, or only to ones next door?
Only to neighbors. Attorney General Bondi concluded that section 166.0495 lets a city enter an interlocal agreement to provide law enforcement services only to municipalities that both adjoin the…
How much do Florida counties have to pay toward community mental health and substance abuse services, and what oversight do they get?
The statute generally calls for a 75% state and 25% local funding ratio for covered contracted services, with specified exceptions. A county's required contribution is the amount that, together with…
What rules must a Florida public employer's bonus or incentive program follow?
The office would not bless the whole plan. It explained that under section 215.425(3), as amended in 2011, any bonus-scheme policy must base awards on work performance, describe the performance…
Can a Florida county forgive penalties and interest on delinquent special assessments it imposed by ordinance?
The office did not give a formal ruling on waiver. It said that, absent a statutory prohibition or contrary direction, Escambia County 'would appear' able to amend the ordinance imposing its special…
Can Florida counties still require gun background checks and a waiting period after the 2011 firearm preemption law?
Yes. Even though the 2011 amendments to section 790.33 broadened the state's preemption of firearm regulation, the AG concluded that Article VIII, section 5(b) of the Florida Constitution still lets…
Can a Florida county commissioner take part in hiring county employees, or does the county administrator hold that power?
The administrator hires. The office gave informal comments noting that in a non-charter county that adopted Part III of Chapter 125, the county administrator selects, employs, and supervises…
Can a Florida police officer also work as a private investigator or security guard, or own that kind of business?
The AG was aware of no statute that prohibits a sworn Florida law enforcement officer from also working as a licensed private investigator or security guard, or owning such an agency. But…
Can a Florida county lease its public airport to a private operator for more than 30 years?
Yes. The AG concluded that section 125.35(1)(b)1., Florida Statutes, lets a county negotiate a lease of its airport property to a private party for whatever term and conditions the county commission…
Can a Florida city council fill a council vacancy by special election if the city charter says otherwise?
The AG declined to answer directly, because interpreting a city charter is a question of local law outside the AG's authority and is usually referred to the local government's own attorney. As…
Can a Florida special district create its own 'hybrid' bidding process for public construction projects?
No. The AG concluded that the Southwest Florida Water Management District, as a creature of statute, may only use the competitive-award procedures the Legislature set out in section 255.20 (for…
Can a Florida city still charge gun dealers and gunsmiths a local business tax after the 2011 firearm preemption law?
Yes. The AG concluded that although Chapter 2011-109 preempts the entire field of firearm regulation to the state, a Chapter 205 local business tax is a revenue tax on the privilege of doing…
Can a Florida school board remove or destroy an employee evaluation that was filed without following the statute?
No. The AG concluded that an assessment of an assistant superintendent's performance was a public record and part of his personnel file even though the superintendent filed it without discussing it…
Can a Florida county force its employees and elected officials to join its self-insured health plan?
No. The AG concluded that section 112.11, Florida Statutes, makes participation in local-government group insurance entirely voluntary, so Monroe County could not require its employees and elected…
Can a Florida county ban or regulate recreational firearm discharge in residential neighborhoods?
No. The AG concluded that section 790.33, Florida Statutes, preempts firearm regulation to the state, so Santa Rosa County could not regulate recreational firearm discharge in residentially zoned…
Can a Florida county spend public money to maintain a private road that school buses use?
No, not for free. The AG reaffirmed prior opinions holding that a county cannot spend public funds to repair or maintain a private road, even when the owner lets school buses use it, because public…
Can a Florida town council fill its own vacancies by appointment under the town charter?
The AG declined to give a formal answer, because the question turned on interpreting the town charter rather than state law. As informal guidance, the office noted that section 166.031(6) requires…
Are the email and home addresses people give to sign up for Florida sex-offender alerts public records?
No. The AG concluded that the email addresses and 'watched addresses of concern' people submit to join the FDLE Florida Offender Alert System are covered by the public-records exemption in section…
Can police enforce golf-cart and traffic laws on private subdivision streets in Florida?
It depends on facts the AG could not resolve. Law enforcement can enforce Chapter 316 traffic laws (including golf-cart rules) on private subdivision streets only where the public actually has the…
Does a Florida property appraiser have to refund excess fees to a special district that pays for non-ad valorem assessment collection?
Yes, it appears so. The AG's informal comments concluded that Department of Revenue Rule 12D-11.009 directs a property appraiser to distribute excess funds to each governmental unit, including a…
How long does a Florida law enforcement agency have to keep evidence when no charges were filed?
There is no single statewide rule, and the AG declined to set one. For evidence that is a public record under Chapter 119, an agency may dispose of it only under the Division of Library and…
Can a Florida city pass an ordinance giving local contractors a preference in public bidding?
The AG declined to issue a formal opinion, because the request came from a legislator on behalf of private constituents rather than the local government whose powers were in question. As informal…
Does a 'local improvement' funded by a special assessment have to be a capital project, or can it cover services like garbage collection?
It does not have to be a capital project. The AG's informal comments concluded that a special assessment can fund a service, not just construction, as long as the service gives the assessed property…
Can a Florida water management district ban outdoor smoking on its property and bar employees from using tobacco on the clock?
Two answers. The AG concluded that section 386.209 preempts smoking regulation to the state, so the St. Johns River Water Management District could not ban outdoor smoking by everyone on district…
Can a member of a local board be disqualified from an agency proceeding for bias or interest in Florida?
The AG declined to issue a formal opinion, because the question turned on local ordinance procedures the office cannot interpret. As informal guidance, it pointed to section 120.665, part of the…
Is a slot-style electronic game run by a Florida veterans' club an illegal slot machine?
Yes, as described. The AG concluded that a card-operated electronic game at a veterans' organization, where chance determines whether the player wins points convertible to money on a card, is an…
Can someone serve on a housing finance authority if their spouse's law firm represents developers seeking financing?
Yes. The AG concluded that section 159.606, Florida Statutes, does not prohibit someone from serving on a housing finance authority just because the member's spouse is a partner in a law firm that…
What can a Florida hospital-district board member do under a 'non-interference' charter clause, and what happens if they violate it?
An individual North Broward Hospital District commissioner could ask questions of or request information from staff supervised by the President/CEO, but could not otherwise direct or interfere with…
Does Florida law allow a person to lawfully possess a federally registered destructive device?
Yes. The Attorney General's office told the ATF that Florida law allows the lawful possession of destructive devices as defined in section 790.001(4). Sections 790.161 and 790.1612 criminalize…
Can a Florida local agency pay an official's legal fees for defending an ethics complaint that was dismissed?
Maybe. Under Florida common law a local board can pay an official's legal fees for defending an ethics complaint only if the agency's governing body finds the conduct both arose from the official's…
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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.