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 the same attorney serve as a code-enforcement special magistrate for more than one Florida city at the same time?
No. The Attorney General's office held to its position that a special magistrate or code-enforcement hearing officer holds an 'office' under the Florida Constitution, so serving in that role for one l…
Can a Florida county sell its county-owned airport to a private buyer, and must it use competitive bidding?
Yes, with conditions. Under section 332.08(4) a Florida county may sell its airport to a private party once the county commission finds the property is no longer needed for aeronautical purposes. And …
Does the Florida False Claims Act let someone sue over a false claim made to a city or municipality?
No. Attorney General Pam Bondi concluded the Florida False Claims Act reaches false or fraudulent claims made to state executive-branch agencies, not claims presented to a municipality. A city is neit…
Can recording a 'land patent' or moving property into a 'common law pure trust' get it off the Florida tax rolls?
No. Attorney General Pam Bondi concluded that neither a self-recorded 'Declaration of Land Patent' nor transferring property into a 'common law pure trust' creates any exemption from Florida ad valore…
Can a member of a Florida public board abstain from a vote just to avoid the appearance of bias?
No. The Attorney General's office explained that under section 286.012 a board member who is present must vote, and may abstain only when there is or appears to be a possible conflict of interest unde…
Does putting a county economic-development director under the county commission make the commission an 'economic development agency' for records confidentiality?
It depends on the charter, which the Attorney General's office will not interpret. If a county charter amendment made the commission part of the economic development agency, then the section 288.075 c…
Can a Florida agency make a public-records requester give a mailing address, show up in person, or explain why they want the records?
No. The Attorney General's office explained that under Chapter 119 an agency cannot make a requester provide a mailing address, appear in person, or reveal why they want the records. The 'reasonable c…
Can a Florida city charter require voter approval before changing or repealing an ordinance the voters enacted?
The Attorney General's office declined to rule on the validity of an existing Treasure Island charter clause requiring voter approval to amend or repeal voter-enacted ordinances, because it presumes e…
Can a Florida officer pat down a truant or runaway minor for weapons before driving them, without suspecting a weapon?
Yes. Attorney General Pam Bondi concluded that an officer who has taken a truant or other minor into custody under section 984.13 and must transport them may perform a limited weapons frisk before pla…
If a tax certificate is sold after a tax-deed application but before the sale, how is that lien handled?
A tax certificate sold after someone applies for a tax deed but before the sale is a first lien on the property and is not included in the minimum opening bid under section 197.502(6). It survives the…
Can a Florida city appoint one of its own commissioners to serve on a special district's board of directors?
The Attorney General's office declined to rule for the Valparaiso commission, but offered general guidance: the Florida Supreme Court has held no Florida common-law rule bars a governmental body from …
Does Florida's ban on lending public credit conflict with the statute requiring cities to report economic-development incentives?
The Attorney General's office declined to decide whether Article VII, section 10 of the Florida Constitution conflicts with the statute requiring cities to report economic-development incentives, beca…
Does a Florida home-based professional owe city business tax if they already paid a business tax to another county?
It depends on whether there is a 'permanent business location.' Under section 205.065, a city cannot tax a DBPR-regulated business that only works in the city temporarily and has paid a business tax w…
What can residents and officials do when a Florida city is financially failing and the city commission won't act?
The AG's office, which has no authority over cities, offered informal pointers: residents can pursue recall of officials under section 100.361, the Governor can suspend an official under section 112.5…
Who fills a vacancy on the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District board, the Governor or the Commissioner of Agriculture?
The Governor. A general statute (section 388.111) lets the Commissioner of Agriculture fill mosquito-district vacancies, but the Florida Keys district's own 2002 special act is both more specific and …
Can a deputy clerk of court also serve as an elected county commissioner in Florida?
Yes, on these facts. A deputy clerk who only performs ministerial duties assigned by the clerk holds an 'employment,' not an 'office.' Florida's constitutional ban on holding two offices at once did n…
If a sheriff and state attorney appoint substitutes to an advisory board, does the Sunshine Law cover their private conversations?
No, not on that basis. When the sheriff and state attorney each appoint someone else to sit on the Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission in their place, the two officers are no longer commissi…
Do airport communications staff who don't take 911 calls have to be certified as 911 public safety telecommunicators in Florida?
No. Section 401.465(2)(a)'s certification mandate applies to people working at a 911 'public safety answering point' who handle 911 calls. Airport communication specialists who dispatch only internal …
Can a Florida water control district spend its funds on mosquito and arthropod control if its charter doesn't say so?
No, it does not appear so. The Spring Lake Improvement District is a water control district whose powers are limited to what its charter and Chapter 298 grant. Neither authorizes spending district fun…
Is a county ethics commission hearing examiner an 'office' that triggers Florida's ban on holding two public offices at once?
The Attorney General's office declined to decide, because answering would mean commenting on two counties' actions. It offered only the general framework: whether a position is an 'office' (triggering…
Can a special district board repeal its bylaws by simple majority when the bylaws require a supermajority to amend them?
Probably not. The AG's office gave only informal comments (it does not formally interpret local bylaws), but pointed to Sterling v. Brevard County, where a board could not lower its own supermajority …
Does a nonprofit foundation set up by a Florida city to raise money have to follow public records and open meetings laws?
Yes. The Biscayne Park Foundation, a nonprofit the village created and controls as its 'fundraising arm,' is an 'agency' under Chapter 119, so its records are open, and it is also subject to the open-…
Does Florida's Florida-friendly landscaping law allow artificial turf as part of a yard's landscape plan?
It does not appear to be barred. The Florida-friendly landscaping statute contemplates non-living materials (rocks, mulch, paving) in a landscape plan, and while it does not mention artificial turf, n…
When someone is elected to fill a city council vacancy, do they take office right away or wait for the regular term start date?
Reading the Maitland charter, the AG's office observed that a person elected to fill a council vacancy serves the balance of the existing unexpired term rather than starting a new three-year term in A…
Can a retired Florida auxiliary law enforcement officer carry a concealed weapon under the federal LEOSA if they don't get a pension?
The AG's office could not give a binding opinion (this turns on federal law and was not a state-official request), but noted that the 2010 amendments to 18 U.S.C. 926C removed the old requirement of a…
Can foreign citizens or foreign companies buy and own property in Florida, and are there restrictions?
Generally yes. Florida law gives aliens the same inheritance rights as citizens and does not bar foreign ownership of property, though foreign corporations owning Florida real estate must keep a regis…
Does a Florida neighborhood improvement district always need 75% of property owners to approve it before it can be created?
Not in every case. The Safe Neighborhoods Act provides several different methods to create a neighborhood improvement district. The 75% written-consent requirement applies only to the property owners'…
Are a government employee's private handwritten notes public records that the public can demand to see in Florida?
Not necessarily. Personal notes a public employee makes only to help remember things, that have not been transcribed or shown to anyone and were not meant to perpetuate, communicate, or formalize know…
Does a Florida city need voter approval to change how city council candidates run, such as requiring them to pick a numbered seat?
Yes. Requiring council candidates to designate which seat they seek changes the 'manner of election' of municipal officers. Under section 166.021(4), that kind of charter change must be approved by th…
Can a Florida school district ban smoking outdoors on its campuses with a tobacco-free policy?
No, not without legislative authorization. Florida's Clean Indoor Air Act preempts the regulation of smoking, indoor and outdoor, to the state. A school district's home-rule power does not overcome th…
Does a Florida state-created corporation have to adopt its bylaws through formal administrative rulemaking?
Generally no. Bylaws of the Florida Mobile Home Relocation Corporation usually need not be adopted as formal rules. But if a bylaw requires compliance, creates rights while adversely affecting others,…
If a local board member's term expires and nobody runs for the seat, is there a vacancy the county has to fill?
No. The expiration of a term of office is not on Florida's list of things that create a vacancy, so the sitting member holds over and keeps serving until a successor is elected and qualified. A true v…
Does Florida require the $20 Crime Stoppers court cost on every criminal conviction, or only when another fine is imposed?
On every criminal conviction. The 2010 Legislature rewrote section 938.06 so the $20 Crime Stoppers court cost is an independent, mandatory charge the clerk collects on any criminal conviction (includ…
Can a Florida school board pay out more than 60 days of accrued vacation leave for employees on contracts signed before July 2001?
It turns on when the contract was signed. The current 60-day cap in section 1012.65 applies to contracts entered after July 1, 2001, but the predecessor statute already capped terminal vacation pay at…
Can a county inspector general share a whistle-blower's confidential complaint with the county ethics commission?
Only for the limited purpose of carrying out a whistle-blower investigation. Because Palm Beach County designated both its inspector general and its ethics commission as officials authorized to receiv…
Can a Florida community redevelopment agency sell or lease its property to a private developer?
Yes. In informal comments, the Attorney General's office explained that Part III of Chapter 163 (the Community Redevelopment Act of 1969) expressly authorizes a community redevelopment agency to sell …
Can a Florida city pass an ordinance giving bidding preference to local contractors and businesses?
Generally yes. In informal comments to a legislator, the Attorney General's office explained that Florida municipalities have broad home rule powers and that a Florida appellate court has already uphe…
Does a city have to follow CRA public-notice rules to lease city land that sits in a redevelopment area but was bought for other reasons?
No. The 30-day public-notice procedure in section 163.380(3)(a) applies to property acquired for community redevelopment. It does not reach city-owned land that happens to sit inside a redevelopment a…
How are vacancies filled on a multicounty water control district board, by appointment or by special election?
Apparently by special election. After a 2009 amendment, the East County Water Control District's act says vacancies are filled under section 189.405(3)(a), which routes the popularly elected board to …
Can a Florida city spend leftover garbage-collection impact fees on other utilities, or does it have to refund them?
No to both shifting and refunding. Impact fees the City of Wildwood collected for refuse collection must be spent on refuse and other solid-waste purposes, not on unrelated utility services. And becau…
Can a Florida fire district buy a fire truck on an installment loan that lets the lender repossess it if the district defaults?
Not the way it was structured. The Dorcas Fire District may buy a fire truck on an installment sales contract if it has the funds for that year's payments, but without referendum approval it cannot us…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law cover a private nonprofit that runs a county program, like a county-backed energy loan fund?
Yes. The Solar and Energy Loan Fund of St. Lucie County, a private nonprofit, has to follow Florida's open meetings law because the county delegated its energy-financing program to the fund. When a co…
Did Florida's 2010 permit-extension law apply to building permits issued by cities, not just state permits?
Yes. The 2010 amendment to section 380.06 (Chapter 2010-147) applied to building permits issued by local governments, not just state-agency permits. It gave a two-year extension to permits with expira…
Does Florida require the Child Abuse Death Review Committee to make a full recording of its closed meetings?
Yes. Section 383.412 requires that all proceedings of the State Child Abuse Death Review Committee, including the closed portions, be recorded so the entire discussion is captured verbatim with nothin…
Does the Florida Transportation Commission oversee the Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission?
No, not over the authorities the rail commission monitors. In informal comments, the Attorney General's office concluded the 2009 law creating the Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission carved th…
Can a Florida city exempt state-licensed professionals who work for someone else from its local business tax?
No. A Florida municipality does not have to levy a local business tax, but if it does under section 205.042, it must apply the tax to all businesses, professions, and occupations and may use only the …
Can a Florida county charge water utilities a per-well fee to fund its wellfield protection program, or is that really a tax?
Probably not as a 'fee.' The Attorney General's office could not conclude that Palm Beach County's proposed per-well charge was a user fee or impact fee. Because it would fund an existing, government-…
Can someone be both a volunteer FWC reserve officer and a full-time city police officer without breaking Florida's dual office-holding ban?
It depends, and an agency policy also matters. Florida's constitution bars holding two public offices at once, but courts recognize a narrow exception (Vinales/Rampil) when both offices relate to crim…
Can a Florida CRA spend redevelopment money on festivals, tourism grants, or grants to charitable nonprofits?
Partly. Promoting a redeveloped area itself (festivals, street parties, advertising for the area) appears to fit the community redevelopment act's purposes. But using redevelopment funds for grants to…
Are a Florida county inspector general's investigation records and meetings confidential under the Sunshine and Public Records laws?
Partly. The 2010 public-records and open-meeting exemption (Chapter 2010-130) covered the Palm Beach County Inspector General only when investigating ethics-code complaints. Investigations of waste, i…
Can a Florida public agency cut its terminal sick-leave payout cap below the 480 hours state law requires?
No. The AG concluded that section 110.122(3), Florida Statutes, mandated terminal pay for unused sick leave (one-fourth of hours accrued after October 1, 1973, capped at 480 hours) for state employees…
Does Florida's home-address exemption for police protect a former officer's old addresses, and must he request it?
Two points. First, a former law enforcement officer now working for a town in a non-police job had to ask in writing to keep the public-records exemption for his home address, because the town was a r…
When a soil and water conservation district seat goes vacant in Florida, how long does the board's appointee serve?
Until the next scheduled general election. When a soil and water conservation district seat became vacant, the remaining supervisors could appoint a successor, but only through the next general electi…
How long does a Florida city have to issue a red-light camera ticket, and can it cite the driver named in the owner's affidavit?
A city had at most 60 days from the violation to mail a red-light camera citation: up to 30 days to notify the registered owner, then a 30-day window for the owner to pay or respond. If the owner file…
Can a Florida city let board members attend by phone or video to count toward a quorum?
No. The AG concluded that Coral Gables could not adopt an ordinance letting members of its retirement board count toward a quorum by appearing electronically. Section 166.041 requires a quorum to be p…
If a Florida special district sets a zero tax rate one year, can it raise the millage the next year?
Yes. The AG concluded that an independent special district (here the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Airport Authority) that levied a zero millage rate one year was not locked out of taxing later. Beca…
Can Florida police ask about someone's immigration status during a lawful traffic stop or detention?
In this 2010 informal opinion, the AG advised that Florida state and local officers could ask about a person's immigration status during a lawful detention, as long as the questions did not prolong th…
Is a voluntary, employee-paid AFLAC plan a 'group insurance plan' a Florida city must extend to retirees?
The Attorney General's office declined to give a binding answer, explaining that whether a specific AFLAC plan is a 'group insurance plan' under section 112.0801 is a mixed question of law and fact it…
Who counts as a 'qualified elector' for a Florida special-district referendum?
In informal, advisory comments, the AG's office read 'qualified electors of the district' to mean only the registered voters of the Spring Lake Improvement District in Highlands County, so only they c…
Can a Florida county hold a property owner responsible for code violations caused by their tenants?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Local Government Code Enforcement Boards Act (Part I, Chapter 162) did not preempt Brevard County from adopting an ordinance defining 'violator' to include owners of pro…
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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.