There seems to be a growing sentiment in the Florida Legislature that municipalities are simply an agent or arm of the state. A recent staff analysis by a Florida House Subcommittee stated that “...(M)unicipalities were created by the Legislature to perform additional functions and provide additional services….”
While it is true that a Special Act of the legislature is the final step in the detailed and deliberate process prescribed in Chapter 165 of the Florida Statutes to create (and dissolve) a municipality, this does not make cities mere “agents or arms of the state. Such an analysis ignores the reality that a municipality is the embodiment of local self-determination. Citizens who are seeking, among other things, greater levels of urban services, infrastructure expansion, to create a space in which individuals can come together to work for the common good, and to promote the exclusive needs and conveniences of its citizens undertake incorporation efforts to achieve these goals. The decision to incorporate requires careful consideration by communities to ensure the desired result. Additionally, municipalities have an advantage in providing urban services by virtue of their traditionally compact and contiguous nature.
The citizens of Florida understood and appreciated the role that cities have and clearly intended to give cities additional powers when they adopted the Municipal Home Rule Amendment (Article VIII, Sec. 2(b) Florida Constitution) in Florida’s Constitution in 1968. In voting to approve this measure, the citizens were giving “additional powers to cities to perform services unless specifically prohibited by law.” The language of the amendment envisioned that the legislature would have to take up and pass legislation that preempted municipal powers. As we know, passing legislation is no easy or simple feat, and as such, is a curb on the legislatures power to limit municipal powers.
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As we start the 2017 Session, there are already a number of bills filed that reduce or fully limit municipal control over a host of issues. The League's Advocacy team will wage the good fight to protect Home Rule. But we need your help. We need you to call your legislators and put a local face on the issues. Tell your legislators specifically how legislation will directly affect your city and your citizens. Be Diligent. Be Engaged. Be a HOME RULE HERO!!
