Edwin F. Blanton Attorney for Franklin County School Board Tallahassee QUESTION: Must the Franklin County School Board refuse to admit or enroll nonresident pupils if the $50 nonresident tuition fee is not paid at the time of enrollment, or may the county admit such nonresident students and then file suit for recovery of the nonresident tuition fee, if it is not paid SUMMARY: The provisions of s. 228.121, F. S., requiring the payment to the school board of nonresident tuition fees upon...
John L. Mica Representative 39th District Tallahassee QUESTION: Is Ch. 57-507 , Laws of Florida, a special act relating to Orange County, permitting the payment of extra compensation to the chairman of the board of county commissioners currently in effect SUMMARY: Chapter 57-507 , Laws of Florida, has no legal effect or operation on the additional or extra compensation payable to the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners of Orange, County, having been expressly repealed and supplanted...
Arthur I. Jacobs Nassau County Attorney Fernandina Beach QUESTION: Has a county ordinance which was enacted to amend a special act regulating the size of nets to be used for fishing `in any of the salt waters of Nassau County' been expressly or impliedly repealed by general law SUMMARY: A noncharter county possesses no home rule power under s. 6(d), Art. VIII, State Const., to amend a special act antedating the 1968 revision of the constitution regulating the taking of saltwater fish `in any...
Ralph O. Johnson Attorney for East Beach Water Control District Pahokee QUESTION: Is the East Beach Water Control District a `state agency or subdivision' for the purposes of and within the scope of s. 768.28 , F. S. SUMMARY: The East Beach Water Control District is within the definitional purview of s. 768.28 (2), F. S., as amended. Accordingly, in the absence of judicial determination to the contrary, the monetary limitations on tort liability set forth in s. 768.28 (5), F. S., as amended,...
Thomas A. Bustin City Attorney Clearwater QUESTION: Is a business that publishes or prints a television guide outside the municipality's jurisdiction and distributes such publication to hotels within the municipality and throughout the state to hotels, and which also engages in such business in states other than Florida, subject to the occupational license tax pursuant to s. 205.042 (3), F. S. SUMMARY: A business that publishes and prints television guides outside a taxing municipality's...
Joel J. Strawn Attorney for Southeastern Palm Beach County Hospital District Delray Beach QUESTION: In light of the amendment to s. 768.28 , F. S., by Ch. 77-86 , Laws of Florida, is the Southeastern Palm Beach County Hospital District within the definitional purview of s. 768.28 , and is any recovery by an intentionally or negligently injured patient in the district's hospital restricted to the monetary limitations on tort liability established by s. 768.28 SUMMARY: A legislatively...
C. Bette Wimbish Chairperson Florida Crimes Compensation Commission Tallahassee QUESTIONS: 1. Is the one-year limitation on the filing of claims under the Florida Crimes Compensation Act, Ch. 960, F. S., made retroactive to January 1, 1977, under s. 960.07 (2), F. S. 2. Where public funds are collected for a trust fund disbursable to victims of crime, can a claim for said funds be retroactive to the starting date of said collections SUMMARY: The Florida Crimes Compensation Act, Ch. 960, F. S.,...
Wallace W. Henderson Secretary Department of Administration Tallahassee QUESTION: Is the Division of State Planning required to charge and collect from all recipients a reasonable charge for costs of preparation and mailing of its biweekly list of all notices of applications for developments of regional impact pursuant to s. 380.06 (9), F. S. SUMMARY: Each and every `person,' as defined in s. 380.031 (12), F. S., including governmental agencies, to whom a list of notices of applications for...
Don J. Caton City Attorney Pensacola QUESTION: Does the language `district, private corporation, board, body or person supplying water to or selling water for use on such premises' contained in s. 153.12 (2)(b), F. S., include a municipal corporation SUMMARY: Until judicially or legislatively determined to the contrary, any municipality supplying water to or selling water for use on any premises serviced by or connected to a county sanitary sewer or sewage disposal system is included within...
Gary E. Massey Winter Springs City Attorney Altamonte Springs QUESTION: Under the Charter of the City of Winter Springs, who has the authority to appoint councilmen to head the departments of the city SUMMARY: A municipal charter which vests all powers of the city in the governing body and which authorizes the mayor `to appoint a member of the city council to supervise and direct any particular phase of the government of the city . . .' contemplates a commission form of government wherein...
John A. Grant, Jr. General Counsel Tampa Housing Authority Tampa QUESTIONS: 1. Does a municipal housing authority have the authority to require security deposits of any nature from its tenants 2. If a municipal housing authority is empowered to exact security deposits from its tenants, is it excepted or exempted from the operation of s. 83.49 , F. S., by the terms of subsection (4) thereof SUMMARY: Municipal housing authorities are without express or necessarily implied statutory authority to...
Thomas A. Bustin City Attorney Clearwater QUESTION: Is the City of Clearwater authorized by the provisions of Ch. 165, F. S., or Ch. 166, F. S., to create a special taxing district for the purpose of surface water management and weed control of a privately owned lake SUMMARY: The City of Clearwater is not authorized by the Formation of Local Governments Act or the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act to create a special taxing district for the purpose of surface water management and weed control of...
Arthur H. Beckwith, Jr. Clerk, Circuit Court Sanford QUESTIONS: 1. Does the $2 additional service charge required by s. 28.241 (1), F. S., for each civil action filed in the circuit court apply to probate matters or proceedings in the circuit court 2. Does the $2 additional service charge required by s. 28.241 (1), F. S., for civil actions filed in circuit court apply to civil actions and proceedings filed in the county court, including summary claims SUMMARY: Clerks of the circuit courts...
Barry Richard Gables QUESTIONS: 1. Does the language appearing on the ballot by which the voters adopted s. 14, Art. X, State Const., have any bearing on the construction of the constitutional provision 2. If so, what is the meaning of the phrase `fully funded' in the ballot provision 3. What is the meaning of the phrase `sound actuarial basis' in the constitutional provision SUMMARY: Section 14, Art. X, State Const., prohibits all governmental unit retirement and pension systems supported...
Edwin H. Duff II Volusia County Sheriff DeLand QUESTION: Does a sheriff or a deputy sheriff or an emergency medical technician assigned to an ambulance or rescue unit have the legal authority or duty, and therefore consequent immunity from liability, to declare or officially pronounce dead a person who dies unattended by a recognized medical practitioner SUMMARY: No statute authorizes or requires a sheriff, deputy sheriff, or certified emergency medical technician to officially pronounce or...
J. Jackson Walter Executive Director Department of Business Regulation Tallahassee QUESTIONS: 1. Pending a final decision on the appeal of the decision declaring Ch. 77-49 , Laws of Florida [ss. 83.770-83.794, F. S.], unconstitutional, are there any limitations on the powers vested in the State Mobile Home Tenant-Landlord Commission by s. 7 of Ch. 77-49 [s. 83.782, F. S.] And, more specifically, can the commission, once organized, commence rulemaking pursuant to Ch. 120, F. S. 2. Pending a...
Betty Easley Representative, 56th District Tallahassee QUESTION: 1. Does the repeal of s. 741.06, F. S., do away with the county court judges' discretion in the issuance of a marriage license to anyone under the age of 18 2. Does county court judge now have to issue a marriage license to a minor, no matter how young, if he has the written consent of his parents SUMMARY: Former s. 741.06, F. S., which granted county court judges a limited discretion in issuing marriage licenses to minors,...
A. Lee McGehee Chief of Police Ocala QUESTIONS: 1. Where does ownership rest with personal property purchased with public funds by a law enforcement agency as part of a criminal investigation when such property is not determined to be stolen 2. If ownership rests with the unit of government which provided the public funds for purchase, may it be placed on the government's inventory for its use SUMMARY: When personal property determined not to be stolen is validly purchased with municipal...
Thomas Brown Executive Director Department of General Services Tallahassee QUESTIONS: 1. Is a contract between a state agency and a telephone company void and unenforceable insofar as it requires the payment of termination charges when service is terminated prior to the expiration of the contractual period 2. If question 1 is answered negatively, can termination charges be made from the agency's general funds or must there be a specific line-item entry in the approved budget expressly...
Nathan I. Weinstein Attorney for St. Augustine Airport Authority St. Augustine QUESTION: Is the St. Augustine Airport Authority required to submit to public bidding the proposed 20-year lease of portions of its facilities to fixed base operators SUMMARY: The St. Augustine Airport Authority, as the governing body of the St. Augustine Airport Authority District, pursuant to its enabling statute, Ch. 63-1853 , Laws of Florida, as amended, has the express power to lease a part or all of its...
