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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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An act relating to county constitutional officers; 2
creating s. 125.691, F.S.; prohibiting a county from 3
creating any office, special district, or governmental 4
unit, or expanding the powers or authority of such 5
office, district, or unit, under certain conditions; 6
providing that a county commissioner is guilty of 7
misfeasance or malfeasance in office under certain 8
conditions; authorizing the state to withhold certa in 9
county funding under certain conditions; authorizing 10
certain county constitutional officers and residents 11
to bring an action in circuit court under certain 12
conditions; authorizing and prohibiting certain 13
remedies; amending s. 129.01, F.S.; prohibiting a 14
board of county commissioners' budget from providing 15
funding to such offices, districts, and units under 16
certain conditions; amending s. 129.021, F.S.; 17
conforming a cross-reference; providing an effective 18
date. 19
20
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21
22
Section 1. Section 125.691, Florida Statutes, is created 23
to read: 24
125.691 Prohibition against duplicating county 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
constitutional office powers or authority; penalties; remedies. — 26
(1) A county may not create any office, special di strict, 27
or governmental unit, or expand the powers or authority of any 28
existing office, special district, or governmental unit, for the 29
purpose of exercising any power or authority allocated 30
exclusively to a sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, 31
supervisor of elections, or clerk of the court by the State 32
Constitution or general law. 33
(2) A county commissioner who votes in favor of a proposed 34
ordinance to create an office, special district, or governmental 35
unit, or expand the powers or authority of an existing office, 36
special district, or governmental unit, for the purpose of 37
exercising any power or authority allocated exclusively to a 38
sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of 39
elections, or clerk of the court by the State Constitution o r 40
general law is guilty of misfeasance or malfeasance in office. 41
(3) If a county adopts an ordinance pursuant to subsection 42
(2), the state may withhold all or part of any distribution 43
under part II of chapter 218 which is otherwise allocable to the 44
county, other than any distribution exclusively for school 45
purposes or required for existing bond debt service, during the 46
period such ordinance is in force. 47
(4) A sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, 48
supervisor of elections, clerk of the court, or any resident of 49
a county may bring an action in circuit court against a county 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
that violates this section. The court may enter a judgment 51
awarding declaratory and injunctive relief, damages, and costs. 52
The court may also award reasonable attorney fees to the 53
prevailing party; however, the court may not award reasonable 54
attorney fees to a county as the prevailing party. 55
Section 2. Paragraphs (b) through (e) of subsection (2) of 56
section 129.01, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs 57
(c) through (f), respectively, and a new paragraph (b) is added 58
to that subsection to read: 59
129.01 Budget system established. —A budget system for the 60
control of the finances of the boards of county commissioners of 61
the several counties of the state is established as fo llows: 62
(2) The budget must conform to the following general 63
directions and requirements: 64
(b) The budget may not provide funding to any office, 65
special district, or governmental unit exercising any power or 66
authority allocated exclusively to a sheriff, tax collector, 67
property appraiser, supervisor of elections, or clerk of the 68
court by the State Constitution or general law. 69
Section 3. Section 129.021, Florida Statutes, is amended 70
to read: 71
129.021 County officer budget information. —Notwithstanding 72
other provisions of law, the budgets of all county officers, as 73
submitted to the board of county commissioners, must be in 74
sufficient detail and contain such information as the board of 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
county commissioners may require in furtherance of their powers 76
and responsibilities provided in ss. 125.01(1)(q), (r), and (v), 77
and (6) and 129.01(2)(c) 129.01(2)(b). 78
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 79