City, County And Local Government
Florida Public Records Law: The Battle Over Attorneys’ Fees
Access to public records is a right rooted in the Florida Constitution and implemented through statute in the state of...
Up Allen’s Creek Without a Paddle: Can Cities Leverage Utility Service for Annexation?
Cities should beware because even 20 years after it was decided, Allen’s Creek Properties, Inc. v. City of Clearwater, 679...
Another Fine Mess: Are Non-ad Valorem Special Assessments for Local Government Nuisance Abatement Charges Legally Defensible?
A residential lot on the west coast of Florida is covered in trash, debris, inoperable vehicles, thickets of weeds, and...
Decision by Judge or Jury? Alternatives to Traditional Code Enforcement Boards
Through F.S. Ch. 162, the Local Government Code Enforcement Boards Act, the legislature expressly granted Florida cities and counties the...
The Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act: An Overview, Recent Developments, and What the Future May Hold
Florida is a state that provides relief to private landowners when a law, regulation, or ordinance inordinately burdens, restricts, or...
Me, Myself, and I: Does Florida’s Sunshine Law Apply to Communications of a Lone Member of a Board or Commission?
Assume you are a newly elected member of a city council. Your election platform promised voters that you would fight...
Rodriguez v. Miami-Dade County:The Florida Supreme Court Clarifies Certiorari Review in Sovereign Immunity Cases
Government entities commonly file motions to dismiss based on sovereign immunity. When those motions were denied, some appellate courts in...
Code Liens Are Not “Superpriority” Liens: Is it the End of the Debate?
Recently, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the Fifth District Court of Appeal’s opinion in City of Palm Bay v. Wells...
The Dissolution of the Town of Cedar Grove
On October 3, 2008, the Bay County supervisor of elections certified the passage of a referendum to dissolve the town...
Prompt Judicial Review of Administrative Decisions: Providing Due Process in Unsure Waters
Any administrative licensing procedure regulating First Amendment-protected activity must bear a “heavy presumption against its constitutionality”1 and, therefore, must provide...
