Senate Bill sb2080
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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 2080
    By Senator Bennett
    21-1506-07
  1                      A bill to be entitled
  2         An act relating to counties; creating s.
  3         125.6401, F.S.; providing legislative findings
  4         and intent; providing that an amendment to a
  5         county charter which transfers or restricts
  6         certain powers of a municipality in the county
  7         will not take effect unless approved by the
  8         voters of the municipality and of the county;
  9         amending s. 163.3171, F.S.; deleting provisions
10         allowing a charter county to exercise powers
11         over municipalities and districts therein;
12         amending s. 163.3174, F.S.; deleting provisions
13         relating to the division of planning
14         responsibility between a charter county and the
15         municipalities therein; amending s. 171.044,
16         F.S.; revising applicability of provisions
17         relating to annexation in charter counties;
18         providing an effective date.
19  
20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21  
22         Section 1.  Section 125.6401, Florida Statutes, is
23  created to read:
24         125.6401  Charter counties; limitations on exercise of
25  functions within municipalities.--
26         (1)  The Legislature finds that the citizens of this
27  state vote voluntarily to create municipalities specifically
28  to serve the unique needs of the citizens and their
29  communities. The Legislature further finds that charter
30  counties, through amendments to their charters, have
31  increasingly sought to divest municipalities of the
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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 2080
    21-1506-07
 1  governmental, corporate, and proprietary powers granted to
 2  municipalities by their citizens. The Legislature concludes
 3  that the involuntary divestiture or limitation through county
 4  charter amendments of municipal authority to conduct
 5  government, perform municipal functions, and render municipal
 6  services undermines the will of the citizens who elect to
 7  incorporate. It is the intent of the Legislature that
 8  municipalities located within charter counties shall have all
 9  governmental, corporate, and proprietary powers to enable them
10  to conduct municipal government, perform municipal functions,
11  and render municipal services and to remove all county charter
12  limitations, judicially imposed or otherwise, on the exercise
13  of municipal home rule powers.
14         (2)  An amendment to the charter of a county which
15  transfers or restricts a governmental, corporate, or
16  proprietary power of a municipality located within the county
17  shall not be effective in the municipality unless the
18  amendment is approved by a vote of the electors of the
19  municipality and approved by a vote of the electors of the
20  charter county.
21         (3)  This section does not apply to interlocal
22  agreements between municipalities and counties to temporarily
23  transfer a municipality's governmental, corporate, or
24  proprietary powers to a county.
25         (4)  This section applies to Miami-Dade County and its
26  municipalities to the extent permitted by the home rule
27  charter established pursuant to s. 6(e), Art. VIII of the
28  State Constitution.
29         Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 163.3171, Florida
30  Statutes, is amended to read:
31         163.3171  Areas of authority under this act.--
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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 2080
    21-1506-07
 1         (2)  A county shall exercise authority under this act
 2  for the total unincorporated area under its jurisdiction or in
 3  such unincorporated areas as are not included in any joint
 4  agreement with municipalities established under the provisions
 5  of subsection (1). In the case of chartered counties, the
 6  county may exercise such authority over municipalities or
 7  districts within its boundaries as is provided for in its
 8  charter.
 9         Section 3.  Subsection (1) of section 163.3174, Florida
10  Statutes, is amended to read:
11         163.3174  Local planning agency.--
12         (1)  The governing body of each local government,
13  individually or in combination as provided in s. 163.3171,
14  shall designate and by ordinance establish a "local planning
15  agency," unless the agency is otherwise established by law.
16  Notwithstanding any special act to the contrary, all local
17  planning agencies or equivalent agencies that first review
18  rezoning and comprehensive plan amendments in each
19  municipality and county shall include a representative of the
20  school district appointed by the school board as a nonvoting
21  member of the local planning agency or equivalent agency to
22  attend those meetings at which the agency considers
23  comprehensive plan amendments and rezonings that would, if
24  approved, increase residential density on the property that is
25  the subject of the application. However, this subsection does
26  not prevent the governing body of the local government from
27  granting voting status to the school board member. The
28  governing body may designate itself as the local planning
29  agency pursuant to this subsection with the addition of a
30  nonvoting school board representative. The governing body
31  shall notify the state land planning agency of the
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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 2080
    21-1506-07
 1  establishment of its local planning agency. All local planning
 2  agencies shall provide opportunities for involvement by
 3  applicable community college boards, which may be accomplished
 4  by formal representation, membership on technical advisory
 5  committees, or other appropriate means. The local planning
 6  agency shall prepare the comprehensive plan or plan amendment
 7  after hearings to be held after public notice and shall make
 8  recommendations to the governing body regarding the adoption
 9  or amendment of the plan. The agency may be a local planning
10  commission, the planning department of the local government,
11  or other instrumentality, including a countywide planning
12  entity established by special act or a council of local
13  government officials created pursuant to s. 163.02, provided
14  the composition of the council is fairly representative of all
15  the governing bodies in the county or planning area; however,:
16         (a)  if a joint planning entity is in existence on the
17  effective date of this act which authorizes the governing
18  bodies to adopt and enforce a land use plan effective
19  throughout the joint planning area, that entity shall be the
20  agency for those local governments until such time as the
21  authority of the joint planning entity is modified by law.
22         (b)  In the case of chartered counties, the planning
23  responsibility between the county and the several
24  municipalities therein shall be as stipulated in the charter.
25         Section 4.  Subsection (4) of section 171.044, Florida
26  Statutes, is amended to read:
27         171.044  Voluntary annexation.--
28         (4)  The method of annexation provided by this section
29  shall be supplemental to any other procedure provided by
30  general or special law, except that this section does shall
31  not apply to municipalities in counties as defined in s.
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    Florida Senate - 2007                                  SB 2080
    21-1506-07
 1  125.011 having with charters that which provide for an
 2  exclusive method of municipal annexation.
 3         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
 4  
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 6                          SENATE SUMMARY
 7    Provides that an amendment to a county charter which
      restricts or transfers a governmental, corporate, or
 8    proprietary power of a municipality therein is not
      effective unless approved by the voters of the
 9    municipality and those of the county. Deletes provisions
      granting charter counties certain powers over the
10    municipalities therein.
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