Can a single county commissioner in Florida ask a department head for records without the whole board's approval or a public records request?

Subject

County commissioner, authority to request information

Plain-English summary

Counsel for the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners wrote to ask whether, in a non-charter county where department heads report directly to the board, a single commissioner could require a department head to hand over departmental records or information without first getting the full board's approval or filing a public records request.

The Attorney General's office answered with informal comments rather than a formal opinion, and it was careful to mark the limit of its role: it could opine on questions of state law, but it could not tell a local government how to carry out the work for which its officials were elected. Within that limit, the office said it was aware of no Florida law, Suwannee County ordinance, or administrative rule that would require a commissioner performing official duties to get the entire commission's permission before requesting information from staff. It reasoned that a board of county commissioners has the express power to run county government plus the implied powers needed to carry out that job, and that directing staff in the performance of official duties "would appear to be an express power" of individual commission members.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2012. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

This was an informal response signed by a Senior Assistant Attorney General, not a numbered formal opinion. The office opened by drawing the line it always draws: it gives legal opinions on questions of state law and does not give local governments detailed how-to instructions on accomplishing their work. So the practical question of how a Suwannee County commissioner should obtain records was left to the county; the office offered only general legal background.

That background started with a basic rule of Florida public-officer law: officials exercise only the powers conferred on them by constitution or statute, plus what is necessarily implied. Article VIII, section 1 of the Florida Constitution makes a board of county commissioners the governing body of each county and, for non-charter counties like Suwannee, gives them such self-government power as general or special law provides. Chapter 125 carries that forward: section 125.01(1) gives the board power "to carry on county government," and lists specific powers including adopting rules of procedure (s. 125.01(1)(a)), creating civil service systems and boards (s. 125.01(1)(u)), and performing "any other acts not inconsistent with law, which acts are in the common interest of the people of the county" (s. 125.01(1)(w)). Those enumerated powers are not exclusive; the board also holds the implied powers necessary to carry out its functions.

Reviewing Suwannee County's own ordinances, the office found nothing addressing staff support for the commission or a commissioner's authority to direct staff, beyond a code definition of "department head." Relying on counsel's representation that department heads report directly to the board, the office concluded it knew of no law requiring a commissioner to seek the whole board's permission before requesting information from staff, and that the authority to direct staff in performing official duties appeared to be an express power of commission members. The opinion contrasted this with AGO 2011-12, where a special act limited individual hospital-district board members to asking questions and requesting information without otherwise directing or interfering with employees.

Common questions

Was this a formal Attorney General opinion?
No. It was an informal letter response from a Senior Assistant Attorney General. The office expressly noted it could not direct how a county commissioner should accomplish his or her duties, and offered the comments only to assist.

Did the AG say a single commissioner can demand records from a department head?
The office said it was aware of no Florida law or Suwannee County ordinance requiring a commissioner who is performing official duties to get the full board's permission before requesting information from staff, and that directing staff in performing official duties appeared to be an express power of commission members. It framed this as general legal background, not a directive.

Did the commissioner need to file a public records request?
The question assumed the alternative was board approval or a public records request. The office's comments addressed the board-approval point and did not require a commissioner to route an internal information request through the public-records process; it left the practical mechanics to the county.

Why wouldn't the AG just decide the question outright?
Because the office limits itself to questions of state law and does not tell local governments how to run their internal operations. Whether and how a commissioner obtains records from staff was a local operational matter, so the office gave background rather than a binding answer.

Citations and references

• Art. VIII, s. 1 and s. 1(e), Fla. Const. (county governing bodies; boards of county commissioners)
• Ch. 125, Fla. Stat.; s. 125.01(1) (power to carry on county government)
• s. 125.01(1)(a), (u), (w), Fla. Stat. (rules of procedure; civil service systems; other acts in the common interest)
• AGO 2011-12 (individual hospital-district board member's authority to request information under a special act)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/county-commissioner-authority-to-request-information
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/8143

Original opinion text

Mr. Hal A. Airth

Attorney at Law

Post Office Box 448

Live Oak, Florida 32064

Dear Mr. Airth:

On behalf of the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners, you have asked for this office's assistance in resolving a matter relating to the powers and duties of the commission. Specifically, you have asked whether, in a non-charter county where the heads of the various county departments report to and are directly responsible to the Board of County Commissioners, a county commissioner may require a department head to provide copies of departmental records or other information to the commissioner without first obtaining the approval of the board or filing a public records request. Attorney General Bondi has asked me to respond to your letter.

Initially, I must advise you that this office is authorized to provide legal opinions on questions of state law; we have no authority to provide local governments with detailed suggestions as to how they may accomplish the work for which they were elected. As such, I must advise you that this office cannot direct how a county commissioner should accomplish his or her duties. However, the following informal comments are provided in an effort to assist you.

Public officers may exercise only that power which is conferred upon them by law. The powers and duties of public office are measured by the terms and necessary implication of the grant of constitutional or statutory authority.[1] Pursuant to Article VIII, section 1, Florida Constitution:

"Except when otherwise provided by county charter, the governing body of each county shall be a board of county commissioners composed of five or seven members serving staggered terms of four years. After each decennial census the board of county commissioners shall divide the county into districts of contiguous territory as nearly equal in population as practicable. One commissioner residing in each district shall be elected as provided by law."[2]

In non-charter counties, such as Suwannee County, the constitution specifies the scope of county powers:

"Counties not operating under county charters shall have such power of self-government as is provided by general or special law. The board of county commissioners of a county not operating under a charter may enact, in a manner prescribed by general law, county ordinances not inconsistent with general or special law, but an ordinance in conflict with a municipal ordinance shall not be effective within the municipality to the extent of such conflict."

Thus, it is the responsibility of the county commission to conduct the business of county government.

Chapter 125, Florida Statutes, reflects this general power[3] and provides specific powers to the county's governing body. Among the powers set forth in section 125.01, Florida Statutes, are the power to "[a]dopt . . . rules of procedure[,]"[4] "[c]reate civil service systems and boards[,]"[5] and generally, "[p]erform any other acts not inconsistent with law, which acts are in the common interest of the people of the county, and exercise all powers and privileges not specifically prohibited by law."[6] These enumerated powers are not exclusive or restrictive and a board of county commissioners is deemed to have all implied powers necessary to carry out its enumerated functions, including the authority to employ personnel, expend funds, enter into contractual obligations, and purchase or lease and sell or exchange real or personal property.[7]

A review of Suwannee County's ordinances and charter do not reveal any local legislative provisions relating to staff for the commission or the authority of the commission to direct staff. Rather, I must rely on your assertion that "the heads of the various county departments report to and are directly responsible to the Board of County Commissioners[.]" Article II, section 58-31 of the Suwannee County Code defines "[d]epartment head" to mean "a person with the title of department head, who is assigned the overall responsibility for the operation of a recognized department or area of county operation[.]"

I am aware of no law or ordinance or administrative rule of the Suwannee County Commission that would require a county commissioner who is performing his or her official duties to request the permission of the entire commission before requesting information from staff to be used in accomplishing those duties.[8] As discussed above, a public official may exercise those express powers conferred by Florida's constitution and statutes and possesses the implied authority incidental to a power expressly granted. The authority to direct staff in the performance of official duties and responsibilities would appear to be an express power of the members of the county commission.

I trust that these informal comments will assist you in advising the Suwannee County Commission. Thank you for contacting this office for assistance.

Sincerely,

Gerry Hammond

Senior Assistant Attorney

GH/tsh

[1] See 63C Am. Jur. 2d Public Officers and Employees s. 225.

[2] Art. VIII, s. 1(e), Fla. Const.

[3] See s. 125.01(1), Fla. Stat., providing that "[t]he legislative and governing body of a county shall have the power to carry on county government."

[4] Section 125.01(1)(a), Fla. Stat.

[5] Section 125.01(1)(u), Fla. Stat.

[6] Section 125.01(1)(w), Fla. Stat.

[7] See 12 Fla. Jur.2d Counties and Municipal Corporations ss. 147 and 148.

[8] Compare Op. Att'y Gen. Fla. 2011-12, in which this office concluded that, pursuant to the language of a special act of the Legislature, an individual member of the board of commissioners of the North Broward Hospital District may ask questions or request information of district employees, agents, and officers who are supervised, directly or indirectly, by the President/CEO of the district, but may not otherwise give direction to or interfere with any such employee.