Did Florida have to hold a referendum to merge two hospital districts?

Plain-English summary

Representative D. Alan Hays asked whether a referendum had been required to merge the Northwest Lake County Hospital District and the Northeast Lake County Hospital District, which were combined by Chapter 95-508, Laws of Florida. Joslyn Wilson, Director of the Opinions Division, answered with informal comments, noting first that the office must presume the validity of duly enacted legislation.

The comments explained the legal background two ways. First, the two districts had already merged by concurrent resolution in February 1990 under the 1989 Uniform Special District Accountability Act; section 189.4045(1), Florida Statutes 1989, authorized merger by concurrent resolution of each affected governing body and did not require a referendum. Second, Chapter 95-508 was a special act that ratified that merger, and Article III, section 10 of the Florida Constitution requires one of two things before a special law can pass: either published notice of intent to seek the law, or a referendum provision that the law's effectiveness depends on. Here the published-notice path was used. A review of the 1995 Florida House Journal showed that proof of publication of the required notice for House Bill 1951 (which became Chapter 95-508) was attached, so the constitutional requirement was satisfied without a referendum.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2009. 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.

The opinion itself describes statutes as they read in 1989 and 1995, and notes several later amendments (Chapter 96-318 and Chapter 97-255). The special-district merger rules have changed over time; verify the current version of Chapter 189 before relying on any procedure described here.

Common questions

Q: Was a public vote required to merge the two hospital districts?
A: No. The office explained that the 1989 statute allowed merger by concurrent resolution of each district's governing body and did not call for a referendum, and that the special act ratifying the merger met the constitution's requirements through published notice rather than a vote.

Q: How can the Legislature pass a special act without a referendum?
A: Article III, section 10 of the Florida Constitution gives two alternative paths. Either notice of intention to seek the special law is published as general law requires, or the act includes a referendum provision and only takes effect if the voters approve. Only one of the two is needed. For Chapter 95-508, the published-notice path was used.

Q: How did the office confirm the notice was actually published?
A: It checked the Journal of the Florida House of Representatives for the 1995 regular session, which recited that "[p]roof of publication of the required notice" for House Bill 1951 was attached. At that time the statute required that fact to be recited in the legislative journals.

Q: Did the office decide the merger was valid?
A: It did not issue a binding ruling. The office stressed that it must presume the validity of duly enacted legislation, and offered the analysis only to be of assistance in explaining why a referendum was not required.

Background and statutory framework

The merger sat at the intersection of two bodies of law. The Uniform Special District Accountability Act of 1989 governed how special districts combine. Section 189.4045(1), Florida Statutes 1989, let two or more districts merge by passing concurrent resolutions, and section 189.4042 set out who could initiate the process. Neither provision required referendum approval, which is why the districts could and did merge by resolution in 1990.

The constitutional layer came from Article III, section 10, which governs special laws. It bars passage of a special law unless notice of intent was published as general law requires, with an exception when the law is conditioned on a referendum. Sections 11.02 and 11.03, Florida Statutes, prescribe the publication-of-notice procedure, and section 11.021 required proof of publication to be established in the Legislature and, in 1995, recited in the journals. Because the House Journal showed proof of publication for House Bill 1951, the special act ratifying the merger satisfied the notice path, and no referendum was needed.

Citations and references

Statutes and constitutional provisions:

• s. 189.4045(1), Fla. Stat. 1989 (merger by concurrent resolution)
• s. 189.4042, Fla. Stat. 1989 (Uniform Special District Accountability Act)
• Art. III, s. 10, Fla. Const. (special laws: notice or referendum)
• ss. 11.02-11.03, Fla. Stat. (notice requirements)
• s. 11.021, Fla. Stat. (proof of publication)
• Chapter 95-508, Laws of Florida (ratifying merger)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/hospital-districts-merged-referendum
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/8202

Original opinion text

The Honorable D. Alan Hays
Representative, District 25
Post Office Box 2326
Umatilla, Florida 32784

Dear Representative Hays:

You ask this office's opinion as to whether a referendum was required to merge the Northwest Lake County Hospital District and the Northeast Lake County Hospital District. According to your letter, the two districts were merged by Chapter 95-508, Laws of Florida.

Initially, I note that this office must presume the validity of any duly enacted legislation. In an effort to be of assistance, I would note that Chapter 95-508, Laws of Florida, sought to ratify the merger between these two hospital districts pursuant to Chapter 189, Florida Statutes 1989. As stated in the act's Whereas clauses:

"* * *

WHEREAS, the Northeast Lake County Hospital District and the Northwest Lake County Hospital District were merged into one single independent special taxing district by concurrent resolutions of the Northeast Lake County Hospital District and the Northwest Lake County Hospital District on the 9th day of February 1990, and

• • *

WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that Chapter 189, Section 189.4042, Florida Statutes, 1989, the Uniform Special District Accountability Act of 1989, provides for the merger of special districts through the adoption of concurrent resolutions by the governing bodies of each special district but feels that the citizens of Lake County would be better served by the Legislature of the State of Florida ratifying the prior concurrent resolutions and changing certain provisions of the concurrent resolutions . . . ."

At that time, section 189.4045(1), Florida Statutes 1989, authorized the merger of two or more special districts by "passage of a concurrent . . . resolution by the governing bodies of each unit to be affected."[1] The statute, however, did not provide for approval of the merger by referendum.

Regarding the passage of Chapter 95-508, Laws of Florida, which is a special act, I would note that Article III, section 10 of the Florida Constitution, sets forth certain requirements for the passage of a special law, providing:

"No special law shall be passed unless notice of intention to seek enactment thereof has been published in the manner provided by general law. Such notice shall not be necessary when the law, except the provision for referendum, is conditioned to become effective only upon approval by vote of the electors of the area affected."

Therefore, before a special law may be passed, one of two things must have occurred: (1) there must have been notice of intention to seek enactment of the special law published in the manner provided by general law, or (2) the law must contain a referendum provision and the effectiveness of the law must depend on a favorable vote in the referendum.

Sections 11.02 - 11.03, Florida Statutes, prescribe the notice requirements for special or local acts.[2] Section 11.021, Florida Statutes, states:

"The evidence that such notice has been published shall be established in the Legislature before such bill shall be passed, and such evidence shall be filed or preserved with the bill in the Department of State in such manner as the Legislature shall provide."

In 1995, the statute further provided that "[t]he fact that such notice was established in the Legislature shall in every case be recited upon the journals of the Senate and of the House of Representatives."[3] A review of the Florida House of Representatives Journal for the 1995 regular session reveals the statement that "[p]roof of publication of the required notice" for House Bill 1951 (enacted as Chapter 95-508, Laws of Florida) was attached.[4]

I trust that the above information may be of assistance. Thank you for contacting the Attorney General's Office.

Sincerely,

Joslyn Wilson
Director of Opinions Division

JW/tsh

[1] Section 189.4042(2)(a), Fla. Stat. 1989, provided that initiation of procedures for merger of special districts as described in subsection (1) may be done by either adoption of a resolution by the governing body of an area to be affected or by a petition of 10 percent of the qualified voters in the area. Section 8, Ch. 97-255, Laws of Fla., amended s. 189.4042(1) to, among other things, limit the subsection's application to dependent districts and amended subsection (2) to provide in part that the merger or dissolution of an independent special district or a dependent district created and operating pursuant to a special act may only be effectuated by the Legislature unless otherwise provided by general law. A different procedure, however, was recognized for districts created by a county or municipality.

[2] See s. 11.02, Fla. Stat., which provides:

"The notice required to obtain special or local legislation or any relief act specified in s. 11.065 shall be by publishing the identical notice in each county involved in some newspaper as defined in chapter 50 published in or circulated throughout the county or counties where the matter or thing to be affected by such legislation shall be situated one time at least 30 days before introduction of the proposed law into the Legislature or, there being no newspaper circulated throughout or published in the county, by posting for at least 30 days at not less than three public places in the county or each of the counties, one of which places shall be at the courthouse in the county or counties where the matter or thing to be affected by such legislation shall be situated. Notice of special or local legislation shall state the substance of the contemplated law, as required by s. 10, Art. III of the State Constitution. Notice of any relief act specified in s. 11.065 shall state the name of the claimant, the nature of the injury or loss for which the claim is made, and the amount of the claim against the affected municipality's revenue-sharing trust fund."

And see s. 11.03, Fla. Stat., setting forth an affidavit of proof of publication which may be used.

[3] This provision requiring that the notice be recited in the Journals was deleted in 1996. See s. 3, Ch. 96-318, Laws of Fla.

[4] Journal of the Florida House of Representatives, 1995 regular session, March 13, 1995, Vol. I, p. 174.