Can an independent fire control district in Florida charge a first responder fee that counties and cities can't?

Plain-English summary

The attorney for the Ocean City - Wright Fire Control District asked Attorney General Bill McCollum whether the 2009 statutes banning "first responder fees," sections 125.01045 and 166.0446, Florida Statutes, apply to an independent special district created by the Legislature to provide fire control and emergency response services under Chapter 191. The AG concluded they do not.

Sections 125.01045 and 166.0446 prohibit a county and a municipality, respectively, from imposing a fee or seeking reimbursement for costs of first responder services, such as personnel and equipment used in responding to a motor vehicle accident. The AG read the bans as written: they apply only to counties and municipalities, and an independent special district is neither. The opinion also pointed to section 191.009(3)(c), which expressly authorizes the governing board of an independent fire control district to set a reasonable schedule of charges for responding to or mitigating emergencies. Because the Legislature was aware of that existing authority when it enacted the 2009 fee bans and chose to limit them to counties and cities, the AG concluded it could easily have included special districts had it intended to, and so the prohibitions do not reach the district.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. 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.

Common questions

Q: What are "first responder fees" and who is banned from charging them?
A: Sections 125.01045 and 166.0446 bar a county and a municipality from imposing a fee or seeking reimbursement for the costs of first responder services (like personnel and equipment) in responding to a motor vehicle accident, with narrow exceptions for hazardous-materials cleanup and licensed ambulance transport and treatment.

Q: Why don't those bans apply to an independent fire control district?
A: The AG read the statutes literally: they name only counties and municipalities. An independent special district is not a county or a municipality, so the prohibitions do not cover it.

Q: What lets a fire control district charge for emergency response?
A: Section 191.009(3)(c) authorizes the governing board of an independent fire control district to provide a reasonable schedule of charges for responding to or mitigating emergencies that threaten health and safety, including a charge for responding to false alarms.

Q: Why did the Legislature's awareness of that statute matter?
A: The opinion reasoned that the Legislature knew of the fire district's charging authority when it enacted the 2009 bans for counties and cities. Because it could have included special districts and did not, the AG inferred it did not intend to extend the prohibition to them.

Background and statutory framework

The Ocean City - Wright Fire Control District is an independent special district whose charter, recodified by the Legislature in 1999 (Chapter 99-478, Laws of Florida), authorizes fire suppression and prevention and emergency medical and rescue response. In 2009 the Legislature enacted Chapter 2009-191, Laws of Florida, creating sections 125.01045 and 166.0446, which prohibit counties and municipalities from imposing first responder fees and define "first responder" by reference to personnel employed by the state or a local government.

The opinion noted a possible question about whether special-district personnel fall within the "local government" definition used in those statutes, but found it unnecessary to resolve because the operative prohibition is expressly limited to counties and municipalities. It cited authority that a special district is distinct from a county or municipality (In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor) and the rule that the Legislature is presumed to know the meaning of the words it uses (Florida State Racing Commission v. Bourquardez; State ex rel. Southern Roller Derbies v. Wood). Set against section 191.009(3)(c)'s grant of charging authority to fire control districts, and Chapter 191's definitions in section 191.003, the AG concluded the 2009 bans do not apply to an independent special fire control district.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• § 125.01045, Fla. Stat. (prohibition of first responder fees, counties)
• § 166.0446, Fla. Stat. (prohibition of first responder fees, municipalities)
• Chapter 191, Fla. Stat. (independent special fire control districts), including § 191.003 (definitions) and § 191.009(3)(c) (schedule of charges for emergency response)

Cases:

• In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 630 So. 2d 1055 (Fla. 1994), special district office is not a state, county, or municipal office
• Florida State Racing Commission v. Bourquardez, 42 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 1949), Legislature presumed to know the meaning of words used
• State ex rel. Southern Roller Derbies v. Wood, 199 So. 262 (Fla. 1940)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/special-district-imposition-of-first-responder-fee
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/1708

Original opinion text

Mr. C. Jeffrey McInnis

Attorney, Ocean City - Wright Fire

Control District

909 Mar Walt Drive, Suite 1014

Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32547

RE: SPECIAL DISTRICTS–FIRE CONTROL–EMERGENCY SERVICES–FEES– authority of independent special district to impose first responder fee. ss. 125.01045 and 166.0446, Fla. Stat.

Dear Mr. McInnis:

On behalf of the Ocean City - Wright Fire Control District, you ask substantially the following question:

Does section 125.01045, Florida Statutes, or section 166.0446, Florida Statutes, apply to an independent special district that is created by the Legislature to provide fire control and emergency response services and is subject to Chapter 191, Florida Statutes?

In sum:

The prohibitions in sections 125.01045 and 166.0446, Florida Statutes, which respectively prevent a county or a municipality from collecting first responder fees, do not apply to an independent special district that is created by the Legislature to provide fire control and emergency response services and is subject to Chapter 191, Florida Statutes.

The Ocean City - Wright Fire Control District is an independent special district created to provide fire control services within the district.[1] Section 8 of its charter, recodified by the Legislature in 1999, authorizes the district to provide for fire suppression and prevention and to establish and maintain emergency medical and rescue response services.[2]

During the 2009 legislative session, the Legislature enacted Chapter 2009-191, Laws of Florida, which created sections 125.01045 and 166.0446, Florida Statutes. Section 125.01045, entitled "Prohibition of fees for first responder services," provides:

"(1) A county may not impose a fee or seek reimbursement for any costs or expenses that may be incurred for services provided by a first responder, including costs or expenses related to personnel, supplies, motor vehicles, or equipment in response to a motor vehicle accident, except for costs to contain or clean up hazardous materials in quantities reportable to the Florida State Warning Point at the Division of Emergency Management, and costs for transportation and treatment provided by ambulance services licensed pursuant to s. 401.23(4) and (5).

(2) As used in this section, the term "first responder" means a law enforcement officer as defined in s. 943.10, a firefighter as defined in s. 633.30, or an emergency medical technician or paramedic as defined in s. 401.23 who is employed by the state or a local government. A volunteer law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical technician or paramedic engaged by the state or a local government is also considered a first responder of the state or local government for purposes of this section."

Similar language is contained in section 166.0446, Florida Statutes, for municipalities which are prohibited from imposing a fee or seeking reimbursement for any costs or expenses that may be incurred for services provided by a first responder.

While a question might be raised as to whether a firefighter, emergency medical technician, or paramedic employed by a special district is a "first responder" as defined in sections 125.01045(2) and 166.0446(2), Florida Statutes,[3] the prohibition in the statutes regarding reimbursement of first responder fees clearly refers only to a county or a municipality. An independent special district is not a county or a municipality.[4] Moreover, section 191.009(3)(c), Florida Statutes, authorizes the governing board of an independent fire control district, created by special law or general law of local application, to

"provide a reasonable schedule of charges for responding to or assisting or mitigating emergencies that either threaten or could threaten the health and safety of persons, property, or the environment, to which the district has been called, including a charge for responding to false alarms."[5]

The Legislature, in enacting Chapter 2009-191, Laws of Florida, was aware of this statutory provision.[6] Had the Legislature wished to include an independent special district, it easily could have done so.

Accordingly, I am of the opinion that the prohibitions in sections 125.01045 and 166.0446, Florida Statutes, which respectively prevent a county or a municipality from collecting first responder fees, do not apply to an independent special district that is created by the Legislature to provide fire control and emergency response services and is subject to Chapter 191, Florida Statutes.

Sincerely,

Bill McCollum

Attorney General

BM/tjw

[1] See s. 1 of the charter, as recodified in s. 2, Ch. 99-478, Laws of Fla. And see the Official List of Special Districts, prepared by the Department of Community Affairs pursuant to s. 189.4035, Fla. Stat., which lists the Ocean City - Wright Fire Control District as an independent special district (http://www.floridaspecialdistricts.org/OfficialList/report.cfm).

[2] See s. 2, Ch. 99-478, Laws of Fla.

[3] Sections 125.01045(2) and 166.0446(2), Fla. Stat., refer to such personnel employed by a "local government." The term "local government" is sometimes defined to include special districts. See, e.g., ss. 542.17(8) and 161.021(10), Fla. Stat., defining "Local government" to include certain special districts as well as counties and municipalities. Compare ss. 705.101(1) and 380.503(3), Fla. Stat., which define the term to refer to a county or municipality.

[4] See, e.g., In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 630 So. 2d 1055 (Fla. 1994), in which the Florida Supreme Court concluded that a special district office is not a state, municipal, or county office within the meaning of Art. II, s. 5(a), Fla. Const., the dual office-holding prohibition against simultaneously holding more than one state, county, or municipal office. Cf. Art. VII, s. 9, Fla. Const., establishing separate millage limits on counties, municipalities, and special districts. And see Florida State Racing Commission v. Bourquardez, 42 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 1949); State ex rel. Southern Roller Derbies v. Wood, 199 So. 262 (Fla. 1940) (Legislature is presumed to know meaning of words and thus, legislative intent is first to be determined by the language used).

[5] See s. 191.003(1), (2), and (5), Fla. Stat., which respectively provide:

"(1) 'Board' means the governing board of a district.

(2) 'District' means an independent special fire control district as provided in this act.

• • *

(5) 'Independent special fire control district' means an independent special district as defined in s. 189.403, created by special law or general law of local application, providing fire suppression and related activities within the jurisdictional boundaries of the district. The term does not include a municipality, a county, a dependent special district as defined in s. 189.403, a district providing primarily emergency medical services, a community development district established under chapter 190, or any other multiple-power district performing fire suppression and related services in addition to other services."

[6] See The Florida Senate Bill Analysis and Fiscal Impact Statement on CS/SB 2282, dated April 16, 2009, p. 6, available online at: /files/pdf/page/3301783949CB49848525770D005CB347/2009s2282.ft.pdf.