Does Florida law spell out exactly how a tax collector must run a tax certificate sale?

Subject

Tax Collector -- Sale of Tax Certificates

Plain-English summary

The Hillsborough County Tax Collector asked the AG whether section 197.432, the statute that lets a tax collector sell tax certificates (the instruments a county issues against properties with unpaid taxes), lays out detailed methods for conducting those sales. The AG declined to give a formal opinion, because the underlying situation was already in litigation, and the office defers to the courts on matters pending before them.

The AG did offer informal direction by pointing to its earlier Opinion 2004-27. There it had analyzed the same statute, which authorizes a tax collector to conduct certificate sales by electronic means and requires those electronic sales to comply with the procedures in Chapter 197, and recognized that the chapter does not spell out exactly how the tax collector must implement an electronic sale. The AG applied a well-established principle: when a statute grants a public officer a general power without detailed instructions on how to exercise it, the officer is impliedly authorized to use the means and methods reasonably necessary to carry out the statute.

The practical takeaway the AG drew from that prior opinion: it cannot prescribe a specific procedure for electronic tax certificate sales. Instead, the tax collector must take reasonable steps to satisfy the statute's requirements, and the method rests in the collector's sound discretion, so long as it complies with the procedures in Chapter 197.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. 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

Does section 197.432 dictate how a tax certificate sale must be run?
Not in detail. The AG, drawing on its 2004 opinion, explained that the statute authorizes the sale (including by electronic means) and requires compliance with Chapter 197's procedures, but does not prescribe a specific method for implementing the sale.

Who decides the method, then?
The tax collector. The AG described the manner of conducting the sale as resting in the collector's sound discretion, provided the collector takes reasonable steps to meet the statute's requirements and follows Chapter 197.

Why didn't the AG issue a formal opinion?
Because the specific situation was the subject of pending litigation, and the office's policy is not to opine on questions before the courts, to avoid intruding on the judiciary.

Background and statutory framework

Tax certificates are part of Florida's system for collecting delinquent ad valorem property taxes: when taxes go unpaid, the county can sell certificates, and section 197.432 governs that sale. The statute authorizes electronic sales and ties them to the procedures in Chapter 197 generally, but it does not micromanage the mechanics.

The AG's analysis rests on the implied-powers principle stated in In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor and applied in its Opinion 2004-27: a statute that imposes a duty on a public officer also confers, by implication, the particular powers necessary to perform that duty, so long as they do not violate law or public policy. That is why the AG treats the method of conducting a tax certificate sale as a matter of the collector's reasonable discretion rather than something the AG can dictate.

Citations

• section 197.432, Florida Statutes
• Chapter 197, Florida Statutes
• In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 60 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 1952)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/tax-collector-sale-of-tax-certificates
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/8093

Original opinion text

The Honorable Doug Belden

Hillsborough County Tax Collector

601 East Kennedy Boulevard

14th Floor

Tampa, Florida 33602-4931

Dear Mr. Belden:

You have asked this office to determine whether section 197.432, Florida Statutes, authorizing a tax collector to sell tax certificates, prescribes detailed methods for conducting tax certificate sales. This office has been advised that your question involves a situation which is currently the subject of litigation and, accordingly, this office will decline to offer a formal opinion at this time out of deference to the judiciary.[1]

It would appear, however, that your question involves a determination of whether section 197.432, Florida Statutes, provides a tax collector discretion in the manner of conducting tax certificate sales. In Attorney General Opinion 2004-27, this office discussed the methodology of conducting a tax certificate sale pursuant to section 197.432, Florida Statutes, which specifically authorizes a tax collector to conduct the sale of tax certificates by electronic means and requires that such electronic means comply with the procedures provided in Chapter 197. The opinion recognized that the chapter does not specifically set forth how the tax collector is to implement the sale of tax certificates by electronic means.

This office observed the well-founded principal that the grant of a general power to a public officer or board, unaccompanied by definite directions as to how the power or authority is to be exercised, implies a right to employ the means and methods necessary to comply with the statute.[2] Recognizing that this office is unable to prescribe a method or procedure which must be followed in the electronic sale of tax certificates, it was concluded that the tax collector must take reasonable steps to ensure that the statute’s requirements are met. The method of doing so rests in the sound discretion of the tax collector, who may effectively accomplish such by any reasonable means which comply with the procedures set forth in Chapter 197, Florida Statutes.[3]

I trust that these informal comments and direction to the previous opinion of this office will be of assistance to you in resolving the question you have raised.

Sincerely,

Lagran Saunders

Assistant Attorney General

ALS/tsh

[1] See Frequently Asked Questions, IV. When Opinions Will Not Be Issued (in order not to intrude upon the constitutional prerogative of the judiciary, opinions generally are not rendered on questions pending before the courts), accessible on the web at www.myfloridalegal.com.

[2] See Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 2004-27, citing Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 79-59 (1979); and In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 60 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 1952) (well-settled rule in Florida is that if a statute imposes a duty upon a public officer to accomplish a stated governmental purpose, it also confers by implication every particular power necessary or proper for complete exercise or performance of the duty that is not in violation of law or public policy).

[3] The specific question in Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 04-27 (2004) involved how the tax collector would ensure that a person or entity who is prohibited from participating in a tax certificate sale being conducted electronically where the identity of the person or entity is not readily apparent could not participate in the sale.