Florida Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Florida, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can a Florida county use tourist development tax money to pay airfare and travel costs for travel writers and tour brokers to attend tourism promotion events?
No, not unless those travel writers or tour brokers are themselves traveling on official agency business under section 125.0104(9)(c). The AG read section 125.0104(9)(a) of the Local Option Tourist De…
Can a Florida public agency pay an employee a bonus or extra compensation?
Only in limited ways. The AG advised that section 215.425 generally bars extra compensation for services already rendered, so a bonus to existing employees for past work is prohibited unless it was pa…
Can a Florida community redevelopment agency spend its trust-fund money on tourism promotion and nonprofit programs?
The AG declined formal comment, saying such a request should come from the agency itself, but reaffirmed its 2010 opinion (AGO 2010-40) as still good law. Community redevelopment focuses on eliminatin…
Can a Florida county civil service board use public funds to hire a lobbyist?
The AG concluded that the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board was not authorized to spend public funds to contract with a lobbying firm, because its enabling act, the Civil Service Act of 2000, ne…
Can a Florida city pay a councilmember's legal fees for a lawsuit the member personally filed challenging a candidate's residency?
No. The AG concluded the city could not reimburse a councilmember's legal fees for individually prosecuting a suit challenging a candidate's qualifications. Public payment of an official's legal fees …
What can a Florida county spend inmate welfare fund money on, and is that money public funds?
The AG offered only informal comments. Section 951.23(9) says jail commissary profits go to the inmate welfare fund and must be used for 'overall inmate welfare,' with the officer in charge of the jai…
Can a Florida city buy equipment for an employee to test private technology the employee owns?
The AG's office declined to decide. It explained that whether spending city money this way serves a valid municipal purpose under Article VII, section 10 of the Florida Constitution is a factual deter…
Can a Florida county use its own crews and equipment to repair private dirt roads?
Generally no. The AG's office restated the long-standing rule that public funds, including county personnel, equipment, and materials, may be spent only on the construction, maintenance, or repair of …
Can a Florida county use tourist development tax money to fund a private trolley or tram service for beachgoers?
The AG's office gave only general guidance because the project details were unsettled. It cautioned that section 125.0104 limits tourist development tax revenue to enumerated purposes and that the off…
Can Florida's Conference of Circuit Judges use private donations to hire a lobbyist?
Yes. The AG concluded that neither section 11.062(1) nor section 216.345(1) restricts the Conference of Circuit Judges, a nonprofit corporation, from using privately donated funds to retain a general …
Can a Florida county spend public funds and enter private property to fix storm damage during an emergency?
Yes, but only under a declared local emergency, and the county should get the owner's consent before entering. The Attorney General concluded that the State Emergency Management Act lets a county dedi…
Can a Florida special district buy land with a boat ramp, and must the ramps be open to the public if it does?
The AG concluded the district could buy boat-ramp land if its board found the purchase mainly serves the district's job of maintaining the lakes and dams. But restricting the ramps to district lot own…
Does a Florida community development district serve a public purpose?
The AG advised that a community development district created under Chapter 190, Florida Statutes, serves a public purpose. The Legislature declared the public need for these districts when it authoriz…
Can a Florida CRA spend redevelopment money on festivals, tourism grants, or grants to charitable nonprofits?
Partly. Promoting a redeveloped area itself (festivals, street parties, advertising for the area) appears to fit the community redevelopment act's purposes. But using redevelopment funds for grants to…
Can a Florida public hospital district lease its property to a partnership it forms with a private for-profit company?
No. The AG concluded that a 51/49 partnership between the North Broward Hospital District's nonprofit subsidiary and a private oncology provider amounted to a 'joint ownership' barred by Article VII, …
Can a Florida port district give a grant to build replica boats that will be donated to a museum in Spain?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded he could not find that a district purpose would be served by the St. Augustine Port, Waterway and Beach District funding a grant to build two replica boats tha…
Can a Florida housing finance authority loan its surplus funds to for-profit developers to build affordable housing?
Yes. The Housing Finance Authority of Palm Beach County could loan its surplus funds to for-profit developers to finance qualifying housing (construction, purchase, reconstruction, or rehabilitation),…
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Attorney general opinions in Florida are written by the Florida Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.