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 city use a zoning overlay to allow vacation rentals in only part of a residential neighborhood while banning them in the rest?
No. Florida law (§ 509.032(7)(b)) prohibits cities from regulating the 'frequency' of vacation rentals, and a zoning overlay that allows rentals in some areas but not others with the same base zoning …
Can a Florida city run a temporary pilot program allowing some vacation rentals, then snap back to its pre-2011 total ban once the pilot ends?
No on the snap-back. The AG read § 509.032(7)(b) as preempting any post-2011 city regulation of vacation-rental duration or frequency; a sunset clause that would restore an earlier ban would itself be…
Can a Florida city, in a local ethics investigation, decide whether an elected official violated the state ethics code section 112.313?
No. The Florida Constitution and the state Code of Ethics give the Florida Commission on Ethics exclusive authority to determine whether an elected official violated § 112.313. A city, in a local ethi…
Can a Florida city council pass a non-regulatory resolution supporting or opposing pending state or federal firearm legislation without violating Florida's firearm preemption statute?
The opinion concluded a city council resolution that simply expressed support for or opposition to pending state or federal firearm legislation, with no regulatory effect, would not violate § 790.33 o…
Can a Florida city use a zoning ordinance to require minimum distances between vacation rentals or to cap the number of vacation rentals per neighborhood?
The opinion concluded that distance separation requirements or numeric/percentage caps on vacation rentals would have the effect of prohibiting eligible units from being rented as vacation rentals, wh…
Can a Florida school district hire armed private security guards?
Likely yes, at the district's discretion. The AG advised that section 790.115 generally bans firearms on school grounds but allows them in support of an approved school-sanctioned activity, a term the…
Can a Florida city use zoning to ban or limit vacation rentals?
No. The AG read section 509.032(7)(b) to let a city regulate vacation rentals but bar any ordinance that prohibits them or limits how long or how often a home is rented, so zoning could not be used to…
Can a Florida city or county regulate outdoor firearm ranges or recreational shooting in residential neighborhoods?
The AG declined to comment directly because the office was then litigating the constitutionality of section 790.33, Florida Statutes. It pointed instead to its earlier opinions, which had concluded th…
Can a Florida municipality limit outdoor firearm ranges or shooting practice in residential neighborhoods?
The AG declined to opine, because the office was party to pending litigation over the constitutionality of section 790.33, Florida Statutes, and office policy bars opinions on questions before the cou…
Can a Florida county stop vacation rentals in a neighborhood zoned for single-family homes?
The AG advised that because Flagler County had no ordinance regulating vacation rentals on or before June 1, 2011, section 509.032(7) preempts the field to the state and bars the county from enacting …
Can a Florida city charge a residential rental registration fee or a new business tax to regulate rentals?
Because the city had already enacted its fee, the AG gave only informal comments. A city may charge a residential rental regulatory fee that reasonably covers enforcement costs, but a 2011 state law p…
Can a Florida city require a voter referendum before its redevelopment agency borrows money?
The office gave informal comments because only one council member asked. Its long-standing view is that the Community Redevelopment Act (Part III, Chapter 163) is so detailed and pervasive that it pre…
Can a Florida water management district ban outdoor smoking on its property and bar employees from using tobacco on the clock?
Two answers. The AG concluded that section 386.209 preempts smoking regulation to the state, so the St. Johns River Water Management District could not ban outdoor smoking by everyone on district prop…
Can a Florida school district ban smoking outdoors on its campuses with a tobacco-free policy?
No, not without legislative authorization. Florida's Clean Indoor Air Act preempts the regulation of smoking, indoor and outdoor, to the state. A school district's home-rule power does not overcome th…
How long does a Florida city have to issue a red-light camera ticket, and can it cite the driver named in the owner's affidavit?
A city had at most 60 days from the violation to mail a red-light camera citation: up to 30 days to notify the registered owner, then a 30-day window for the owner to pay or respond. If the owner file…
Can a Florida city let board members attend by phone or video to count toward a quorum?
No. The AG concluded that Coral Gables could not adopt an ordinance letting members of its retirement board count toward a quorum by appearing electronically. Section 166.041 requires a quorum to be p…
Do city zoning and land use rules apply to a county fair association's grounds inside the city?
Yes. The AG concluded that the City of Brooksville's land use and zoning ordinances applied to property inside the city occupied and operated by the Hernando County Fair Association. Chapter 616, whic…
Can a Florida county require a public hearing before a farmer digs an aquaculture pond on agricultural land?
The office declined to comment directly, citing pending Miami-Dade litigation and the rule against opining on another government's actions. As general guidance, it explained that the Florida Right to …
Can a Florida county add its own conditions before a mobile home park is rezoned or redeveloped?
No. Chapter 723, Florida Statutes, preempts local regulation of mobile home parks. The AG concluded a county could not adopt an ordinance imposing extra conditions on redeveloping or rezoning a park o…
Can a Florida county require its own contractor license from a road contractor already prequalified by the state DOT?
Partly. The AG concluded that Bay County may require bidders on county bridge, road, street, highway, or railroad projects over $250,000 to be qualified, and may set its own prequalification criteria …
Can a Florida city ban texting while driving with its own ordinance?
The office concluded that section 316.0075, Florida Statutes, expressly preempts regulation of drivers' and passengers' use of cellphones and other electronic communications devices to the state. On t…
Can a Florida city pass its own ordinance regulating consumer fireworks?
Not under the law as it stood in 2009. The AG concluded that the moratorium in Chapter 2007-67, Laws of Florida, still barred a municipality from adopting any ordinance that directly prohibits or inte…
What are a Florida city's and mayor's emergency powers under state law?
The AG's office declined to interpret Ocoee's city charter (a local matter outside its authority), but gave informal background on the state framework: cities have broad home-rule powers that cannot c…
Can a Florida city pass an ordinance requiring condominium associations to provide their own security guards to fight crime?
The AG concluded the city appeared to have the authority. Florida's home-rule grant and broad municipal police powers let a city require condominium associations to furnish security guards, because th…
Can a Florida school board keep insuring former employees who don't meet the statute's definition of a retiree?
The AG concluded that section 112.0801 did not stop the Osceola County School Board from continuing to offer health insurance to former employees who left before 2007 and began participating then, eve…
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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.