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 the owner of one townhouse unit in a four-unit building use the Florida owner-builder exemption to do their own construction work without a contractor's license?
No. The owner-builder exemption in § 489.103(7)(a)(1), Fla. Stat. applies only to one-family or two-family residences with a single owner. A townhouse unit in a four-unit building, owned separately fr…
After a Florida tax deed sale produces a surplus, do governmental lienholders lose their claim if they don't file a request for the surplus within 120 days?
No. The AG concluded that section 197.582 distinguishes between (a) governmental units holding liens of record against the property, who must be paid first from the surplus regardless of whether they …
Can a Florida special master carry a concealed firearm into the courtroom where they preside?
No. The narrow courtroom-firearm exception in § 790.06(12)(a)5. applies only to constitutionally vested 'judges' (county, circuit, DCA, supreme, federal district, federal appeals). A special master pr…
Does Florida law require a county to fund the sheriff's budget at least as much as the previous year?
No. The Attorney General's office advised that section 30.49(4), Florida Statutes, does not set a minimum funding level that carries a sheriff's budget forward at the prior year's amount. The statute …
Does Florida's seaport concealed-weapons ban cover firearms, or only knives and other weapons?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the phrase 'concealed weapon' in section 311.12(3)(b), Florida Statutes, the seaport security statute, includes firearms. The statute does not define the phras…
Can Florida tourist development tax revenue pay the day-to-day operating costs of a county cultural agency?
The Attorney General's office advised that tourist development tax revenue under section 125.0104(5) is a targeted funding source for the purposes the statute lists, and it does not appear to authoriz…
Does Florida's special court-funding approval process apply to a county's $30 traffic surcharge for court facilities, or only to 'local requirements'?
The AG read section 29.008(2)(c)'s special expenditure-approval process as limited by its own terms to the 'local requirements' described in section 29.008(2)(a)2, not to other budget items like the $…
Does Florida law require a voter referendum before a county hospital can be sold?
Not by itself. The AG concluded that under section 155.40, the sale or lease of a county, district, or municipal hospital needs approval from the Secretary of Health Care Administration, and a voter r…
When are Florida law enforcement officers exempt from paying tolls, and will the AG interpret that exemption?
The AG declined to interpret the toll exemption in section 338.155. Because that statute is administered by FDOT and local transportation and expressway authorities that were not part of the request, …
Do back-to-back board terms with a break in between count toward a Florida term limit?
The AG concluded that someone who served one four-year term, took a one-year break, then served a second four-year term had not served two 'consecutive' full terms. So under the Bay Medical Center cha…
Can Florida tourist development tax revenue be used to pay for trash and debris removal on state-owned bridges in the county?
In an informal advisory letter, the Attorney General's Office declined to issue a formal opinion because the question turned on the county commission's authority and the commission did not join the re…
After Florida rewrote its Power of Attorney Act in 2011, are military springing powers of attorney made under 10 U.S.C. 1044b still valid in Florida?
Yes. The AG concluded that the second sentence of the military power-of-attorney provision does not limit the first, so all 'springing' military powers of attorney executed under 10 U.S.C. section 104…
Is section 95.18(7) the only way a Florida property appraiser can remove an adverse possession notation from the tax roll?
Yes. The AG concluded that section 95.18(7), as amended in 2011, is the legislatively prescribed (and exclusive) method for a property appraiser to remove an adverse possession notation from a parcel'…
Can a Florida county outside Miami-Dade or Broward authorize slot machines at a pari-mutuel facility through a local referendum?
No. Attorney General Bondi concluded the state could not license slot machines at a pari-mutuel facility in a county that simply held a referendum. Under section 551.102(4), a county outside Miami-Dad…
Can a Florida city contract to provide police services to any city in the county, or only to ones next door?
Only to neighbors. Attorney General Bondi concluded that section 166.0495 lets a city enter an interlocal agreement to provide law enforcement services only to municipalities that both adjoin the city…
Can a Florida county sell its county-owned airport to a private buyer, and must it use competitive bidding?
Yes, with conditions. Under section 332.08(4) a Florida county may sell its airport to a private party once the county commission finds the property is no longer needed for aeronautical purposes. And …
Who fills a vacancy on the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District board, the Governor or the Commissioner of Agriculture?
The Governor. A general statute (section 388.111) lets the Commissioner of Agriculture fill mosquito-district vacancies, but the Florida Keys district's own 2002 special act is both more specific and …
Can a Florida water control district claim roads it maintained under the statutory presumption of dedication?
No. The AG concluded that section 95.361, Florida Statutes, which presumes a road dedicated to the public after four years of continuous government maintenance, applies only to counties, municipalitie…
Must every Florida tax collector offer the state's electronic vehicle title and registration filing system?
Yes. The AG concluded that section 320.03(10), Florida Statutes, which says the electronic filing system is approved for use in all counties and shall apply uniformly to all tax collectors of the stat…
When must a Florida agency release social security numbers to a commercial company that asks for them?
The AG concluded the two statutory subsections on releasing agency-held social security numbers do not conflict and must be read together: an agency may not deny a qualifying commercial entity that su…
Can a value adjustment board's private lawyer also represent the property appraiser or tax collector in Florida?
No. The AG concluded that under section 194.015, Florida Statutes, the private counsel a value adjustment board hires cannot represent the property appraiser, the tax collector, or any taxing authorit…
Does a Florida clerk have to charge a filing fee to file a domestic violence protection petition?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that a clerk of court may not assess a filing fee for a petition for protection against domestic violence. Section 741.30(2)(a) prohibits that fee 'notwithstan…
Can a Florida city council member with a concealed weapons permit carry a gun into council meetings as their place of business?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that a city council member may not carry a weapon or firearm into a city council meeting, and that the place-of-business exception in section 790.25(3)(n) does…
Can a Florida court clerk charge the $295 civil filing fee on a counterpetition?
The AG concluded that section 28.241(1)(c) did not authorize the clerk to collect the $295 filing fee on counterpetitions. That subsection imposes the fee on a party who files a pleading for affirmati…
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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.