Lake Worth Utilities v. City of Lake Worth
468 So. 2d 215 (1985)
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Rule of Law:
Under Article VIII, Section 2(b) of the Florida Constitution, the state legislature retains the supreme power to limit municipal authority by law. A special law creating a municipal utility authority is a constitutional exercise of this legislative power and cannot be superseded by a municipal ordinance.
Facts:
- In 1969, the Lake Worth Utilities Authority was created by a special law enacted by the Florida legislature and subsequently adopted by referendum.
- In 1984, the City of Lake Worth passed a city ordinance purporting to dissolve the Authority.
- Pursuant to its ordinance, the City terminated three of the Authority's employees, including its director.
- The City also changed the locks on the Authority's office doors and changed the authorized signatories on the Authority's bank accounts.
- Finally, the City terminated the legal services of the Authority's attorneys.
Procedural Posture:
- The City of Lake Worth sued the Lake Worth Utilities Authority.
- The Authority filed a counter-complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, the trial court of first instance.
- The City filed a motion to dismiss the Authority's counter-complaint.
- The trial court granted the City's motion, dismissed the Authority's complaint with prejudice, and held that the special act creating the Authority was unconstitutional.
- The Authority, as appellant, appealed the trial court's order to the Fourth District Court of Appeal.
- The Fourth District Court of Appeal certified the case as presenting a question of great public importance requiring immediate resolution by the Florida Supreme Court.
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Issue:
Does a special law enacted by the state legislature, which creates a municipal utilities authority, unconstitutionally transfer municipal powers in violation of Article VIII, Section 2(b) of the Florida Constitution?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Ehrlich
No. A special law creating a municipal utilities authority is a constitutional exercise of power specifically reserved to the legislature. The clause 'except as otherwise provided by law' in Article VIII, Section 2(b) of the Florida Constitution modifies the entirety of the municipal powers grant, establishing that the legislature's power to limit municipal authority is supreme. The 1968 constitutional revision changed the legislature's role from one of granting power to one of limiting power, but it did not eliminate its supremacy. The court also found, consistent with its precedent in Cooksey v. Utilities Commission, that vesting proprietarial powers in the Authority did not constitute an improper delegation of legislative duties because its officials were not elected.
Analysis:
This case clarifies the balance of power between the Florida legislature and home rule municipalities following the 1968 constitutional revision that granted municipalities broad powers. It firmly establishes that municipal home rule is not absolute and remains subject to legislative supremacy through general or special law. The decision prevents municipalities from unilaterally dissolving entities created by state law, thereby preserving the legislature's role in structuring local government and creating special districts or authorities to perform municipal functions.
