2004-25449 ResoRESOLUTION NO.. 2004-25449
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, URGING MEMBERS OF THE
FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO SUPPORT THE MUNICIPAL ISSUES,
AS SET FORTH IN THIS RESOLUTION, DURING THE 2004
LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
WHEREAS, House Bill ("HB") 113A passed during the 2003 Special
Session "A", and is the implementation of Article V, a 1998 Florida Constitutional
amendment, that requires the State to fund county court systems; and
WHEREAS, HB 113A prohibits state attorneys from appearing in county
courts for the purpose of prosecuting municipal ordinances; and
WHEREAS, the bill also prohibits a municipality from contracting with a
state attorney for the prosecution of municipal ordinances, and public defenders
will not be allowed to represent indigents charged with ordinance violations; and
WHEREAS, HB 113A requires a filing fee of $200 for each code or
ordinance violation; and
WHEREAS, several municipalities enforce code enforcement through a
citation process, which are filed through the county court system; and
WHEREAS, many of the fines for these citations are less than half of the
proposed $200 filing fee, which would make the citation process ineffective for
code enforcement activities; and
WHEREAS, the intent of the Municipal Revenue Sharing hold harmless
provision in HB 113A was intended to not reduce any revenues currently shared
with municipalities; and
WHEREAS, clean drinking water is a precious resource that must be
adequately planned for to meet the needs of future growth in Florida; and
WHEREAS, municipalities are implementing several innovative methods
to assure an adequate supply of drinking water is available for its citizens; and
WHEREAS, efforts were made during the 2003 legislative session to
mandate that cities establish water conservation rate structures, impose drought
rates, require submetering in apartment buildings or condos, mandate statewide
irrigation standards, implement "informative billing", and meter reclaimed water;
and
WHEREAS, municipalities would be negatively impacted by legislation
mandating conservation measures on a "one size fits all" approach and many of
the conservation measures being considered had no demonstrable conservation
benefit but will be very expensive to implement; and
WHEREAS, the geographic emphasis and restrictive nature of Florida's
current annexation policy has negatively impacted Florida's municipalities by
inhibiting their economic vitality, creating inefficient service delivery and
subsidizing urban sprawl; and
WHEREAS, the current law has actually made it more difficult for
municipalities to provide municipal services in the urbanizing areas in
comparison to counties and special districts; and
WHEREAS, Florida's tremendous population growth and inflexible
annexation policies causes disruption in historical service delivery responsibilities
and results in a continuous conflict and inefficiencies in the financing and delivery
of many local public services.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND
CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA:
Section 1. That the City of Miami Beach urges Governor Jeb Bush and
members of the Florida Legislature to support legislation that allows
municipalities to contract for the services of public defenders and state attorneys
to enforce local ordinances; eliminates the fee schedules for the enforcement of
municipal code violations; and provides a modification of the distribution formula
for revenues transferred from the Half-Cent Sales Tax Program to the Revenue
Sharing Trust Fund for Municipalities.
Section 2. That the City of Miami Beach urges Governor Jeb Bush and
members of the Florida Legislature to support legislation that preserves the
authority of individual local governments to determine and implement the specific
water conservation measures required under a water use permit, and which
preserves a local government's control over reclaimed water that is created by
the local government.
Section 3. That the City of Miami Beach urges Governor Jeb Bush and
members of the Florida Legislature to support legislation that strengthens the
ability of municipalities to eliminate all enclaves regardless of size or use, and
provides reasonable procedures to expeditiously annex areas that are
contiguous to their boundaries.
Section 4. That a copy of this resolution shall be provided to Governor
Jeb Bush, Senate President Jim King, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd and
members of the Florida Legislature.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 14th
day of January, 2004.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
APPR~ ASTO
FORM & LANGUAGE
& FOR EXECUTION
CI~Y OF MIAMI BEACH
COMVIISSION ITEM SUMMARY
Condensed Title:
ISupport the priority municipal issues of the Florida League of Cities for the 2004 Florida Legislative
Session.
~ssue:
Expression of support by the Mayor and City Commission of the three key priority areas of the Florida
I League of Cities: Article V, water issues, and annexation reform.
Item Summary/Recommendation:
IApprove the Resolution.
Advisory Board Recommendation:
n/a
Financial Information:
Amount to be expended: N/A
Source of ~i~ ~: ~ ~!~ !~ ~
Funds: . ~ ~ ~il
Finance Dept. ili~
City Clerk's Office Legislative Tracking:
I Kevin Crowder- Economic Development
Si n-Offs:
Pdoritiesr-ITEM SUMM~A~Y.~C
AGENDA ITEM ~"'~ ~'""
To:
From:
Subject:
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez t ~'~'
City Manager ~
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, URGING MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA
LEGISLATURE TO SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING MUNICIPAL ISSUES
DURING THE 2004 LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
Date: January 14, 200q
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt the Resolution.
ANALYSIS:
At the November 2003 Legislative Conference of the Florida League of Cities (FLC), the
FLC Board of Directors adopted a new initiative to enhance the Legislature's awareness of
the League's priority issues. This plan calls on each of Florida's 408 cities to adopt a
resolution that supports the League's key priority issues. These key issues address three
main areas which are summarized below:
1. Making revisions to the Article V bill dealing with prosecution of municipal ordinance
violations;
2. Legislation that promotes water conservation incentives for Florida's cities; and
3. Annexation Reform, particularly relating to annexing enclaves.
Article V Implementation
House Bill ("HB") 113A passed during the 2003 Special Session "A", and is the
implementation of Article V, a 1998 Florida Constitutional amendment that requires the
State to fund county court systems. Additionally, it prohibits state attorneys from appearing
in county courts for the purpose of prosecuting municipal ordinances, and further prohibits
a municipality from contracting with a state attorney for the prosecution of municipal
ordinances. The bill also requires a $200 filing fee for each violation.
The position of the League of Cities is to support legislation that allows municipalities to
contract for the services of public defenders and state attorneys to enforce local
ordinances; eliminates the fee schedules for the enforcement of municipal code violations;
and provides a modification of the distribution formula for revenues transferred from the
Half-Cent Sales Tax Program to the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund for Municipalities.
Water Conservation Initiatives
Municipalities throughout Florida are implementing several innovative methods to assure
an adequate supply of drinking water for their citizens, and efforts were made during the
2003 legislative session to mandate that cities establish water conservation rate structures,
impose drought rates, require submetering in apartment buildings and condominiums,
mandate statewide irrigation standards, and meter reclaimed water. Municipalities
throughout Florida would be negatively impacted by legislation mandating conservation
measures on a "one size fits all" approach and many of the conservation measures being
considered had no demonstrable conservation benefit but will be very expensive to
implement.
The position of the League of Cities is to support legislation that preserves the authority of
individual local governments to determine and implement the specific water conservation
measures required under a water use permit, and which preserves a local government's
control over reclaimed water that is created by the local government.
Annexation Reform
The nature of Florida's current annexation policy has negatively impacted Florida cities by
inhibiting their economic vitality, creating inefficient service delivery and subsidizing urban
sprawl, and current law has made it more difficult for municipalities to provide municipal
services in the urbanizing areas in comparison to counties and special districts.
The position of the League of Cities is to support legislation that strengthens the ability of
municipalities to eliminate all enclaves regardless of size or use, and provides reasonable
procedures to expeditiously annex areas that are contiguous to their boundaries.
On December 10, 2003, the Mayor and City Commission adopted the City's legislative
agenda for the 2004 Session of the Florida Legislature. The FLC's three priority areas are
consistent with the City's priorities related to Article V and maintaining or enhancing local
authority. The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission adopt the
attached resolution, which will then be forwarded to the Governor, the Senate President,
the Speaker of the House, and all members of the Florida Legislature.
JMG:CMC:kc
T:~,GENDA~.003\decl003\regular\State Legislative Priorities 2004.doc