A new law that creates a 5% threshold for municipal budget reductions before an appeal can be lodged helped to settle a lawsuit against the state that was filed by six Florida cities two years ago.
HB 1595, which was approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 25, 2023, removes appeals from his control unless the 5% threshold is met, and establishes standards for an independent administrative law judge to determine and apply.
“This is an important victory for local movement-building in Florida,” said Public Rights Project Chief Program Officer Jonathan Miller who represented the plaintiffs. “As this case demonstrates, when cities stand up against abuses of power and fight to protect the rights of their residents, they can win.”
The cities of Gainesville, Lauderhill, Miramar, North Miami Beach, Tallahassee, and Wilton Manors sued in Leon County state court in Nov. 2021, alleging that HB 1’s municipal budgeting provision was unconstitutional because it allowed any reduction in police funding to be directly appealable to the Administration Commission, which is led by Governor DeSantis.
“An important part of the Republican agenda is to increase police forces as a way to control minority communities,” alleged Bob Jarvis, professor of constitutional law at the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. “You're not going to see a reduction in police in Florida. If anything, you'll see an increase and further abuse of minority communities at the hands of the police.”
Also known as the Combating Violence, Disorder and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act, HB 1 was enacted by the Florida Legislature to oppose George Floyd-type protests that took place during the summer of 2020 promoting racial justice and an end to police violence, according to a press release.
“The interesting thing is that many Latino and African Americans are voting with Republicans,” Jarvis told the Florida Record. “It’s perplexing that average common people keep voting for Republicans even when it is against their self-interest.”
The complaint sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the Florida Administration Commission, DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, and Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried.
“Even assuming the legislative branch can delegate its power to appropriate public funds and control local budgets to the executive branch (which it cannot), HB 1’s delegation to the governor is impermissible due to a lack of standards relating to the review by the Administration Commission,” the plaintiffs state in the lawsuit. “This dearth of standards is particularly problematic in light of HB 1’s unprecedented reassignment of legislative powers. Under Florida law, the non-delegation doctrine requires that 'fundamental and primary policy decisions shall be made by members of the legislature.'”
The stipulation of dismissal filed last week with the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County preserves the cities' rights to challenge the amended budget process later should any budget reductions be subject to an appeal to the administrative law judge.
The HB 1 provision that focuses on punishing public protest, however, remains subject to litigation in federal court.
“Municipalities have used their budget authority to dismantle parts of police departments that were found to be engaging in malfeasance and misappropriation,” the complaint states. “In 1987, the City of West Palm Beach disbanded its ten-member tactical team after members of the city’s Haitian community sued the city, accusing officers of violating their constitutional rights, conducting unreasonable strip searches, using slurs, and physically abusing them.”