Emerson v. Hillsborough County (consolidated with White v. Hillsborough County)
The Florida Supreme Court struck down Hillsborough County's voter-approved charter amendment (article 11) that imposed a one percent transportation sales surtax along with a detailed scheme for allocating and policing the surtax proceeds. The Court held the allocation provisions were 'inconsistent with general law' under article VIII, section 1(g) because section 212.055(1)(d) vests the county commission with discretion over how surtax proceeds are applied, and further held that the tax levy could not be severed from the invalid spending plan. Both the declaratory judgment (to the extent it upheld any part of article 11) and the bond validation judgment were reversed.
Key facts
- Hillsborough County voters approved a charter amendment imposing a one percent transportation sales surtax with a detailed allocation and oversight scheme for the proceeds.
- The trial court upheld the charter amendment through a declaratory judgment and validated bonds issued under it, but the county commission lacked statutory authority over how surtax proceeds were allocated under the approved scheme.
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Why it matters
This is the Supreme Court's leading modern statement on when a county charter provision is 'inconsistent with general law' and on severability of voter-approved initiatives, including the holding that boilerplate 'state… — full analysis with a trial
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