Gainesville Regional Utility Authority v. City of Gainesville
The Legislature created the Gainesville Regional Utility Authority by special law that amended the City of Gainesville's charter; the City then put a charter amendment on the ballot deleting that article and voters approved it. The First DCA held that a municipality cannot adopt a charter amendment that conflicts with a special law enacted by the Legislature, even when the special law itself operated by amending the municipal charter, and reversed with instructions to enter judgment for the Authority on Count I. The court dismissed the City's cross-appeal on the ballot-summary count as moot because a later, corrected ordinance approved by voters achieved the same result.
Key facts
- The Legislature created the Gainesville Regional Utility Authority through a special law that amended the City of Gainesville's charter; the City subsequently placed a charter amendment on the ballot to delete that article, and voters approved it.
- The City argued it had home rule power under the Florida Constitution and state law to amend its charter, but the utility authority challenged the validity of the amendment.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This decision closes a perceived gap in Lake Worth Utilities Authority and Gaines by holding that the form of the special law — stand-alone act versus charter amendment — does not change the preemptive force of a… — full analysis with a trial
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