The government of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

is established and operated according to the

Constitution of Florida The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constit ...

and is composed of three

branches of government Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

: the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ...

consisting of the

governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and the other elected and appointed constitutional officers; the

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

, the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Co ...

, consisting of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

; and the

judicial branch The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

consisting of the

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

and lower courts. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

, and

ratification Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inten ...

Executive branch

The executive branch of the government of Florida consists of the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, Florida Cabinet (which includes the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

commissioner of agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

and

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and fina ...

), and several executive departments.Article IV, Section 6, Florida Constitution, limits the number of executive departments to no more than 25. The constitutional limitation specifically excludes departments authorized in the Constitution such as the Fish and Wildlife Conservation (Article IV, Section 9), the Department of Veterans Affairs (Article IV, Section 11), and the Department of Elderly Affairs (Article IV, Section 12). Further, the Legislature has housed totally independent agencies under other departments (such as the Agency for Workforce Innovation being housed under the Department of Management Services pursuant to section 20.50, Florida Statutes), which prevents the independent agencies from being counted toward the constitutional limit of 25 departments. See, e.g., ''Agency for Health Care Administration v. Associated Industries of Florida'', 678 So.2d 1239 (Fla. 1996), where the Florida Supreme Court found that the Agency was created as an independent agency within the Department of Professional Regulation and that the Agency did not count toward the "25 department" limit. Each office term is limited for two four-year terms.

Governor

The governor of Florida is the chief executive of the government of Florida and the chief administrative officer of the state responsible for the planning and budgeting for the state, and serves as chair when the governor and the Florida Cabinet sit as a decision-making body in various constitutional roles.Article IV, Sections 1(a) and 4, Florida Constitution. The governor has the power to execute Florida's laws and to call out the

state militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

to preserve the public peace, being commander-in-chief of the state's military forces that are not in active service of the United States. At least once every legislative session, the governor is required to deliver the "State of the State Address" to the

regarding the condition and operation of the state government and to suggest new legislation.

Cabinet

Florida is unique among U.S. states in having a strong cabinet-style government. Members of the Florida Cabinet are independently elected, and have equal footing with the governor on issues under the Cabinet's jurisdiction. The Cabinet consists of the attorney general, the commissioner of agriculture and the chief financial officer. Along with the governor, each member carries one vote in the decision making process. In the event of a tie, the side of the governor is the prevailing side. Cabinet elections are held every four years, on even numbered years not divisible by four (such as 2010, 2014, etc.). The

Florida attorney general The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is one of Florida's t ...

is the state's

chief legal officer A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

. As defined in the Florida Constitution,Article IV, Section 4(b), Florida Constitution. the attorney general appoints a statewide prosecutor who may prosecute violations of criminal law occurring in or affecting two or more judicial circuits. The attorney general is responsible for the Department of Legal Affairs. The attorney general is head of the

Florida Department of Legal Affairs Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...

. The

Florida chief financial officer The chief financial officer of Florida is an elected statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet. The CFO is a combination of the former offices of comptroller and ...

's duties include monitoring the state's finances and fiscal well being, auditing and assuring that state programs are properly spending money and overseeing the proper management of the revenue and spending of the state.Article IV, Section 4(c), Florida Constitution. The chief financial officer is the head of the

Florida Department of Financial Services Florida Department of Financial Services (FLDFS) is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are in Tallahassee. In 2002 the Florida Legislature merged the Department of Insurance, Treasury and State Fire Marshal and the Department of Banking ...

(FDFS). The

Florida commissioner of agriculture The commissioner of agriculture is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Florida that heads the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Elected for a four-year mandate that is ...

is the head of the

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is an executive department of the government of Florida. The Commissioner of Agriculture (directly elected by voters statewide for a four-year term, and a member of the Florida ...

(FDACS).

Agencies and departments

The purpose of agencies is to promulgate rules to implement legislation. In April 2014, there were 25,362 administrative rules, and eight agencies have over 1,000 rules each, of which the most heavily regulated agencies are the Department of Financial Services and Department of Health. The ''

Florida Administrative Register The ''Florida Administrative Register'' (FAR) is the daily publication containing proposed rules and notices of state agencies of Florida. See also * ''Florida Administrative Code'' * Law of Florida * ''Federal Register'' References Exter ...

'' (FAR) is the daily publication containing proposed rules and notices of state agencies. The regulations are codified in the ''

Florida Administrative Code The Florida Administrative Code (FAC) is the official compilation of the rules and regulations of Florida regulatory agencies. See also * Florida Administrative Register * Law of Florida References External links Florida Administrative Cod ...

'' (FAC). There are also numerous decisions, opinions and rulings of state agencies. The state had about 122,000 employees in 2010.The Conference Report on Senate Bill 2800, the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2011-2012, authorizes 122,235.75 positions (before gubernatorial vetoes). That number includes 4,322.5 positions for judges, justices, and employees of the state court system (judicial branch). It does not include employees of the state university system, the legislative branch (except for 296 positions for the Public Service Commission) or employees of local governments -- counties, municipalities, school districts, Florida colleges, water management districts, etc.

Legislative branch

The Florida Constitution mandates a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

of 40 members and a

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

of 120 members.These are the maximum numbers allowed. Article III, Section 16(a), Florida Constitution, provides that the Senate shall be apportioned into not less than 3, nor more than 40 Senate districts, and the House shall be apportioned into not less than 80 nor more than 120 House districts. The two bodies meet in the Florida State Capitol. The Florida House of Representative members serve for two-year terms, while Florida Senate members serve staggered four-year terms, with 20 senators up for election every two years.After dicennial apportionment of the Legislature, one-half of the Senators are elected to two-year terms to comply with Article III, Section 15(a), Florida Constitution, which requires staggered terms in the Senate (one-half of the senators elected every 2 years). Members of both houses are term limited to serve a maximum of eight years.The concept of "term limit" is commonly misunderstood in Florida. Article VI, Section 4(b), Florida Constitution, prohibits a person from appearing on the ballot for re-election if, by the end of the current term, the person will have served for eight consecutive years. The most obvious exception to the common understanding of "term limit" occurs immediately following dicennial apportionment. Twenty of the forty Senators are elected for initial terms of 2 years. They subsequently may be elected to two additional four-year terms, serving a total of ten years. At the time of the second reelection, a Senator will have served six years and is thus not precluded from serving by the eight-year limitation. Another exception that has been discussed but never tested is that a statewide elected official, after serving eight years, might run as a write-in candidate, thus not having his or her name appear on the ballot. See ''How to Defy Term Limits'', Lakeland Ledger, August 9, 1999

/ref> There are also state auditors led by the Florida Auditor General, Florida auditor general who is appointed by the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee,Sections 11.40, 11.45, and 11.51, Florida Statutes. the utility-regulating

Florida Public Service Commission The Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas, and water and wastewater utilities. The FPSC facilitates competitive markets in the telecommunications industry, has authority over intercarrier disputes ...

(FPSC),Section 350.001, Florida Statutes. and the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA). The legislature's session is part-time, meeting for 60-day regular sessions annually. The regular session of the Florida Legislature commences on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March with the governor's State of the State speech before a joint session and ends on the last Friday in April or the first Friday in May. The Florida Legislature often meets in special sessions, sometimes as many as a half dozen in a year, that are called for particular purposes, such as budget reduction or reforming property insurance. A special session may be called by the governor,Article III, Section 3, Florida Constitution. by joint proclamation of the speaker of the House and senate president or by three-fifths vote of the members of both houses.Section 11.011, Florida Statutes, and Article III, Section 3(c)(2), Florida Constitution. Outside of these regular and special sessions, the members of both houses participate in county delegation meetings and interim committee meetings throughout the year, mostly from November to February in advance of the regular session. Its

session laws Session laws are the collection of statutes enacted by a legislature during a single session of that legislature, often published following the end of the session as a bound volume. The United States Statutes at Large are an example of session l ...

are compiled into the ''

Laws of Florida The Laws of Florida are the session laws of the Florida Legislature, a verbatim publication of the general and special laws enacted by the Florida Legislature in a given year and published each year following the regular session of the legislature. ...

'', and the ''

Florida Statutes The ''Florida Statutes'' are the codified, statutory laws of Florida; it currently has 48 titles. A chapter in the Florida Statutes represents all of the relevant statutory law on a particular subject. The statutes are the selected reproduction of ...

'' are the codified statutory laws of the state which have general applicability.

Judicial branch

The

Florida State Courts System The Florida State Courts System is the unified state court system of Florida. Courts The Florida State Courts System consists of: * The Florida State Supreme Court; * Five District Courts of Appeal, which are the state's intermediate appella ...

is the unified state court system. The Florida State Courts System consists of the: * Florida Supreme Court, the state supreme court; * five District Courts of Appeal, which are intermediate appellate courts; and * two forms of trial courts: 20 circuit courts and 67 county courts, one for each of Florida counties. The

is the

highest court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of Florida and consists of seven judges: the chief justice and six justices. The Court is the final arbiter of Florida law, and its decisions are binding authority for all other state courts. The five

Florida District Courts of Appeal The district courts of appeal (DCAs) are the intermediate appellate courts of the Florida state court system. There are currently five DCAs: *The First District Court of Appeal is headquartered in Tallahassee *The Second District Court of Ap ...

are the intermediate appellate courts. The 20

Florida circuit courts The Florida circuit courts are State court (United States), state courts, and are trial courts of original jurisdiction for most controversies. In Florida, the circuit courts are one of four types of courts created by the Florida Constitution (the ...

are

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

s of

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the Sup ...

for most controversies. The circuit courts primarily handle

civil cases Civil law is a major branch of the law. Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the United States, the term refers to non- criminal law. The law r ...

where the

amount in controversy Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular cour ...

is greater than $15,000, and

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

criminal cases, as well as

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

s from county courts. Circuit courts also have jurisdiction over

domestic relations In the common law tradition, the law of domestic relations is a broad category that encompasses: * divorce; * property settlements; * alimony, spousal support, or other maintenance; * the establishment of paternity; * the establishment or termina ...

, juvenile dependency,

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...

, and

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

matters. The 67 Florida county courts have original jurisdiction over

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

criminal cases, including violations of county and municipal ordinances, and in civil cases whose value in controversy does not exceed $15,000.

Budget

Each civil entity has its own budget: state, county, and municipal.

State

In June 2015, the state's debt was $25.7 billion.

Capital city

The commissioners charged by the government of the unified Florida to select a permanent capital selected

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

, then between the two major cities of Florida,

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

and

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

, as the state capital, in 1823.Powers, Ormund.
County Never Made It As Florida's Capital

Archive
. ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

''. April 8, 1998. Retrieved on May 27, 2016. The White people expelled the Native Americans, who were opposed to leaving their land, before settling Tallahassee. The commissioners were Dr. W.H. Simmons, from St. Augustine, and John Lee Williams, from Pensacola.

Richard Keith Call Richard Keith Call (October 24, 1792 – September 14, 1862) was an American attorney, politician, and slave owner who served as the 3rd and 5th territorial governor of Florida. Before that, he was elected to the Florida Territorial Council and a ...

and a founder of Jacksonville, John Bellamy, wanted the capital in what is now Lake County but their efforts failed. From the beginning of Tallahassee's history there were multiple attempts to move the state capital. A July 1957 ''

Florida Historical Quarterly ''The Florida Historical Quarterly'' is an American academic journal, published four times a year by the Florida Historical Society. With editorial offices at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, the journal is a scholarly publ ...

'' article stated that this was because of Tallahassee's distance from other settlements.Andrews, Mark.
Tallahassee Has Had Shaky Capital Tenure

Archive
. ''

''. May 3, 1992. Retrieved on May 27, 2016. As Florida's size and population grew and spread south, the center of the state's population and the geographic center of the state changed. Using data from the

2010 U.S. Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, according to the Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, the state's center of population was southern

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

. The geographic center of the state is Brooksville. Because Tallahassee became increasingly far from many Floridians, there were additional proposals to move the capital to

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, a more centrally-located city, in the late 1960s.Smith, Adam C.
Tallahassee no longer fits as Florida's capital

Archive
. ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...

''. Saturday August 9, 2014. Retrieved on May 26, 2016. The City of Orlando, in 1967, passed a referendum stating that it would accept becoming the capital. These proposals stopped after the new

Florida Capitol The Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, is an architecturally and historically significant building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Capitol is at the intersection of Apalachee Parkway and South ...

opened in Tallahassee in 1977. Politicians from

North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...

had opposed the idea of moving the state capital. Adam C. Smith of the ''

'' argued in 2016 that Tallahassee is no longer an appropriate location for the capital, and he cited an ''

American Economic Review The ''American Economic Review'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Economic Association. First published in 1911, it is considered one of the most prestigious and highly distinguished journals in the field of ec ...

'' article which stated that state capitals far from their populations are more prone to corruption than those that are not.

Local government

There are four types of local governments in Florida: counties, municipalities, school districts, and special districts.Dye, T.R., Jewett, A. & MacManus, S.A. (2007) ''Politics in Florida''. Tallahassee: John Scott Dailey Florida Institute of Government. Florida consists of 67

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. Each county has officers considered "state" officers: these officials are elected locally, and their salaries and office expenses are also paid locally, but they cannot be removed from office or replaced locally, but only by the governor. The state officers subject to this requirement are the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

tax collector A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns. Tax collectors are often portrayed as being evil, and in the modern wo ...

, supervisor of elections, clerk of the circuit court (though styled as such, each circuit having multiple counties within its jurisdiction has a separate elected clerk within each county, and the office also handles official county records not pertaining to judicial matters), property appraiser, and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s. There is one school district for each county; the

Florida Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...

allows adjoining counties to merge their districts upon voter approval. The superintendent is by default an elected official; however, the Florida Constitution allows county voters to make the position an appointed one. Municipalities in Florida may be called towns, cities, or villages, but there is no legal distinction between the different terms. Municipalities often have police departments, fire departments, and provide essential services such as water, waste collection, etc. In unincorporated areas of a county, the county itself can provide some of these services. Municipalities may also enter agreements with the county to have the county provide certain services. Each county has a sheriff who also tends to have concurrent jurisdiction with municipal police departments. Orlando City Hall-1

Both counties and cities may have a legislative branch (commissions or councils) and executive branch (mayor or manager) and local police, but violations are brought before a county court. Counties and municipalities are authorized to pass laws (ordinances), levy taxes, and provide public services within their jurisdictions. All areas of Florida are located within a county, but only some areas have been incorporated into municipalities. All municipalities are located within a county and the county jurisdiction overlays the municipal jurisdiction. Usually, if there is a conflict between a county ordinance and a municipal ordinance, the municipal ordinance has precedence within the municipality's borders; however, the overlaying county's ordinances have precedence if the overlaying county has been designated a charter county by the Florida Legislature. In some cases, the municipal and county governments have merged into a consolidated government. However, smaller municipal governments can be created inside of a consolidated municipality/county. In

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, the municipal government has taken over the responsibilities normally given to the county government, Duval County, and smaller municipalities exist within it. Among special districts are "community development districts" which have virtually all the power of a city or county (except, notably, they do not have police power). Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes governs these districts. Notable CDD's include the

Reedy Creek Improvement District The Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) is the governing jurisdiction and special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort. It includes within the outer limits of Orange and Osceola counties in Florida. It acts with the same ...

(the location of

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

) and substantially all of

The Villages ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(the giant Central Florida retirement community). Many counties have a "Soil and Water Conservation District," a residue of

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...

politics. Elected officials are unpaid. Much of their budget is spent on engineering staff. Critics are trying to dismantle these districts, as being obsolete.

References

External links

MyFlorida.com
(Official website)
State of Florida
recipient profile on

USAspending.gov ttp://www.usaspending.gov USASpending.govis a database of spending by the United States federal government. History Around the time of the Act's passage, OMB Watch, a government watchdog group, was developing a site that would do essentially eve ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Government Of Florida