The Treasure Coast Regional League of Cities, of which the Town of Orchid is a member, with Vice-Mayor Gibbons as our Representative, is engaged in educational efforts regarding the value of home rule.
It is home rule that grants municipalities the governmental, corporate, and proprietary powers to enable them to conduct municipal government, perform municipal functions, and render municipal services, and to exercise any power for municipal purposes, except when expressly prohibited by law.
This means that local governments are able to make local laws tailored to their own community through local decision-making by locally elected officials, as long as those laws don't contravene state and/or federal laws.
With the recognition that municipalities' needs differ wildly across the state, Home Rule allows municipalities in a manner that is efficient, cost-effective and transparent to address those needs very specifically.
For instance, what might be right and sensible for the citizens of a metropolitan area such as Jacksonville may not fit a small community such as the Town of Orchid, and a landlocked community in the center of the state may face very different challenges than one that is oceanfront, etc.
Prior to the adoption of the Home Rule Powers Act in 1973, municipalities that wished to make any change had to first obtain state permission through a special act or general law of local application. Even the erection of any traffic signs had to receive state-level permission, for example.
Cities and counties might seek such permissions jointly, or by population category (“all cities over 10,000 in population shall…”), but all had to petition their state legislators for these bills during each legislative session. It was not uncommon in Florida for more than 2,000 special acts to be filed in a session during this era before Home Rule.
To many, Home Rule now seems so straightforward and sensible that it's easy to be complacent and take it for granted. The powers granted by Home Rule are a municipality's most precious; the ability to establish its form of government through its charter, and to then enact ordinances, codes, plans and resolutions without prior state approval is a tremendous authority. And anything precious grants protection!
To learn more about Home Rule and how it might be in danger of being eroded, the Florida League of Cities has provided an educational YouTube video on Cities 101: Home Rule. Or feel free to talk with Vice-Mayor Gibbons about this important topic.
The above is offered with assistance from the Florida League of Cities and the Treasure Coast League of Cities.