They Are at it Again

Jul-03-2010 Naples Daily News
It’s an unnecessary step. That’s how some local government officials describe a proposal to freeze property tax rates for two years.
Jul-02-2010 South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Starting this week, the state increased by about 10 percent the amount it and local governments set aside for the pensions of government workers, police officers, teachers and judges. Meanwhile, Florida remains one of only five states that don'...
Jun-30-2010 Gainesville Sun
A “time out” so that state government can once again meddle in local affairs instead of tending to pressing statewide issues?
Jun-09-2010 WJHG Panama City
The mayors thanked lawmakers who fought legislation that would have required cities to cough up more cash for services, without additional state funding.
Apr-25-2010 Tampa Tribune
After 12 years of being involved with growth management issues in Florida, I think this legislative session has got to be the worst.
Mar-25-2010 Tampa Tribune
"Unfunded mandates" is an unusual term for most people. Yet unfunded mandates affect all Floridians, which is why we believe it's important that they be stopped.
Mar-24-2010 Capitol News Service
Mayors and County Commissioners say unfunded mandates like those on courts, pensions, and health care are breaking their banks. Tallahassee Mayor John Marks says the mandates are making it hard for the city to balance it’s dwindling budget.
Mar-02-2010 Florida Times-Union
Speaking of budget cuts and the slide to mediocrity, a bill has been introduced in the Senate that would destroy the concept of home rule for local governments.
Feb-18-2010 Palm Beach Post
ATLANTIS — Florida mayors don't want state legislators calling the shots for their cities through unfunded mandates and other measures that infringe on their powers of home rule.
Feb-18-2010 South Florida Business Journal
Frustrated over what they view as too many unfunded mandates coming out of the state capital, Florida’s mayors are shoving back with a new public awareness campaign.
Dec-11-2009 South Florida Business Journal
A South Florida-generated lawsuit, which claims sweeping growth management legislation signed into law in June is unconstitutional, will move forward.
Nov-18-2009 Ft. Myers News-Press
TALLAHASSEE - A state appeals court has rejected a second challenge to tax breaks for Florida's primary homeowners.
Oct-31-2009 Naples News
New law prohibits local government, or any person on the local government’s behalf, from spending money to advocate for the passage of or defeat of any issue, referendum or amendment going to a public vote.
Oct-06-2009 Orlando Sentinel
There seems some confusion over the growth-management overhaul lawmakers passed last spring, which immediately drew a lawsuit from some local governments that gutted Florida’s transportation planning mandates.
Sep-16-2009 South Florida Business Journal
Sep-01-2009 Florida Today
With a ban on an income tax written into Florida's constitution, state and local governments are paid for primarily through sales and property taxes.
Jul-19-2009 Miami Herald
Homestead is joining a lawsuit contesting a new law that has loosened requirements for developers to provide new roads or infrastructure upgrades for new buildings and homes and also ends state oversight for large projects.
Jul-18-2009 Miami Herald
More Miami-Dade cities are joining Weston's lead in opposing the state's recently signed Growth Management Act. On Monday, the Village of Palmetto Bay Council agreed to spend $2,500 to join Weston in its litigation to challenge the...
Jul-14-2009 WJHG Channel 7
Eight city and county governments are suing the state over a new law aimed at speeding up development. The legislation allows builders to develop land without paying for road construction near the property. City and county governments say the...
Jul-13-2009 St. Petersburg Times
Our cheerful governor, Charlie Crist, gutted Florida's laws on growth by signing the awful Senate Bill 360. Who needs roads, anyway? Just let the builders build, and we'll figure out the rest later. How the editorial pages thundered, the...