Title: Dissolution of Municipalities

Summary: Requires dissolution of a municipality after a referendum is held if specified conditions are met; provides procedures for setting date for a referendum to dissolve a municipality; providing notice requirements.

Full Text:
An act relating to dissolution of municipalities; amending s. 165.051, F.S.; requiring the dissolution of a municipality after a referendum is held if specified conditions are met; providing the procedures for setting the date for a referendum to dissolve a municipality; providing notice requirements; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Sectio n165.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 165.051 Dissolution procedures.-(1) The charter of any existing municipality may be revoked and the municipal corporation dissolved by either: (a) A special act of the Legislature; or (b) An ordinan ce of the governing body of the municipality, approved by a vote of the qualified voters;or (c) Approval of a vote of a majority of the qualified electors voting in a referendum to dissolve the municipality that must be held if one or more of the follow ing criteria applies: 1. The municipality was determined to be in a state of financial emergency after June 17, 2004, and has been in a state CS/CS/HB 1209 2020 of financial emergency for or more years. 2. A financial emergency board has been established in response to a financial emergency and the municipality has failed to comply with the terms included in any signed agreement with the Governor's office as part of the financial emergency. Failure to comply with the terms of any signed agreement includes failing to sub mit a recovery plan, the required budget documents and amendments, and invoices that support requested expenditures. 3. The municipality has submitted its annual financial report required by s. 218.32, and the annual financial audit report required by s. 218.39, more than months late for or more consecutive years. 4. A grand jury or an Auditor General audit report was issued within the past years that contains a significant number of findings and the municipality has failed to resolve five or more of those findings within months after issuance of the report.(2)(a) If a vote of the qualified voters is required pursuant to paragraph (1)(b),the governing body of the municipality or, if the municipal governing body does not act within days, the governing body of the county or counties in which the municipality is located, shall set the date of the election, which shall be the next regularly scheduled election or a special election held prior to such election, if approved CS/CS/HB 1209 2020 by a majority of the members of the governing body of each governmental unit affected, but no sooner than days after passage of the ordinance. Notice of the election shall be published at least once each week for consecutive weeks prior to the election in a newspaper of ge neral circulation in the municipality. (b) Within days after one or more of the criteria contained in subparagraphs (1)(c)1.-4., is met, the governing body of the municipality or, if the municipal governing body does not act, the governing body of the county or counties in which the municipality is located, shall set the date of the referendum to dissolve the municipality, which shall be the next regularly scheduled general election. Notice of the election shall be published at least once each week for consecutive weeks prior to the election in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.