As they distracted voters with ‘woke,’ Florida lawmakers usurped their local control | Opinion

While Florida got attention for its obsession with fighting “woke,” lawmakers were busy during the 2023 legislative session passing bills with lesser known, but even greater, impacts on the quality of life of Floridians.

These so-called preemption bills curtail how the government closest to the people — county commissions, city and village councils — and local voters can shape their communities. As usual, that’s done to benefit big political donors, political players, developers and businesses at odds with local communities. And it happens every year, no matter who’s in the governor’s mansion.

The 2023 session that ended Friday was no exception, but it was notable because many of those preemption bills impact Miami-Dade County directly.

Fortunately, one of the most egregious attacks on our home rule died. Senate Bill 1346 would have given developers the green light to tear down historic oceanfront buildings like the Art Deco gems lining Miami Beach.

But other bills that kneecap the will of local voters and elected officials were approved and are headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk.

There is legislation to dictate how Miami-Dade County can set up its new sheriff’s office. This is, in fact, a double takeover by the state. County voters abolished the sheriff position in the 1960s, following a string of corruption scandals, and, since then, a mayor-appointed police director has overseen the Miami-Dade Police Department. In 2018, a ballot referendum that failed in Miami-Dade but passed statewide required the county to elect a sheriff again. HB 1595 undoes a plan approved by the County Commission to keep the policing of the county’s unincorporated areas, such as Kendall, under the police department instead of turning it over to a sheriff elected in 2024.

SB 718 bans local voter referendums related to land development. It appears to be yet another assault on Miami Beach, where voters have often balked at oversized development. Last year, they rejected a request by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to exceed building-size regulations to erect a hotel and condo project at the site of the demolished Deauville Beach Resort. The legislation would make such referendums illegal.

Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Republican whose district includes Key Biscayne, which also is affected by the legislation, said local governments “should not govern by referendum,” the Herald reported. Whether that’s the prudent way to govern or not is beside the point. The reason cities and counties exist is to ensure each community makes decisions that reflect the will of its constituents. It’s Miami Beach’s responsibility, not the Legislature’s, to make development decisions. Local council or commission members — not lawmakers from all across the state — are best equipped to make quality-of-life decisions in their jurisdictions.

That concept of local autonomy, known as home rule, has been enshrined in the Florida Constitution. However, the state Legislature over the years has preempted communities from regulating things big and small: single-use plastic bags, sunscreen that damages coral reefs, fossil fuels, cruise ships in Key West — the list goes on. The main beneficiaries of these preemptions are usually powerful industries — i.e. fossil fuel, cruise companies — that can afford lobbyists and political contributions.

Take HB 1417, widely supported by the Florida Apartment Association and Florida Realtors. It wipes out ordinances that counties like Miami-Dade passed to give tenants more rights at a time when they are experiencing rent increases of hundreds of dollars. The “tenants’ bill of rights” required, for example, that landlords give notice of rent increases. Miami-Dade last year required a 60-day notice for increases above 5% and made it easier to bill landlords for repairs.

Supporters of these preemption measures say they want to bring “consistency” to regulations across the state. But “consistency” more times than not comes at the expense of those who don’t have the clout to influence the lawmaking process. The purpose of a state Legislature isn’t to become a central office for local land and development decisions. Unfortunately, the Republicans running the Florida House and Senate have gotten a taste of power, and they will usurp more of it from Florida’s communities.

This story was originally published May 10, 2023 at 9:32 AM.