‘Home Rule’ amendment raises legal questions

Of the six charter amendment proposals submitted by the Alachua County Board of Commissioners to be placed on the November ballot, one might not make it after all.

On July 13, a lawsuit was filed against Pam Carpenter, Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, and the Board of County Commissioners alleging that County Charter Amendment 3 is unconstitutional.

Joseph Little, who was on the Charter Review Commission, is representing the plaintiff, Dwight E. Adams, a retired University of Florida physics professor.

The lawsuit requests a declaration that amendment 3, if adopted, would be unconstitutional and void, that it be withheld from the ballot.

And if this case is not resolved in full by the Nov. 2 general election, the plaintiff requests that the votes on amendment 3 be sealed until all litigation, including appeals, has been concluded.

The amendment in question pertains to the “home rule” section of the county charter, and it directly deals with municipal powers.

Over a lengthy process of meetings and public hearings, the 15-member Charter Review Commission (CRC) selected six proposed amendments to recommend for placement on the ballot. Amendment 3, as approved by the CRC, is titled “Require Both County and Municipal Elector Approval of Charter Amendments Affecting Certain Municipal Power.”

With some specific exceptions, it would require that any future charter amendment that would limit municipal power (meaning an individual city’s autonomy), would have to be approved by a majority of votes within the municipality as well as a majority of votes countywide.

During a July 22 meeting, High Springs City Commissioner Larry Travis announced that as the president of the Alachua League of Cities, he is working on recruiting a legal team to take on this lawsuit, and he is also involved in forming a committee, headed by Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe, to raise awareness and support for amendment 3.

He said another Florida county has already ruled a similar piece of legislation to be constitutional. And it was mentioned at the meeting that cities can legally support an amendment as long as it does not fund any political or campaign advertisements.

Little declined to comment at this time.