OKEECHOBEE — Okeechobee County commissioners voted unanimously to join a growing legal challenge to Senate Bill 180, aligning with other local governments that argue the measure weakens home rule authority.
The lawsuit, already filed by municipalities in Orange and Manatee counties, targets state officials in Tallahassee responsible for enacting the legislation. County leaders said they believe participation is necessary to protect local control over growth and development decisions.
Gemma Torcivia, an attorney contracted with Okeechobee County, outlined the scope of the case and its objectives.
“There are a number of cities in two counties, Orange County and Manatee County, that are plaintiffs, and they've brought this action against the figures in Tallahassee who are responsible for enacting the legislation. In summation, the goal is to preserve home rule and to strip the portions out of the bill that either are unclear, that are unfunded mandates, and that violate home rule,” Torcivia said.
Originally described as a measure intended to improve hurricane response times, Senate Bill 180 has drawn criticism from city and county officials statewide who contend its broad language shifts authority away from local governments and toward developers.
Commissioner Terry Burroughs said the county has reached a point where it must take a stand.
“Somewhere along the line, we have got to take back and fight for home rule. If we don't, they're going to continue to erode home rule and you'll be sitting here and will not be able to manage the growth coming into this community. And if we don't do this, shame on us,” he said.
Torcivia suggested litigation may be the only remaining avenue, pointing to what she characterized as stalled efforts to address concerns through the legislative process.
“But the reality is, if you're not going to fix it on the floor, what remedy do we have? I'll just put that out there because I mean, there was a lot of bang and a drum about we're going to fix it. We're going to fix it. And you don't even have a companion bill. So that's certainly not going to get fixed in this session, and I don't know that there's really an appetite to fix [it],” she said.
She also expressed confidence in several legal arguments raised in the complaint, particularly those related to how the bill was structured.
“I think there are quite a few counts that we will prevail on in the courts. It's a poorly written law and there are some good things that are required in laws. Like single subject is probably the cleanest and easiest to understand. And in our position, this bill certainly is not about a single subject. It is not about one thing,” she said. “The title of the bill, I would say, does not accurately reflect what the bill is. And that's another obligation. So I think that's a very strong count, which is the violation of the title provision.”
At the same time, Torcivia acknowledged there are no guarantees in court and that some claims may not succeed.
“Do I think every single count is going to prevail? No. Do I think the majority will? Yes. There's a risk. I don't want to undersell that. There's certainly a risk. But I do think there's a very good chance that the bulk of this lawsuit will ultimately prevail,” she said.
Commissioners also weighed the financial implications of joining the case, which carries a $20,000 cost for participation. Torcivia noted that a larger coalition could strengthen their odds.
“There certainly is benefit to power in numbers, because right now there's two counties and 28 cities. And I think a lot of the other cities and counties heard the same message, which is don't participate or we're going to cut your funding,” she said.
Burroughs, who said he has been communicating with other counties and monitoring developments in Tallahassee, urged fellow commissioners to act.
“So from that standpoint, a number of commissioners on that call last week, start to say, listen, we need to join. We need to figure out what we're going to do with this. Join the lawsuit, try to figure out if our commission will go in and join it. Because this is an attack on home rule,” he said. “[If] we continue just to turn a blind eye to what Tallahassee does to us and just fix everything every time they do something to us. They're going to continue to do it. If you don't start fighting for home rule and start fighting for yourselves and fighting for your constituents, then we don't need to be here in these seats.”
With the unanimous vote, Okeechobee County became the third county to join the lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 180.