Opinion

Earle v. Dade County, Florida

  • 92 Fla. 432
  • 109 So. 331
Court
Supreme Court of Florida
Filed
Jul 29, 1926
Status
Published
Author
Ellis
On the bench
Ellis, Brown, Whitfield, Buford, Strum, Terrell
Cited by
11 cases

The opinion

Ellis, J.,

concurring.

I concur in the conclusion reached in this ease upon the ground that a “county purpose,” within the meaning of that phrase as used in Section 5 of Article IX of the Constitution, is any governmental purpose which the Legislature may, within constitutional limitations, authorize counties tct execute as political divisions of the state which puropse has not been declared by the Legislature or Constitution to be-:-a state purpose.

The Constitution creates the office of Commissioner of Agriculture and leaves the duties to be performed by such officer to be prescribed by the Legislature, Article IY, Section 26. The policy of the government of this State, as organized under the Constitution of 1885, therefore extends to the making of adequate and appropriate provisions for encouraging and developing the Agricultural Industry in this State.

That purpose has not been declared by the Legislature to be a state function to be directed and executed in every detail by state officials, bureaus and commissions in every county or political division of the state but there has been left some phases of the general piirpose to be executed by counties as a county purpose.

When the Legislature authorizes a county in that behalf to maintain agricultural fairs and erect buildings for the purpose it inferentially, if not directly, declares such ae-tivity to be a county purpose and in doing so the Legislature acts within the constitutional limitations upon its powers.

Whitfield and Buford, J. J. concur.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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