Temperatures in Central Florida are expected to drop lower than the ball in New York’s Times Square during the 2020 New Year’s celebration.
discretion to promote the public good,” attorneys for Fried, the only statewide elected Democrat, wrote. “Without immunity from liability, officials would be tempted to vote for what is safest for them personally, rather than what is best for their community.”
Florida since 1987 has barred cities and counties from passing regulations that are stricter than state firearms laws, a concept known as “preemption” of local gun laws. The 2011 law was designed to strengthen the preemption by adding penalties, such as the possibility of local officials facing $5,000 fines and potential removal from office for passing gun regulations.
Dozens of cities, counties and local elected officials challenged the 2011 law last year after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
They argued that the potential penalties had made local officials afraid to move forward with gun-related measures that might not be preempted by the 1987 law.
Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson in July found parts of the 2011 law unconstitutional, citing issues related to “legislative immunity,” which protects local government officials in their decision-making processes.
He also pointed to the constitutional separation of powers, as judges could be asked to rule on penalizing local officials.
Lawyers for Moody and DeSantis took the case to the Tallahassee-based 1st District Court of Appeal and argued that Dodson’s ruling should be overturned.
“The trial court’s decision is premised on unsupported theories of immunity inconsistent with the constitutional supremacy of the state’s authority over its counties and municipalities,” the lawyers for Moody and DeSantis argued in a brief last month.
The challenge to the law initially named Fried’s predecessor, former Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, as a defendant, along with other state officials. That was because the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services helps carry out gun laws through its role in issuing concealedweapons licenses.
After Fried was elected in November 2018 and took office in January, she remained a defendant in the case and argued that “the Department of Agriculture (and the commissioner specifically) is an improper defendant and should therefore be dismissed” from the challenge, according to a document filed in circuit court by the state.
But Fried did not join the other state officials in appealing Dodson’s ruling. Her brief Tuesday argued that the 2011 law violates constitutional separation of powers because it could lead to judges trying to weigh the thinking of local elected officials who pass gun-related measures.
“Just as the judiciary may not intrude into the legislative process by compelling an ‘inquiry’ into the legislative process at the state level, the judiciary similarly lacks the power to do so at the local level,” the brief said. “If the penalty provisions … were upheld, courts across the state would be required to intrude into the legislative process in direct contravention of the state Constitution, as the statutes require the courts to inquire as to the individual legislator’s intent, to determine if there is a ‘knowing and willful violation’ of the [preemption] statute.”
Central Florida temperatures are expected to drop lower than the ball in New York’s Times Square during the 2020 New Year’s celebration.
It may be mild now, but a cold front is coming that will bring temperatures in the 40s by New Year’s Day.
Meteorologists expect the cold front to follow Monday afternoon showers bringing the low Monday night to 57 degrees. Central Florida residents may want to sport a jacket Tuesday when temperatures are expected to dip even further.
Tuesday’s high is expected to be about 68 degrees in Orlando, but temperatures are predicted to drop to 49 by the time evening festivities begin with the night mostly clear.
The cold front is believed to be sticking around most of the week with temperatures in the 50s during the evenings and in the upper 70s and lower 80s during the day.
By New Year’s Day, temperatures are expected to be in the upper 40s across Central Florida and a high of 68 with clear skies. Temperatures will begin to climb back to a high of 82 by Friday.