Why does Florida's state legislature pass laws that hurt local communities?
Florida's legislature overrides local communities through a legal tool called preemption. It has used it to block local minimum wages and heat protections under HB 433 (2024), bar cities from setting their own wage floors under section 218.077, and strip local control over firearms, vacation rentals, and more. David Jolly's position is that government closest to the people knows best, and Tallahassee should stop preempting local communities from making their own decisions.[1]
The short answer, at a glance
Preemption is the mechanism
State law repeatedly declares Tallahassee occupies the whole field, from minimum wage to firearms to vacation rentals, blocking local ordinances even where communities voted for them.[2]
It contradicts home rule
Florida voters created municipal home rule in the 1968 Constitution, and the 1973 Home Rule Powers Act gave cities broad authority to govern local affairs unless the state says otherwise.[6]
Jolly would reverse it
David Jolly says government closest to the people knows best, and Tallahassee should stop preempting local communities from making their own decisions.[7]
What preemption actually is
Start with the surface answer. Florida's legislature passes laws that override local communities because of a legal tool called preemption. Preemption lets the state declare that it, and it alone, controls a subject, wiping out any city or county ordinance that touches it. Section 790.33 of the Florida Statutes declares the Legislature is occupying the whole field of firearm regulation to the exclusion of every county, city, and town, and lets courts fine local officials up to $5,000 personally, or even remove them from office, for passing a local gun rule.[3] Section 218.077 bars cities and counties from setting any local minimum wage above the state or federal floor.[4] Section 509.032 blocks local governments from prohibiting short-term vacation rentals unless their ordinance predates June 1, 2011.[5]
But this goes deeper than a list of statutes. HB 433, signed in 2024, preempted local minimum wages and local heat protections for outdoor workers in one bill.[1] This is not an accident of drafting. It is a pattern. And it runs against Florida's own history. Voters created municipal home rule in the 1968 Constitution, and the Legislature broadened it in 1973 with the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act, giving cities and charter counties broad authority to govern local affairs unless the state expressly says otherwise.[6] The trend of the last decade has moved the other way.
Why it keeps happening
The reason is not competence. It is ideology. In St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg City Commissioner Renee Flowers put it plainly: a majority of the legislators passing these bills once served locally. They know what home rule is. They know what public education means. They lived in the communities they now override. And they pass legislation that hurts the everyday man and woman just trying to raise a family.[8] The knowledge is there. The choice is the problem.
David Jolly frames it the same way. The party he originally signed up for believed in less government and local control, keeping government out of your community. That is not the party he sees in Tallahassee now.[9] He points to specific overrides: Tallahassee overturning Key West's vote to limit cruise ship sizes for environmental protection, and blocking communities from voting on ranked choice voting or open primaries for their own municipal elections.[7] His position is direct. Government closest to the people knows best, and Tallahassee should stop preempting local communities from making their own decisions.[7] This is bigger than party. It is about whether local votes still mean something. For the campaign's full plan on this issue, see the Home Rule and Direct Democracy hub.
Voices on the Trail: St. Petersburg City Commissioner Renee Flowers on why legislators who once served locally now pass laws that hurt families.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What is Jolly's position on home rule?
Jolly proposes Florida "respect home rule, and support the implementation of successful voter initiatives in communities across the state." This pushes back against the pattern of Tallahassee preempting local ordinances. Recent examples: HB 433 (2024) preempting local minimum wages and heat protections; SB 1884 (2023) clarifying state preemption of local firearm ordinances; longstanding state preemption of plastic bag bans, sanctuary-city policies, and various local rule-making. Jolly's framing: local communities know what they need, and Tallahassee should not override local democracy on local matters.[7]
Q. How does Jolly's position differ from current Florida policy on voting?
Current Florida policy (under DeSantis): SB 7066 pay-to-vote, OECS arrests, SB 90 vote-by-mail restrictions, HB 433 home-rule preemption, attempted ballot-initiative restrictions (HB 921), Fair Districts challenge. Jolly's position: make direct democracy easier (lower thresholds, less restrictive signature requirements), respect voter-passed amendments (fight to enact >50% even if 60% bar misses), restore home rule (let local governments make local choices), respect Fair Districts (no mid-decade partisan re-redistricting). The structural difference is direction of travel: current FL policy makes voting and direct democracy harder; Jolly proposes making both easier.[1]
Q. Why does Jolly say "if an amendment gets more than 50% of the vote, the Governor should fight to enact it"?
Florida has the most restrictive ballot-initiative process in the country: 60% supermajority required (raised from simple majority in 2006 with just 57.78% voter approval) plus the 8% signature threshold across at least 14 of 28 congressional districts. The result has been a string of majority-supported amendments that failed: Amendment 4 reproductive rights (2024, 57%), Amendment 3 marijuana legalization (2024, 56%), Amendment 3 open primaries (2020, 57%). Jolly's "fight for >50%" position addresses this directly. While the formal threshold remains 60% absent constitutional change, a governor can use executive authority to advance the underlying policy goals of majority-supported amendments. It's a workaround when direct democracy is blocked by procedure.[10]
Q. What is preemption and how does Florida use it?
Preemption is a legal tool that lets the state declare it controls a subject to the exclusion of local ordinances. Florida uses it aggressively. Section 790.33 preempts the entire field of firearm regulation and lets courts fine local officials up to $5,000 personally, and even allows the Governor to remove them from office, for passing local gun ordinances.[3] Section 218.077 bars cities and counties from setting any local minimum wage above the state or federal minimum.[4] Section 509.032 blocks local governments from prohibiting or limiting short-term vacation rentals unless their ordinance predates June 1, 2011.[5] HB 433 (2024) preempted local minimum wages and heat protections in a single bill.[1]
Q. What is home rule in Florida?
Florida voters created municipal home rule in the 1968 Constitution, and the Legislature broadened it in 1973 with the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act (Chapter 166, Florida Statutes), giving cities and charter counties broad authority to govern local affairs unless the state expressly says otherwise. Before the 1968 revision, local governments had only those powers expressly granted to them by the Legislature. Florida courts have generally deferred to local action unless the state clearly directs otherwise.[6]
Q. Doesn't Florida need strong election security?
Yes, but election security and voter access are not opposites. Florida's actual election security is administered by 67 county supervisors of elections, plus the Florida Division of Elections, plus federal CISA support. Florida's voting machines are paper-ballot-backed and auditable. The bipartisan Florida Association of Supervisors of Elections, the people actually running elections, opposed SB 90's restrictions and have not asked for the OECS apparatus. What Florida has gotten under recent policy is restriction-of-access infrastructure framed as "security" but not actually addressing security gaps. Real security is paper ballots, audits, transparent processes, all of which Florida already has.[11]
Q. What is the difference between Fair Districts and current redistricting policy?
Florida's Fair Districts Amendments 5 and 6, passed by voters in 2010 with 63% support, prohibit state and congressional redistricting plans drawn with intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent. They are the strongest state-constitutional anti-gerrymandering provisions in the country.[12] Current policy: Governor DeSantis has pushed mid-decade re-redistricting to benefit Republicans in 2026, arguing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling renders Fair Districts unenforceable. Plaintiffs dispute that legal theory. As of mid-2026, the constitutionality of Florida's anti-gerrymandering amendments is under active challenge.
Q. Can local governments in Florida still regulate anything?
Some things, but the space keeps narrowing. On vacation rentals, cities can still regulate operational matters like noise, parking, and registration, but cannot ban rentals outright unless their ordinance predates June 1, 2011.[5] On firearms, the field is fully preempted with personal penalties for officials who legislate.[3] On minimum wage, cities cannot set a floor above the state or federal rate, and a 2024 amendment further narrows their authority over their own contracts after September 30, 2026.[4] Jolly's position is to reverse this direction of travel and restore local authority on local matters.[7]
Q. How can I contact my elected officials in Florida?
Florida's elected officials are accessible via several channels: your state senator and representative (find them at flsenate.gov and myfloridahouse.gov by entering your address); your county commissioner and other local officials (your county's website lists contacts); the Governor at flgov.com; your U.S. Senators and Representative at congress.gov. The Florida Division of Elections has a "Find My Representatives" tool. Public meetings (county commission, school board, city council) are open under Florida's Sunshine Law and accept public comment.
Q. Why does Jolly's congressional record matter here?
David Jolly served in the US House representing Pinellas County (FL-13) from 2014 to 2017 as a Republican, before changing party affiliation ahead of his 2026 run for governor. He argues the party he originally signed up for believed in less government and local control, keeping government out of your doctor's office, your bedroom, and out of your community, and that this is not the Republican Party he now sees in Tallahassee.[9] That is why his home-rule position is framed as bipartisan in character, not partisan.
Sources
- Florida Senate, HB 433 (2024), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/433 · 2024-04-11
- The Florida Bar Journal (Judge James R. Wolf), The Effectiveness of Home Rule, https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/the-effectiveness-of-home-rule-a-preemption-and-conflict-analysis/ · 2009-06-01
- Florida Statutes section 790.33 (Florida Legislature), https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799%2F0790%2FSections%2F0790.33.html · 2025-01-01
- Florida Statutes section 218.077 (Florida Legislature), https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/0218.077 · 2024-01-01
- Florida Statutes section 509.032 (Florida Legislature), https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599%2F0509%2FSections%2F0509.032.html · 2025-01-01
- The Florida Bar Journal, Home Rule and the 1968 Constitution, https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/the-effectiveness-of-home-rule-a-preemption-and-conflict-analysis/ · 2009-06-01
- David Jolly, Government closest to the people (video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhyYeaVTukY · 2026-05-21
- Voices on the Trail, Renee Flowers (video), https://youtu.be/RaJyna4EyRw · 2026-06-16
- David Jolly, The party I signed up for (video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhyYeaVTukY · 2026-05-21
- Florida Phoenix, Amendment 3 comes up short of 60%, https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/11/05/amendment-3-comes-up-short-of-the-60-required-for-passage/ · 2024-11-05
- Florida Senate, SB 90 (2021), https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/90 · 2021-05-06
- Florida Department of State, Constitutional Amendments, https://dos.fl.gov/elections/laws-rules/constitutional-amendments/ · 2010-11-02
Local votes should still mean something.
When the people who wrote these laws once served their own communities, this stopped being about competence and started being about choice. Have a question for David? Visit the Town Hall and ask.