Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 104.31
CopyCited 14 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...Assuming the rule in question to be constitutionally valid, as we hereafter find it to be, there is no doubt whatever but that it is well within the limits of the legislative prescriptions announced in Section 240.04, supra. Appellant asserts that the rule in question does violence to the legislative policy suggested by Section 104.31(1)(c), Florida Statutes, F.S.A. Chapter 104, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., is a segment of the State Election Code which defines various violations and prescribes penalties therefor. Section 104.31, supra, condemns certain types of political activities by State officers and employees....
...dered as having harmful effects upon the school system. The same effect, was the decision *719 of the United States Supreme Court in Adler v. Board of Education,
342 U.S. 485,
72 S.Ct. 380,
96 L.Ed. 517. We, ourselves, have sustained the validity of Section
104.31, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., which places restrictions upon the political activities of various public employees....
CopyCited 8 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...Gen., for appellant. Finch, Mosley & Ware, Clearwater, for appellee. THORNAL, Justice. By appeal the State of Florida seeks reversal of an order of the trial judge sustaining a motion to quash an information charging appellee Stuler with a violation of Section 104.31, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. Our conclusion must turn on the constitutionality of a part of the above-cited statute. *2 The pertinent part of Section 104.31, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., provides: "Political activities of state, county and municipal officers and employees....
...advise the employees of the Pinellas County Sanitary Fill, said employees also being county employees, to pay or contribute part of their salary to the campaign fund of * * * candidates in said primary campaign in 1958, contrary to the provisions of Section 104.31, Florida Statutes, 1957." Stuler pleaded not guilty and moved to quash the information....
...of political reprisals which often lead to the demoralization of the public service. In Ex parte Curtis, supra, a mere "request" for a contribution by a fellow employee was legally prohibited. The element of coercion or compulsion was not required. Section 104.31, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., supra, like most of the statutes on this subject does not preclude public employees from exercising complete freedom of choice at the ballot box....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 2439, 2006 WL 407074
...Glogau, Chief, Complex Litigation, Tallahassee, for Appellee. R.W. Evans and William E. Powers, Jr., of Allen, Norton & Blue, P.A., Tallahassee, for Amicus Curiae/Florida Sheriffs Association. PER CURIAM. Appellant was charged with "willfully" violating section 104.31(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2003), which forbids a public official from using his or her official authority or influence for the purpose of influencing another person's vote....
...In the absence of a statute or properly promulgated rule defining the term, the case-law derived definition used by the ALJ was reasonable. Utilizing this reasonable definition of "willful," the ALJ found that, although appellant had technically violated section 104.31(1)(a), appellant did not intend to violate section 104.31(1)(a), and therefore the appellant's violation was not "willful." The Florida Elections Commission decided that the ALJ used the incorrect definition of "willful" and, applying the definition of "willful" set forth in section 106.37, F...
...Accordingly, the Commission erred by rejecting the ALJ's correct conclusion that section 106.37, Florida Statutes (2003), is inapplicable to alleged violations of Chapter 104 and by applying the definition of "willful" set forth in 106.37 to appellant's alleged violation of section 104.31(1)(a)....
...1st DCA 2002) (internal citations omitted). Moreover, appellant is correct that, when the definition of "willful" the ALJ used is applied to the evidentiary facts as found by the ALJ and as adopted by the Commission, the ALJ's factual finding that appellant did not "willfully" violate section 104.31(1)(a) is supported by CSE....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...federal, state or municipal office shall immediately forfeit his county position. The lower court found that this subsection was, within the meaning of Article VIII, § 11(5) Florida Constitution of 1885, as amended, [1] invalidly in "conflict" with Section 104.31(1), Fla....
...Dade County,
334 So.2d 661, 664 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976) we held that the word "conflict" in Article VIII, § 11(5) refers to legislative provisions which are contradictory in the *508 sense that they cannot co-exist. It seems obvious that this definition does not apply here. While Sec.
104.31(1) indeed provides that nothing in that statute prevents a public employee from becoming a candidate, there is just as clearly nothing in the statute or anywhere else [3] which gives him that right. [4] Hence, Sec. 1.05(c) does not at all impinge upon the provisions of Sec.
104.31(1)....
...Bain,
429 So.2d 40 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); compare Scavella v. Fernandez,
371 So.2d 535 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979) (code 60 day notice provision in conflict with statutory provision granting 2 years for same notice). The propriety of the conclusion that Sec.
104.31(1) does not abrogate the Charter provision before us is reenforced by contrasting the provisions of subsection (3) of the very same statute. Sec.
104.31(3) states: Nothing contained in this section or in any county or municipal charter shall be deemed to prohibit any public employee from expressing his opinions on any candidate or issue or from participating in any political campaign during hi...
...2d DCA 1983); City of Miami Beach v. Rocio Corp.,
404 So.2d 1066 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981). Finally, our decision is mandated by the virtually all-fours case of Resedean v. Civil Service Board of City of Pensacola,
332 So.2d 150 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976) [5] which held that Sec.
104.31 [6] did not invalidate a Pensacola charter provision which precluded a municipal fire captain from seeking elective office....
...Martinez is readily distinguishable in that it concerns an asserted conflict with the resign to run law, Sec.
99.012, Fla. Stat. (1981) which is (a) admittedly not applicable at all to employees like Santos and (b) "occupies the field" of the subject it regulates to a far greater extent than Sec.
104.31....
...Elliott Advertising Co. v. Metropolitan Dade County,
425 F.2d 1141 (5th Cir.1970), or in this decision. [5] Resedean was not cited by either party to the trial judge or to this court. [6] It is significant that the court was concerned only with sec.
104.31( 3 ). Apparently, sec.
104.31( 1 ) was considered so obviously not involved that it was not even discussed.
CopyCited 1 times | Published | District Court, M.D. Florida | 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24526, 2016 WL 787934
...The DOE’s Subpart D contains provisions relating to “Preschool, Elementary, and Secondary Education”, while the DOA’s Sub-part D contains provisions relating to “Preschool, Elementary, Secondary, Adult, and Extension Education.” 34 C.F.R. § 104.31 ; 7 C.F.R....
...Subpart D of the DOE regulations "applies to preschool, elementary, secondary, and adult education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance and to recipients that operate, or that receive Federal financial assistance for the operation of, such programs or activities.” 34 C.F.R. § 104.31 ....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2007 Fla. App. LEXIS 4899, 2007 WL 980727
...p of Bradshaw's opponents at a rally. In both counts, the FEC charged Wills "used his official authority or influence for the purpose of attempting to coerce or influence another person's vote or affecting the results of an election" in violation of section 104.31(1)(a), Florida Statutes....
CopyPublished | Supreme Court of Florida
...conduct that, he alleges, interferes with the people’s right to
consider a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution. He
says the Governor, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the
Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) have violated
section 104.31, Florida Statutes (2024), in their advocacy against
that amendment.
Applying traditional principles that govern the issuance of
extraordinary writs, we deny the petition....
...Governor’s Cabinet, or the members of the
Legislature. . . .
....
(3) Any person violating the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
provided in s.
775.082 or s.
775.083.
§
104.31, Fla....
...of a state actor or to enable a private citizen to enforce a state
criminal statute. It is hard to see how he asks us to do anything
short of that, for the statute is express about what a violation of its
requirements constitutes: “a misdemeanor of the first degree.”
§ 104.31(3), Fla....
...See, e.g., §§
104.041 (fraud in connection with
casting a vote), .045 (vote selling), .061 (corruptly influencing
voting), .16 (voting a fraudulent ballot), .21 (changing electors’
ballots), Fla. Stat. (2024). That statutory context does not support
Petitioner’s hypothesis that the first paragraph of section
104.31 is
-7-
enforceable other than by state authorities....
...constitutional amendment. To the extent there could be a judicial
determination regarding the existence or nonexistence of an
immunity, power, privilege, or right of these constitutional officers
to make the specific statements at issue in light of section 104.31, it
is not Petitioner’s to seek by writ of quo warranto.
-8-
B
For similar reasons, we deny the petition for a writ of
mandamus....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1978).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
violation of s.
104.31(1)(a), F. S.? SUMMARY: Section
104.31(1)(a), F. S., does not prohibit elective municipal
CopyPublished | District Court, N.D. Florida
...ivations. "No officer or employee or the state ... shall use his or her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election ... or coercing or influencing another person's vote or affecting the result thereof." Fla. Stat. § 104.31 (1)(a).
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1974).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...yond the scope of the present leave policy. It should be noted, however, that there appears to be no impediment to an amendment of the leave policy which would permit leave for such purposes. Question 1 is answered in the negative. AS TO QUESTION 2: Section 104.31 , F.S., which regulates political activities of county and other government employees, specifically provides in subsection (1)(c): The provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to prevent any person from becoming a candidate for and actively campaigning for any elective office in this state. Further, Ch. 74-13, Laws of Florida, which took effect upon becoming a law, amended s. 104.31 , F.S., by adding a new subsection (3), which reads: Nothing contained in this section or in any county or municipal charter shall be deemed to prohibit any public employee from expressing his opinions on any candidate or issue or from part...
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1976 Fla. App. LEXIS 14417
...e foregoing special act. Appellant’s primary argument is that the special act which prohibits a Pensacola Civil Service Employee from running for elective office has been impliedly repealed by Chapter 74-13, Laws of Florida (1974), which amended F.S. 104.31(1) (d) 3 and created Section 3 of F.S. 104.31....
...4 Indeed, the significant provisions of Chapter 74 — 13 manifest an obvious legislative intent to allow a municipal employee to participate in any political campaign during his off-duty hours. We would have no qualms about accepting appellant’s position, but for the fact that F.S. 104.31(3) (1975) states that “nothing contained in this section or in any county or municipal charter” shall prohibit a municipal employee from participating in any election campaign during his off-duty hours....
...d as a special act of the legislature, has, in effect, become a part of the Pensacola Municipal Charter. It follows that the Pensacola code’s prohibition of political activities by city employees is repealed to the extent of its inconsistency with § 104.31(3), F.S.1975....
...There are substantial conceptual and practical differences between being a candidate for public office and “expressing . . . opinions on any candidate or issue or . participating in any political campaign.” Settled rules of statutory construction militate against stretching the 1974 amendment of § 104.31 to abolish municipal prohibitions of employee candidacies when explicit repealing language could so easily have been placed in the bill....
...ew to harmonizing the legislation in question with other legislation which presumably was intended to reflect the same public policy. See Florida Jai Alai, Inc. v. Lake Howell Water & *154 Reclamation Dist.,
274 So.2d 522 (Fla.1973). Not only in §
104.31(3), F.S., but also in §
99.012, the “resign to run law” which was significantly amended by the same legislature that passed ch....
...ime of the said one-year period from the effective date of his resignation for retention at the top of said list as hereinabove provided.” . See Chapter 63-1775, Section 28, Special Acts, as amended by Chapter 65-2097, Section 1, Special Acts. . F.S. 104.31(1) (d) provides, in pertinent part: “104.31 Political activities of state, county and municipal officers and employees.— * * * * * (d) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not be construed so as to limit the political activity in general, special, primary, bond, re...
...long as such activities are not in conflict with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section or of section 110.092, Florida Statutes.” Appellees do not argue that the proposed off-duty activities of appellant conflict with the provisions of F.S. 104.31(1) or 110.092.
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1977).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...A community college comptroller is not a state employee within the Career Service System; hence, the provisions of s. 110.092(4)(a), F. S., which restrict the political activities of state employees are inapplicable to an employee of a community college district board of trustees. Section 104.31 (1), F....
...AGO 076-202, wherein a similar conclusion was reached with respect to employees of district mental health boards. Accordingly, s. 110.092(4)(a), F. S., is not applicable to a community college comptroller. Furthermore, although not raised by your letter, it should be noted that s. 104.31 , F....
...S., the `Little Hatch Act,' which regulates the political activities of state, county, and municipal employees, would likewise be inapplicable to a community college district comptroller seeking to run for or hold the office of state legislator. Assuming arguendo that s. 104.31 , supra , is applicable to employees of a community college district, s. 104.31 (1)(c) provides that `the provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to prevent any person from becoming a candidate for any elective office in this state.' Accordingly, a community college district comptroller may serve simult...
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1975).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
QUESTIONS: 1. Does Ch. 74-13, Laws of Florida, which amends s. 104.31 , F.S., have the effect of preempting or prohibiting the exercise of municipal legislative power to regulate the subject matter of political activities of municipal employees? 2....
...ive a monthly compensation? 3. Are the provisions of s. 9.02(A)(4) of the new charter of the City of Largo violative of the United States Constitution? SUMMARY: Unless and until otherwise clarified by judicial or legislative action, the amendment of s. 104.31 , F.S., effected by Ch....
...e construction to be given to the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act, Ch. 166 , F.S. Accordingly, until such time as we are favored with judicial clarification, questions of this nature will have to be resolved on a case-by-case basis. As you are aware, s. 104.31 , F.S....
...charged with the supervision of the particular employees. Accord: Attorney General Opinion 072-62, which discusses at length the application of the statute prior to its 1974 amendment. Chapter 74-13, Laws of Florida, creates a new subsection (3) of s. 104.31 , F.S., which provides: Nothing contained in this section or in any county or municipal charter shall be deemed to prohibit any public employee from expressing his opinions on any candidate or issue or from participating in any political ca...
...by general law" within the meaning of s.
166.021 (3)(c), F.S., or expressly prohibited by law within the contemplation of s.
166.021 (1), F.S. Thus, I am of the opinion that, unless and until further clarified by legislative or judicial action, the amendment of s.
104.31 , F.S., effected by Ch....
...tical activities of municipal employees. Question 1 is answered accordingly. AS TO QUESTION 2: At the inception, it should be noted that the manner in which an elected public officer is compensated has nothing to do with the answer to this question. Section 104.31 , F.S., affects all elected public officers regardless of how or when they are compensated, or whether they are compensated or not....
...subject matters the regulation of which have been expressly prohibited by law or have been expessly preempted to state government by general law. In this instance, the operation and effect of the 1974 amendment to paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of s. 104.31 , F.S., seems clear upon examination of the statutory language deleted by the amendment....
...The deleted phrase reads: "unless, in the case of municipalities, there be provisions in the charters or ordinances thereof which apply to officers, employees or candidates in such municipalities." The deletion of this phrase — which authorized municipalities to enact provisions in conflict with paragraph 104.31 (1)(d) with respect to their elected officials and candidates for election to public office — evidences a clear legislative intent to remove the authority of municipalities to regulate the political activities of elected officials or candidates for public office whose political activities are regulated by s. 104.31 , F.S. This intent is also manifested in the title to the act, which states, inter alia, that it is an act "amending s. 104.31 (1)(d), F.S., to remove the authority of municipalities to regulate certain political activities....
...matter, it is my opinion that such legislative action should be construed as an express prohibition or preemption of municipal regulation of the subject matter in question. For the foregoing reasons, I am of the view that the amendment of paragraph 104.31 (1)(d) accomplished by Ch....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1974 Fla. App. LEXIS 8920
voting, registration or elections. . . . ’ Section
104.031, relating to making false declarations and
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1980).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...As I am of the opinion, however, that membership on a state or county executive committee of a political party is not a `public office,' the foregoing exception to the general prohibition contained in s.
110.233 (4)(a) is not applicable to the instant inquiry. Nor do the provisions of s.
104.31 , F. S., appear to compel a different conclusion. Section
104.31 , Florida's Little Hatch Act, regulates the political activities of all public officers and employees in the state, including those employees in the Career Service System. While the act prohibits certain types of political activity, see s.
104.31 (1)(a), (b), and (c), its provisions do not prevent any person from becoming a candidate for and actively campaigning for any elective office in the state. Section
104.31 provides in pertinent part: All such persons shall retain the right to vote as they may choose and to express their opinions on all political subjects and candidates....
...tate administrative agencies, boards, commissions or committees or of the members of state boards, commissions or committees whether they be salaried, nonsalaried or reimbursed for expense. While public employees would not appear to be prohibited by s. 104.31 , F. S., from serving as members of county or state political party executive committees, subsection (3) of s. 104.31 provides that `[n]othing contained in this section ....
...his off-duty hours so long as such activities are not in conflict with the provisions of subsection (1) or s. 110.223 .' (Emphasis supplied.) Such activity is in my opinion prohibited by s.
110.233 (4)(a), F. S.; therefore, under the provisions of ss.
104.31 (3) and
110.233 (4)(a), career service employees may not serve on such executive committees of political parties. Section
104.31 provides that those officers and employees under the State Merit System who are employed by state agencies receiving federal funds and who are not otherwise exempted from paragraph (a) in general or special elections shall not be eligi...
