CopyCited 12 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1998 WL 732936
...Citrus to determine which acts were illegal under the statute. Relying on Atlantic Coast Line and Bailey, we held that the grant of authority to the Department of Citrus did not constitute an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power because section
601.46(1) clearly "sets forth what constitutes unlawful action under the section." Rosslow,
401 So.2d at 1108....
...s. Id. at 156. In contrast, Avatar does not challenge the adequacy of DEP's rules, regulations or permit conditions. Indeed, as noted above, we find that the permits issued by DEP expressly state the conditions upon which the permits are issued. [6] Section 601.46 provides, in pertinent part: (1) It is unlawful, except as provided in s....
...rus fruit in fresh form unless such fruit has matured in accordance with the maturity standards and is accompanied by a certificate of inspection ... issued by a duly authorized fruit inspector of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. § 601.46(1), Fla....
CopyCited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...tute constitutional. We have jurisdiction under article v, section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution (1972), and affirm. Appellant was charged with transporting citrus fruit in fresh form without a "certificate of inspection and maturity" as required by section 601.46(1), Florida Statutes (1977)....
...accompanied by a certificate of inspection and maturity thereof issued by a duly authorized citrus fruit inspector of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Section
601.50, Florida Statutes (1977), the exception provision enumerated in section
601.46, states: Exemptions; sale or shipment of citrus or citrus products for certain purposes. Irrespective of the provisions of ss.
601.45,
601.46,
601.48,
601.49,
601.51, and
601.52, the Department of Citrus under such precautionary rules and regulations as it may deem expedient may permit sale or shipment of citrus fruit or the canned or concentrated products thereof without the issuan...
...m grade standards as may, from time to time, be established by the Department of Citrus; and, provided further that such rules and regulations shall provide for the due collection of any advertising taxes and inspection fees that may be due thereon. Section
601.46 makes it unlawful to transport citrus without an inspection certificate, except as provided in section
601.50. It is appellant's contention that, because section
601.50 gives the Department of Citrus the authority to exempt certain categories of citrus from the certificate requirement, the department in effect chooses which acts are illegal under section
601.46 and which acts are not....
...1968); Bailey v. Van Pelt,
78 Fla. 337,
82 So. 789 (1919); State ex rel. Young v. Duval County,
76 Fla. 180,
79 So. 692 (1918); State v. Atlantic Coast Line Railway,
56 Fla. 617,
47 So. 969 (1908). We find, however, that the legislature's enactment of section
601.46, even with the exception provision contained in section
601.50, does not constitute prohibited delegation....
...to provide rules and regulations for the complete operation and enforcement of the law within its expressed general purpose.
56 Fla. at 636-37,
47 So. at 976 (emphasis ours). It is our conclusion that the questioned section meets the above criteria. Section
601.46(1) explicitly sets forth what constitutes unlawful action under the section, transporting citrus without an inspection certificate. Moreover, section
601.50 sufficiently defines and limits the authority of the Department of Citrus in creating exceptions to the certificate requirements to meet all constitutional mandates. Accordingly, we affirm and hold section
601.46, Florida Statutes (1977), constitutional. It is so ordered. ADKINS, ALDERMAN and McDONALD, JJ., concur. BOYD, J., dissents with an opinion in which SUNDBERG, C.J., and ENGLAND, J., concur. BOYD, Justice, dissenting. Section
601.46(1), Florida Statutes (1977), defines a criminal offense....
...The offense there defined is a misdemeanor of the first degree. §
601.72, Fla. Stat. (1977). The definition of the offense contains the clause, "except as provided in s.
601.50... . Section
601.50 creates several broadly defined categories of activity which are excepted *1109 from the operation of section
601.46. Section
601.50 delegates to the Department of Citrus the power to define the exceptions. Therefore the definition of the criminal offense created by section
601.46 depends on the interpretation given by the department to the exceptions in section
601.50....
...The Legislature may not delegate the power to enact a law, or to declare what the law shall be, or to exercise an unrestricted discretion in applying a law... . State v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad,
56 Fla. 617, 636,
47 So. 969, 976 (1908). Under section
601.46, it is a first-degree misdemeanor to sell, offer for sale, transport, prepare, receive, or deliver for transportation or market "any citrus fruit in fresh form unless such fruit has matured in accordance with the maturity standards and is accompanied by a certificate of inspection and maturity... ." Careful examination of the provisions of section
601.50 reveals that the legislature has attempted to delegate to the department the power to declare when the sale or shipment of immature and uncertified fruit is to be forbidden under section
601.46(1) and therefore punishable under section
601.72....
...dards adopted by the department. The legislature may not authorize an executive agency to make law. This is especially true, it would seem, when it comes to the business of defining criminal offenses. With its broad power to define the exceptions to section 601.46, the Department of Citrus has the power to define the criminal *1110 offense there proscribed....
