Florida counties History Research

Of these 67 counties, 20 of them are charter counties including Palm Beach, Wakulla, Lee, Volusia, Hillsborough and Pinellas (FAC 1). These 20 charter counties represent nearly 80% of the state’s residents. These counties differ from non-charter counties in the extent of home rule and freedom from state control. The Florida constitution grants charter counties the power of self-government. In 1968, the electors of Florida granted local voters the power to adopt charters to govern their counties (FAC 1). Home rule counties can do anything that is not specifically denied by the states constitution, the General Assembly or the charter itself. However state constitutional charter counties can only act where specifically authorized by the state laws. Home rule government is importance since it only ensures efficient running of the county’s operations but also empowers the citizens since they have power of their local affairs.

It also free up the legislature allowing it to focus on statewide issues. The numerous advantages of the charter government is the reason behind the increase in charter counties in Florida. The county Sheriff’s office works in conjunction with law enforcement services located in various municipalities to safeguard public safety. The county also has an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) that provides security for the Space Coast. The EOC works together with the Emergency Services of City Police, County Sheriff and Fire Department to coordinate information on threats or disasters threatening the safety of the county residents and to manage all services during these events (FDEP 1). The county also a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Regional Advisory council to help in ensuring county’s safety.

The county has a positive recorded when it comes to disaster management and ensuring public safety. Floridians are appearing in large numbers to express the views on the much needed electoral reforms and they are calling upon the Constitution Revision Commission to carry out these amendments in order to help fix the broken elections. The Commission consisting of 37 political appointees who have the power to put constitutional amendments before the voters in 2018. The Commission meets after every 20years and this calls for fast action before voters have to wait another 20 years. The closed primaries only involve the participation of a few registered voters while locking out the rest. These is unfair since the party primary are financed by taxes paid by all citizens even those with No Party Affiliation (NPA).