W. R. MACGUYER ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
CITY OF TAMPA, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Florida property owners in territory annexed to Tampa challenged the constitutionality of the annexation statute. The court upheld the legislature's authority to annex territory to municipalities without consent of affected inhabitants, finding no constitutional violation.
The legislature possesses full constitutional authority to annex territory to existing municipalities. The statute confers only governmental jurisdiction, not proprietary rights, and its validity does not depend on the consent of inhabitants of the annexed territory. The statute does not violate any provision of the Florida Constitution.
“The legislature shall have power to establish and to abolish municipalities, to provide for their government, to prescribe their jurisdiction and powers, and to alter or amend the same at any time.”
Constitutional basis for legislative authority over municipalities, establishing the foundation for the court's holding on annexation power.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceChapter 9920, Laws of 1923 extended Tampa's corporate limits to include adjacent territory. The statute provided that property in the annexed territor…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Municipal Annexation cases and more on FLexlaw
Per Curiam.
Chapter-9920, Laws of 1923, is “AN ACT to Extend the Corporate Limits of the City of Tampa, Florida, and to Prescribe the Liability of said Annexed Territory for Existing Bonded Indebtedness.”
“Section 1. That the corporate limits of the City of Tampa, Florida, be, and the same are hereby extended, and said City shall embrace, include and have jurisdiction over all the following adjacent territory not now included within the corporate limits of said City, to-wit: (description omitted.)
“Sec. 2. No real or personal property within the territory above described shall be liable for or taxed to pay any bonded indebtedness of the City of Tampa existing at the time of the passage of this Act, or authorized by a vote of the electors of said City at an election held prior to the passage of this Act.”
By bill in equity brought by appellants as complainants residing in the territory affected by the above enactment, it is sought to enjoin the city of Tampa from enforcing governmental regulations in the territory added to the city by the statute. The bill of complaint was dismissed and complainants appealed.
Section 8 of Article VIII of the Constitution is as follows :
“The legislature shall have power to establish and to abolish municipalities, to provide for their government, to prescribe their jurisdiction and powers, and to alter or amend the same at any time. When any municipality shall be abolished, provision shall be made for the protection of its creditors.”
This organic provision gives to the legislature full powers in forming municipalities, and the provisions of-a statute on the subject control unless some other section of the Constitution is violated by the enactment. The express legislative authority to establish and to abolish municipalities and to prescribe their jurisdiction and powers obviously includes the power to annex territory to an existing municipality. The quoted statute does not violate Section 16 of Article III of the Constitution, since the Act contains only matter properly connected with the subject expressed in the ttile.
Inaccuracies if any in the descriptions of the territory that is annexed to the city do not render the Act invalid and do not concern the appellants even if they have a right to maintain this suit on the ground of peculiar injury to them.
The statute confers governmental jurisdiction, not proprietary rights, upon the city in the annexed territory; and the validity of the enactment is not dependent upon the consent of inhabitants of the annexed territory.
The statute is not invalid for any reason advanced for the appellants, and the decree appealed from is affirmed.
Taylor, C. J., and Whitfield, Ellis, Browne, West and Terrell, J. J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (12 total)
-
State v. City of Sarasota, 92 Fla. 563 (Fla. 1926)…278; 19 R. C. L. 732-3; 28 Cyc. 184 to 194, 286; where numerous eases are cited; also Clark v. Kansas City, 176 U. S. 114, 55 Law Ed., 392, and note; Utah v. Daniels, 5 L. R. A. 444, and note. In the ease of McGuyer v. Tampa, ........Fla. ........, 103 So. 418, it was said that Section 8 of Article VIII of the Constitution “gives to the legislature full powers in forming munipipalities, and the provisions of a statute on the subject control unless some other section of the Constitution is violated by the…
-
State v. City of Stuart, 97 Fla. 69 (Fla. 1929)…time,” our decisions, far from subscribing to the unlimited power theory, have recognized that in the exercise of this power the legislature is not authorized to violate other provisions of the constitution, expressed or implied. MacGuyer v. Tampa, 89 Fla. 138, 103 So. R. 418; Brown v. City of Lakeland, 61 Fla. 508, 54 So. R. 716; City of Jacksonville v. Bowden, 67 Fla. 181, 64 So. R. 769; City of Tampa v. Prince, 63 Fla. 387, 58 So. R. 542; State ex rel v. Johns, 92 Fla. 187, 109 So. R. 228; State v. Cit…
-
State v. The City of Avon Park, 108 Fla. 641 (Fla. 1933)…22; State ex rel. Nuveen v. Greer, et al., 88 Fla., 249, 102 So. 739; City of Bradenton v. State, et al., 88 Fla. 381, text 384, 102 So. 556; State ex rel. David v. City of Stuart, 97 Fla. 69, text 106, 120 So. 335; MacGuyer et al. v. City of Tampa, 89 Fla. 138, 103 So. 418; State ex. rel. Johnson v. Johns et al., 92 Fla. 187, 109 So. 228; State ex rel. Johnson v. City of Sarasota, 92 Fla. 563, 109 So. 473. See also Pierson et al. v. Long, 103 Fla. 383, 137 So. 232; City of Jacksonville v. Bowden, 67 Fla.…
Previewing 3 of 12 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence