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State Rep. Dick Kravitz (R-Orange Park) was presented with the Defender of Home Rule award Thursday by the Florida Association of Counties for his efforts to protect home rule through the recent state budget and tax process in the legislature.
Kravitz was recognized for showing leadership in the Florida House on behalf of citizens hoping to keep appropriate authority at the level of government closest to the people, said Teresa Jacobs, Florida Association of Counties president and Orange County Commissioner.
“Protecting local control is critical to preserving the power of citizens to affect change within their community,” said Jacobs in a release. “Rep. Kravitz showed repeatedly his commitment to protecting the government closest to the people.”
The Association of Counties reported that Kravitz consistently supported the local decision of Clay, Duval and St. Johns counties and was one of the primary voices for preserving fiscal home rule and opposing one-size-fits-all solutions during the first session of the property tax debate.
“With such a diverse state as ours, we must recognize that every county does not share the same economic, political or social goals,” said Kravitz. “By allowing each county to be responsible for their own destiny, we are not only being true to the ideals of home rule, but we are recognizing the wide degree of differences that are inherent among each county.”
In the second special session in June, Kravitz continued his support for local autonomy in the budget process and flexible override mechanisms for counties and other local governments. He successfully sponsored an amendment that provided reasonable override measures for counties and other local governments with governing boards consisting of greater than nine members.
During the fourth special session in October, Kravitz was the primary advocate for protecting fiscal home rule and led the challenge to the proposed constitutional amendment that would have granted the legislature absolute control over local government millage rates.
Kravitz was also the sponsor of a floor amendment in the house that deleted that provision from the proposed house plan. It was adopted unanimously without objection.
Last year, Kravitz worked to protect home rule powers during discussions of state expansions in eminent domain law.
“As a long-time elected county official, I cannot go back on the fundamental ideals and policies that I grew up with,” he said. “Home rule and local decision making are at the root of a representative democracy style of government that is imbedded in not only the history of our state, but of our nation as well.”
Founded in 1929, the Florida Association of Counties is a non-profit organization representing the diverse interests of Florida’s 67 counties. Since 1998, the Florida Association of Counties County Commissioners Voluntary Certification program has trained 196 county commissioners on the complexities of county government and public.