A.G. Gancarski
On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed two bills into law with vastly different ramifications for Jacksonville.
The first, HB 647, amends the Jacksonville city charter to modify the authority of the Civil Service Board, revising the authority of the civil service board to hear appeals, complaints, and grievances.
Rep. Lake Ray‘s bill amends provisions in the charter relating to the civil service board. Because Jacksonville’s Civil Service and Personnel Rules and Regulations have been updated periodically, the bill makes changes to the charter for the purpose of reconciling contradictions between it and the rules and regulations.
The bill amends provisions relating to the duties of the city’s civil service board. It provides that the CSB hears appeals initiated by permanent employees. It also stipulates that the CSB hears and determines appeals concerning disciplinary action that violates the rules and regulations. It extends the body of people who can file complaints to “any person,” extending beyond just employees and prospective employees. It also establishes a threshold of legitimate “grievance” in accordance with traditional meanings of the word, and provides a mechanism to rectify such should it exist.
The second bill, from state Rep. Janet Adkins, is considerably more fun and less grievance driven.
HB 725 provides an exemption to current law to allow kiteboarding and kitesurfing within Huguenot Memorial Park in Jacksonville.
Currently, Florida statute bans kiteboarding and kitesurfing within a mile of the center line of an airport runway. This bill provides an exception to this statute in Huguenot Memorial Park, which is within an area extending one mile from an active airport runway.
The bill, at least in theory, “will generate additional revenue for the City of Jacksonville in the form of increased park fees and will benefit the manufacturers and sellers of sporting equipment by bolstering demand.”
