Florida Statutes
Fla. Stat. § 175.021 (2025)
Legislative declaration.
✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
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175.021 Legislative declaration.—
(1) It is hereby declared by the Legislature that firefighters perform state and municipal functions; that it is their duty to extinguish fires, to protect life, and to protect property at their own risk and peril; that it is their duty to prevent conflagration and to continuously instruct school personnel, public officials, and private citizens in the prevention of fires and firesafety; that they protect both life and property from local emergencies as defined in s. 252.34; and that their activities are vital to the public safety. It is further declared that firefighters employed by special fire control districts serve under the same circumstances and perform the same duties as firefighters employed by municipalities and should therefore be entitled to the benefits available under this chapter. Therefore, the Legislature declares that it is a proper and legitimate state purpose to provide a uniform retirement system for the benefit of firefighters and intends, in implementing the provisions of s. 14, Art. X of the State Constitution as they relate to municipal and special district firefighters’ pension trust fund systems and plans, that such retirement systems or plans be managed, administered, operated, and funded in such manner as to maximize the protection of the firefighters’ pension trust funds. Pursuant to s. 18, Art. VII of the State Constitution, the Legislature hereby determines and declares that this act fulfills an important state interest.
(2) This chapter hereby establishes, for all municipal and special district pension plans existing under this chapter, including chapter plans and local law plans, minimum benefits and minimum standards for the operation and funding of such plans, hereinafter referred to as firefighters’ pension trust funds, which must be met as conditions precedent to the plan or plan sponsor’s receiving a distribution of insurance premium tax revenues under s. 175.121. Minimum benefits and minimum standards for each plan may not be diminished by local charter, ordinance, or resolution or by special act of the Legislature and may not be reduced or offset by any other local, state, or federal law that includes firefighters in its operation, except as provided under s. 112.65.
History.—s. 1, ch. 63-249; s. 1, ch. 79-380; s. 7, ch. 83-334; s. 1, ch. 86-41; s. 12, ch. 93-193; s. 1, ch. 99-1; s. 65, ch. 99-2; s. 58, ch. 2011-142; s. 1, ch. 2015-39.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4
cases, 1987–2012 · leading case: Florida League of Cities, Inc. v. Dep't of Ins. & Treasurer, 540 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989).
Florida League of Cities, Inc. v. Dep't of Ins. & Treasurer, 540 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). “§ 175.021, Fla. Stat. (1986 Supp.). Accordingly, the Department promulgated the proposed rules to implement this new construction of chapter 175.”
Kilpatrick v. Sklar, 548 So. 2d 215 (Fla. 1989). “, §§ 175.021, 185.01, 321.15, 440.091, Fla.”
Artz v. City of Tampa, 102 So. 3d 747 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012). “1st DCA 1989) (defining local law plans, such as Tampa’s, as plans created by special act of the legislature or by municipal ordinance); see also §§ 175.021, et seq, 185.01, et seq., Fla.”
Florida League of Cities v. Dep't of Ins. & Treasurer, 25 Fla. Supp. 2d 221 (Fla. Div. Admin. Hr'g 1987). “In *229 carrying out this responsibility, the Department argues persuasively that it was guided by Section 175.021, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 86-41, Laws of Florida: .”
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