Fla. Carry, Inc. v. Univ. of N. Fla.

• Decision Date: 10 December 2013
• Docket Number: No. 1D12–2174.,1D12–2174.
• Citation: 133 So.3d 966
• Parties: FLORIDA CARRY, INC., and Alexandria Lainez, Appellants, v. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA, John Delaney, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

133 So.3d 966

FLORIDA CARRY, INC., and Alexandria Lainez, Appellants,

v.UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA, John Delaney, Appellees.

No. 1D12–2174.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,

First District.

Dec. 10, 2013.

Recognized as Unconstitutional

West's F.S.A. § 790.251Eric J. Friday, Lyman T. Fletcher, and Michael R. Phillips of Fletcher & Phillips, Jacksonville, for Appellants.

Paul R. Regensdorf, George E. Schulz, Jr., and Ben Z. Williamson of Holland & Knight, LLP, Jacksonville, for Appellees.

EN BANC

ROBERTS, J.

The appellants, Florida Carry, Inc., and Alexandria Lainez, appeal a final order denying their motion for temporary injunction and a final order granting the motion to dismiss of the appellees, University of North Florida (UNF) and John Delaney. At issue in this case is whether a state university may prohibit the carrying of a securely encased firearm within a motor vehicle that is parked in a university campus parking lot. We hold that the legislature has not delegated its authority under the Florida Constitution to regulate the manner of bearing arms to the state universities and reverse the orders on appeal.

Facts and Procedural History

Section 14.0080P of the policies and regulations adopted by UNF bans the storage of any “weapon or destructive device,” as defined by section 790.001, Florida Statutes (2011), in a vehicle located on UNF property. Section 790.001(6), Florida Statutes (2011), includes firearms in the definition of “weapon or destructive device.” As provided in Section 5.0010R(J) of the Student Conduct Code, UNF may impose sanctions, including suspension and expulsion, upon a student who violates the regulation. In addition, section 5.0010R(J) specifically authorizes a referral to law enforcement for criminal prosecution stating that a student, resident, or commuter found in violation of the regulation “will be subject to arrest and/or discipline in accordance with Florida State Statute and the Student Conduct Code.”

The facts of this case are undisputed. Lainez, a student enrolled at UNF, and Florida Carry, Inc., an organization of gun owners of which Lainez is a member, filed a lawsuit to challenge UNF's regulation. The complaint alleged that Lainez desires to carry a firearm while traveling to and from school as a lawful method of self-defense and that she wishes to store the firearm in her vehicle while on campus. The complaint argued that UNF had no authority to adopt the regulation in question because the Florida legislature had expressly preempted the entire field of firearms regulation in section 790.33(1), Florida Statutes (2011). The complaint sought an award of damages or, in the alternative, a statutory fine, a declaration that UNF's regulation was invalid, and an injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the regulation. The appellants also sought a temporary injunction during the pendency of the case to prevent the enforcement of any UNF rules or regulations regarding the otherwise lawful possession of a weapon or firearm in a vehicle and to prevent the punishment of any student for the same.

The appellees moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that UNF was authorized to regulate firearms possession and storage on school property in accordance with section 790.115, Florida Statutes (2011). UNF maintained that the regulation was authorized under section 790.115(2)(a) 3., Florida Statutes (2011), which provides that firearms may not be possessed on school property except when securely encased in a vehicle, but that “school districts” may adopt policies to waive the secure encasement exception. The appellants countered that UNF was not a “school district;” therefore, it was not authorized to waive the exception and prohibit firearms in vehicles on its campus.

After hearings on the motions, the trial court denied the appellants' motion for temporary injunction and granted the appellees' motion to dismiss. The trial court reasoned that applying the appellants' definition of “school district” to section 790.115 would permit only public schools to regulate firearms on their property and frustrate the clearly expressed intent of the legislature to cover all schools as the term “school” was broadly defined in section 790.115(2)(a).

On appeal, the appellants argue: (1) that the legislature clearly intended to preempt regulation of firearms by any other agency or subdivision of the state; (2) that the legislature has determined it is lawful to carry a weapon or firearm securely encased in a vehicle and that right should be liberally construed; and (3) that the legislature has not granted any affirmative authority to UNF to waive the secure encasement provision in section 790.115(2)(a) 3. We agree with the appellants' arguments.

Prior to oral argument, this court, through the three-judge panel, ordered the parties to be prepared to address the following questions:

1. Does a state university have independent authority under Article IX, section 7 of the Florida Constitution as interpreted in [Graham v. Haridopolos, 108 So.3d 597 (Fla.2013),] and NAACP, Inc. v. Florida Board of Regents, 876 So.2d 636 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004), to adopt a noncriminal policy or regulation concerning the possession of firearms on campus, irrespective of any right it may have under section 790.115(2)(a) 3., Florida Statutes, to waive the exception that would allow a student to possess a firearm in a vehicle?

2. Does the University of North Florida qualify as a “local or state government” such that its policies and regulations could be preempted by section 790.33, Florida Statutes?

3. Does the provision of the student handbook at issue in this case qualify as an “ordinance,” “rule,” or “administrative regulation” within the meaning of section 790.33, Florida Statutes?

The panel then requested supplemental briefing from the parties on the questions above.

Analysis

I. Section 790.115, Florida Statutes

We first emphasize that the only legal question presented, argued, and decided by the trial court was whether section 790.115 allowed UNF to prohibit a student, who was otherwise lawfully able to possess a firearm, from keeping said firearm securely encased in her vehicle in a campus parking lot. In its answer brief before this court, UNF advanced only its views regarding the interpretation of section 790.115.

The legislature has provided that a person shall not possess a firearm on school property unless part of a school-sponsored event. See§ 790.115(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2011). This section defines “school” broadly to encompass preschool and elementary through secondary schools as well as career centers and post-secondary schools, whether public or private. See id. Importantly, the legislature also provided exceptions to this general prohibition. See§ 790.115(2)(a) 1.–3., Fla. Stat. (2011). Namely, that a person may carry a firearm in a vehicle pursuant to section 790.25(5), Florida Statutes (2011), which provides that a firearm may be kept in a private conveyance as long as it is securely encased. The provisions of section 790.25 authorizing the carrying of securely encased firearms in private conveyances as well as other lawful carrying of firearms “shall be liberally construed to carry out the declaration of policy herein and in favor of the constitutional right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes.” § 790.25(4), Fla. Stat. (2011).

While it provides an exception to the general prohibition, section 790.115(2)(a) 3. also contains a waiver provision providing that “school districts may adopt written and published policies that waive the exception in this subparagraph for purposes of student and campus parking privileges.” § 790.115(2)(a) 3., Fla. Stat. (2011). The statute clearly grants school districts the power to waive the exception—not colleges or universities. UNF attempted to exercise this waiver in adopting the operative regulation; however, UNF is not a “school district.” Section 790.115 only uses the term “school district” once; outside of subsection 790.115(2)(a)3., the statute uses the word “school” alone. UNF, as a public post-secondary school, falls within the definition of a “school” in section 790.115(2)(a), but that does not mean that it also falls within the definition of “school district,” a term that is not defined in section 790.115.

Where the legislature has not defined the words used in a statute, the language should be given its “plain and ordinary meaning.” See Sch. Bd. of Palm Beach Cnty. v. Survivors Charter Sch., Inc., 3 So.3d 1220, 1233 (Fla.2009) (quoting Fla. Birth–Related Neurological Injury Comp. Ass'n v. Fla. Div. of Admin. Hearings, 686 So.2d 1349, 1354 (Fla.1997)). The appellees contend that the legislature intended “school districts” to be interpreted broadly to include a state university board of trustees. Such a construction is contrary to the plain and ordinary meaningof “school district” as it is used in the Florida Constitution and statutes.

Article IX, section 4, of the Florida Constitution provides:

(a) Each county shall constitute a school district.... In each school district there shall be a school board composed of five or more members chosen by vote of the electors in a nonpartisan election for appropriately staggered terms of four years, as provided by law.

(b) The school board shall operate, control and supervise all free public schools within the school district and determine the rate of school district taxes within the limits prescribed herein....

Florida's K–20 Education Code, Chapters 1000–1013, Florida Statutes (2011), sets forth the governing structure of Florida's various educational entities. Significantly here, School District Governance (Chapter 1001, Part II, Florida Statutes (2011)) is separate, by statute, from State Universities (Chapter 1001, Part IV, Florida Statutes (2011)). The provisions concerning School District Governance provide that each county constitutes a school district, that the district school system shall include all...