On 08/08/17, Board of County Commissioners Chairman Wayne Dukes told the audience that the Trump Administration invited local county commissioners to Washington, D.C. recently to discuss a way to improve business and the economy by reducing the number of laws that constrict free enterprise.
According to Commissioner Steven Champion, one comment that stood out to him during the visit was the Administration’s determination to repeal or remove two old laws for every new law that was being passed.
That was the intention. Champion states that the Administration is currently removing 16 old laws for every new law, a statistic that impressed him. And this is one of the reasons for the recent actions taken by the BOCC in repealing duplicate laws or those that are no longer appropriate.
One example from the 08/08/17 BOCC meeting was the new Ordinance 2017-31. It repealed two laws from the 1970s, Ordinance 71-2 and Ordinance 76-1.
Deputy County Attorney Jon Jouben explained that Ordinance 71-2 was in response to the Woodstock concert in New York and a Rolling Stones concert in Altamonte Springs. No large concerts were ever held in Hernando County, but the County wanted to be prepared in the event there was a request for one.
Ordinance 76-1 was passed due to concerns that carnival or midway games were “fixed.” The Florida Department of Agriculture regulates carnivals, making this duplicate ordinance unnecessary.
Additional outdated or duplicate ordinances will be brought before the BOCC to be repealed as they are identified.