State v. Board of Control

66 So. 2d 209, 1953 Fla. LEXIS 1379
Supreme Court of Florida·Decided July 10, 1953·Published·Cited by 25 cases

Opinion

66 So.2d 209 (1953)

STATE et al.
v.
BOARD OF CONTROL.

Supreme Court of Florida, Special Division A.

July 10, 1953.

T.E. Duncan, Gainesville, for appellants.

Richard W. Ervin, Atty. Gen., and Frank J. Heintz, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

MATHEWS, Justice.

This is an appeal by the State from a final decree validating an issue of University of Florida Student Dormitory Revenue Certificates of 1953 in the sum of $1,000,000.

The Board of Control, under the authority of F.S. Chapter 243, F.S.A., adopted the resolution authorizing the certificates to finance the cost of construction of projects consisting of ten small dormitories. Under the terms of the resolution, the certificates are payable solely and exclusively from the net revenue and income to be derived from the projects.

The record shows that the Board of Control took all steps in strict conformity with F.S. Chapter 243, F.S.A. and the petition for validation fully and completely presented all the facts and proceedings for the Circuit Judge to enter a final decree, and the Circuit Judge had jurisdiction of the subject matter and all of the parties necessary for the entry of such decree.

It appears that the State Board of Education of Florida adopted a resolution approving the resolution adopted by the Board of Control, dated January 16, 1953, which is the basic resolution authorizing the certificates of indebtedness. The final decree, after reciting the various steps taken, contained the following:

"10. That the proceedings authorizing the issuance of said revenue certificates by the Board of Control and all proceedings to validate the same have been in strict compliance with all requirements of the Constitution, Statutes, and the Laws of the State of Florida pertaining thereto and that the petitioner is entitled to the relief prayed.
* * * * * *
"(d) That said revenue certificates, issued in conformity with the resolution of the petitioner will be obligations of the Board of Control, payable exclusively from the revenues and funds *210 specifically pledged and provided for that purpose by said resolution, and will not be obligations general, special, or otherwise of the State of Florida, nor debts nor bonds within the meaning of Section 6 of Article IX of the Constitution of the State of Florida, will not be enforceable against the State, nor payment thereof enforceable out of any funds of the petitioner other than the revenues and funds pledged for the benefit of the holders of such revenue certificates; and that neither said certificates nor the resolution of the petitioner pledge, assign, or encumber in any way appropriations made by the Legislature of the State of Florida or revenue derived from the investment of the proceeds of the sale or from the rental of such lands as have been set aside by the legislative enactments of the United States for the use and benefit of any of the State educational institutions; that neither petitioner's said resolution nor the issuance of said certificates in the manner and for the purposes authorized by said resolution is a pledge or loan of the credit of the state to an individual, company, corporation, or association within the meaning of Section 10 of Article IX of the Constitution of the State of Florida, or other law of the State."

The State raised two assignments of error and propounded two questions. Question No. 1 is: Do the provisions of the Board of Control, University of Florida Student Dormitory Revenue Certificates of 1953 and the resolution authorizing the issuance thereof constitute a pledge or loan of the credit of the State to an individual, company, corporation, or association within the meaning of Section 10 of Article IX of the Constitution of the State of Florida, F.S.A., or other laws of the State?

Under question No. 1 the appellants contend:

(a) That the ultimate beneficiaries of financing will be the student living groups. The student living groups are defined as "duly enrolled students at the University of Florida, organized as a group, having a common interest in any university school or course of study or research," and

(b) The revenues which will be used to retire the certificates are to be paid to the Board of Control and secured by these purchase agreements with option to purchase under the terms of the agreement, and that title may ultimately vest in the student living group, should it exercise the right or option to purchase, and

(c) The student living groups will necessarily be private corporations, associations or organizations and are not in any sense public in their creation, purpose or character.

It is the contention of the appellants that although the certificates are issued in the name of the Board of Control, which is a public corporation of the State of Florida, the certificates will, in fact, be used to finance the cost of the construction of small dormitories, the title to which may eventually vest in a private corporation, association or organization in violation of Section 10 of Article IX of the Constitution of Florida.

The fallacy of this argument is the contention that the student living groups will necessarily be private corporations, associations or organizations, or that the financing and erection of such dormitories will serve the interest or purpose of such private corporation, association or organization, or the members thereof.

It is impossible to conceive of a public improvement which will not incidentally benefit some private individual, association or corporation engaged in private enterprise for private gain. The location and construction of courthouses, schools, roads, bridges, colleges and the buildings essential to their operation, are predominantly and primarily for a public purpose and, yet, each of them may be of some benefit to a private individual, association or corporation, engaged in private business for private gain. The mere fact that some one engaged in private business for private gain will be benefited by every public improvement undertaken by the government or a governmental agency, should not and does not deprive such improvement of its public *211 character or detract from the fact that it primarily serves a public purpose. An incidental use or benefit which may be of some private benefit is not the proper test in determining whether or not the project is for a public purpose.

The University of Florida is a public institution. The Board of Control and the State Board of Education are public institutions. From the year 1878 in the case of State ex rel. Attorney General v. Knowles, 16 Fla. 577, this Court has consistently held that such an institution as the University of Florida is a public institution, owned and operated by the State for public purposes and not for private purposes, as contemplated by Section 10 of Article IX of the State Constitution.

It is true that the operation of the University of Florida will serve the purpose of the private individuals who may attend its courses in attaining a higher education but the benefit to the private individual is incidental to the public purpose of producing an intelligent and educated citizenship. The expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars in erecting school buildings throughout the state may be a great benefit to the private pupils who attend the free public schools, or to the owners of private property in the vicinity of such schools, but the real purpose and intent is to serve a public purpose.

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State v. Board of Control, 66 So. 2d 209, 1953 Fla. LEXIS 1379 (Fla. 1953).

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