Because neither Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg nor his employees are law-enforcement officers, they shouldn’t be openly carrying firearms as part of their job duties, outgoing Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office said in an informal, nonbinding opinion.
Greenberg, who has let some of his staff members strap guns to their waists at work, said Friday he disagrees with Bondi because a tax collector is a “revenue officer” and therefore is allowed by state law to openly display firearms.
“There needs to be further clarification on this,” he said. “And I look forward toward working with the new attorney general [Ashley Moody].”
After eight years as the state’s top prosecutor, Bondi’s last day in office is Tuesday. Last month, senior assistant Attorney General Teresa Mussetto responded to Seminole-Brevard State Attorney Phil Archer, who asked if Seminole’s tax collector is a “revenue officer” and therefore “may openly carry a firearm.”
Archer also asked Bondi if a county tax collector and his staff are legally allowed to display badges that are nearly identical to those worn by law-enforcement officers. Mussetto declined to issue an opinion on that matter, saying Archer’s office had already decided that Greenberg didn’t break any laws when he stopped a Sanford woman for speeding while he wore an officer’s badge in December 2017.
But on the issue of Greenberg and his employees openly carrying firearms: Mussetto wrote in her Dec. 17 letter to Archer that a tax collector “is not acting as an authorized law enforcement officer or peace officer in fulfilling his or her duties” and “would not fall within the ‘revenue officer’ exception” in state law. It is generally illegal in Florida — with some exceptions — for the public to openly carry a firearm in public places.”
Archer couldn’t be reached for comment Friday because he was out of town, according to his spokesman, Todd Brown.
“We have received the letter, and it’s under consideration at this time,” Brown said.
In June 2017, Greenberg announced that he would allow his employees to openly carry firearms, particularly those workers who seize property from tax-delinquent businesses. Security officers at some of the tax collector’s branch offices also would carry firearms.
Greenberg at that time had sent a letter to Seminole Sheriff Dennis Lemma and the seven police chiefs in the county to notify them of his new policy. He pointed out that according to state law he and other tax collector employees are considered “revenue officers” and therefore exempt from Florida’s ban on the open carry of firearms while performing their duties.
Greenberg was elected in 2016 after promising to “modernize” Seminole’s tax collector’s office.
Today, only four employees openly carry firearms because they provide security at branch offices, according to Greenberg. He added that he himself no longer openly carries a firearm, because it’s uncomfortable.
“We’re not a paramilitary force here,” he said. “We’re not trying to be police officers. ….And I’m not walking around town with a six-shooter on my hip.”
Greenberg pointed out that since the late 19th century Florida has considered tax collectors as “revenue officers.” He also pointed out that the Governor’s Sterling Award specifically identifies tax collectors as “chief revenue officers.”
Archer asked Bondi to opine on the issues in 2017 after prosecutors said Greenberg turned on white flashing lights on his dark SUV and followed a Sanford woman to the front of her subdivision to tell her to stop speeding while he wore his office badge.
A chief assistant state attorney for Archer’s office wrote in a report that Greenberg didn’t break any laws. Even though Greenberg’s badge “certainly resembles” a law officer’s badge, the report said, his actions did not rise to the level of him pretending to be a law-enforcement officer.
Mussetto said Archer’s office had already decided that Greenberg did not act inappropriately.
“Because you have already determined that the letter of the criminal statutes you enforce has not been violated by the behavior exhibited by the tax collector,” Mussetto wrote to Archer, “this office must decline to address your question regarding the authority of the tax collector to issue such badges to himself and to his staff, and to wear such badges when not engaged in official duties.”
It’s unclear why Bondi’s office decided to issue an opinion nearly a year after Archer’s request.
mcomas@orlandosentinel.com