Bojorquez v. State

From 1976 to 2017, the Public Transportation Commission, issued revocable, non-renewable certificates and permits required to operate taxicabs in Hillsborough County. The Florida Legislature enacted a law in 2012 declaring Commission-issued certificates and permits to be 'private property’ and transferable, but repealed this law in 2017 when it dissolved the Commission. Taxicab companies alleged that the State and County effected a taking of their property without compensation in violation of the Florida Constitution’s Takings Clause under Art. X, § 6(a). The Florida Supreme Court held that while government franchises could sometimes enjoy constitutional protection as contracts and property depending on the terms of the grant, government-granted privileges, licenses, or benefits that are revocable or contingent do not constitute compensable property interests, and thus the State’s repeal of the Commission’s enabling legislation did not effect a constitutional taking.