Franklin County, FL Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopting ordinance
- Ord. No. 2024-03 (5-21-24)
- Banned items
- Smoking, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes, vaping devices
- Covers
- Building interiors and outside stairs of county facilities
- Enforcement
- County coordinator warning, then trespass by law enforcement
- Scope
- County-owned, controlled or leased property only
Summary
Franklin County prohibits smoking, chewing tobacco, and using an e-cigarette or vaping device, or carrying a lit pipe, cigar or cigarette, inside any building or on the grounds the county owns, controls or leases, including the stairs outside those buildings. Violators can be ordered to leave and treated as trespassers if they refuse.
In addition, the following conduct is prohibited within any facility owned controlled or leased by Franklin County: ... c.Smoking, chewing tobacco, use of e-cigarette or vaping device or carrying any lighted or smoldering pipe, cigar or cigarette.
Full Breakdown
5, Article VI, added by Ord. No. ' Subsection c bars smoking, chewing tobacco, and the use of an e-cigarette or vaping device, as well as carrying any lighted or smoldering pipe, cigar or cigarette. The same list separately prohibits laying down or sleeping 'in chairs, benches, elevators or stairs, including the stairs outside any county owned, controlled or leased facility' under subsection j, showing the article's reach extends past building interiors to the immediate outdoor grounds of county property, such as courthouse annex steps and county office entrances.
County facilities covered include the commission offices at 34 Forbes Street in Apalachicola and any building used by the county's five constitutional officers. 09. This is a facility-specific ban tied to county-owned property, not a county-wide outdoor smoking ordinance covering parks, beaches or private patios generally.
Violations & Fines
Smoking or vaping inside or on the grounds of a county-owned, controlled or leased facility violates § 5.5-75(9)c. A person who refuses to stop after a warning is deemed a disruption to county business under § 5.5-75(4)-(5) and can be ordered off the property; continued refusal makes the person a trespasser subject to a trespass warning notice or removal by law enforcement under F.S. §§ 810.08 and 810.09.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke outside the Franklin County courthouse annex on the steps?
Does this smoking ban cover county parks and public beaches generally?
What happens if I refuse to stop smoking after being warned?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Franklin County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Franklin County to another location·View the Florida public conduct overview
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