REYNOLDS V. FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

On December 12, 2024, Our Children’s Trust, in partnership with local Florida attorney Mitchell Chester, filed Reynolds v. Florida Public Service Commission on behalf of six youths from Miami-Dade County, asserting their rights to a livable future. Their youth-led constitutional climate suit challenges the Florida Public Service Commission’s (PSC) decades-long rubber stamping of fossil fuel-dependent long-term energy plans—conduct that violates their state constitutional rights to life and to enjoy and defend life.  

WHY CHALLENGE THE FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION?

In Florida, the PSC is the only state agency responsible for long-range energy planning and regulation, statewide. Its systematic approval of utilities’ fossil fuel-dependent 10-Year Site Plans have locked in statewide dependence on gas for decades, exacerbating the climate crisis, endangering the lives of young people across the state and violating their state constitutional rights.   

The legislature has directed the Commission, to “Promote the development of renewable energy; protect the economic viability of Florida’s existing renewable energy facilities; diversify the types of fuel used to generate electricity in Florida; lessen Florida’s dependence on gas and fuel oil for the production of electricity; minimize the volatility of fuel costs; encourage investment within the state; improve environmental conditions; and, at the same time, minimize the costs of power supply to electric utilities and their customers.” 

However, since this legislation was enacted in 2006, gas usage has skyrocketed. Although youth in Florida succeeded in getting a comprehensive statewide renewable energy goal rule established in 2022, the legislature enacted House Bill 1645, effectively repealing the rule. Now, Florida youth are turning to the courts once again to demand protection of their rights.  

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY IS GROUND ZERO FOR CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S.

Florida’s electricity sector alone produces more climate pollution than many countries’ entire economies, including Colombia, a country with nearly 30 million more people than Florida. 

Miami-Dade County, Florida is ground zero for climate change in the continental U.S. Rising temperatures, dangerous heatwaves, extreme storms and flooding events, and rising seas cause damage and destruction to critical infrastructure, hurt the County’s economy, decimate essential ecosystems like coral reefs and the Everglades, and increase infectious diseases like dengue and malaria.  

Climate harms experienced by young Floridians in Miami-Dade County burdens them with a lifetime of hardship and violates their fundamental rights to enjoy and defend life. 

The Commission has the power and a constitutional responsibility to change the trajectory, and it’s not too late. 

WHAT THE YOUTH PLAINTIFFS ARE ASKING FOR:

The six young plaintiffs are seeking a court declaration affirming their constitutional rights to life, urging the court to rule that the Commission’s actions promoting and locking in fossil fuels violate their rights guaranteed under Article I, Section 2 of Florida’s Constitution. 

The youth plaintiffs are represented by Florida attorney Mitchell A. Chester, Law Offices of Mitchell A. Chester, and Our Children’s Trust attorneys Andrea Rodgers, Avi Lipman and David Schwartz. 

YOUTH-LED CLIMATE LITIGATION IN FLORIDA

Our team has a long history of supporting youth in Florida—starting in 2018 when we represented a group of youth in Florida and filed Reynolds v. State of Florida, a lawsuit seeking protection of their constitutional rights to a safe climate, challenging the state’s overall energy system. After that case was dismissed, we supported more than 250 youth petitioning the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to adopt a rule setting renewable energy goals through 2050—the most aggressive goals for any U.S. state—which was granted in 2022. In response to that historic rulemaking, in 2024, the Florida legislature took away FDACS’ statutory authority for the rule and it was subsequently appealed. 

CURRENT STATUS:

After initially filing the case in October 2024, lead plaintiff Delaney Reynolds filed an amended complaint on December 12, 2024, expanding the lawsuit by adding five additional youth plaintiffs from Miami-Dade County, Florida. The youth plaintiffs are now waiting for the Commission to respond to their lawsuit.