House Speaker Pro Tempore Wyman Duggan’s bill that would open the door for dedicated counsel for the Duval County School District continues to advance, even though support for the charter change is not universal in the Duval delegation. The Education Administration Committee approved HB 4049, which would give the district its own General Counsel, albeit with limited authority within Jacksonville’s consolidated government, “subject to the opinion” of the city’s General Counsel and subordinate in litigation and contract preparation. The local bill met resistance from the Jacksonville City Council when presented for its approval before the negotiated modification. The controversy that a majority of the City Council couldn’t abide stemmed from whether the School Board could subvert the independent authority of the city’s General Counsel. Republican Rep. Dean Black, conversely, lauded the “fantastic bill” that is supported by a supermajority on the School Board, an elected body which has gone conservative in recent election cycles.