The Florida Senate

341.835  Acquisition of property; rights-of-way; disposal of land.--

(1)  The authority may purchase, lease, exchange, or otherwise acquire any land, property interests, or buildings or other improvements, including personal property within such buildings or on such lands, necessary to secure or utilize rights-of-way for existing, proposed, or anticipated high-speed rail system facilities.

(2)  Title to any property acquired in the name of the authority shall be administered by the authority under such terms and conditions as the authority may require.

(3)  When the authority acquires property for a high-speed rail system, or any related or ancillary facilities, by purchase or donation, it is not subject to any liability imposed by chapter 376 or chapter 403 for preexisting soil or groundwater contamination due solely to its ownership. This section does not affect the rights or liabilities of any past or future owners of the acquired property, nor does it affect the liability of any governmental entity for the results of its actions which create or exacerbate a pollution source. The authority and the Department of Environmental Protection may enter into interagency agreements for the performance, funding, and reimbursement of the investigative and remedial acts necessary for property acquired by the authority.

(4)  In acquiring property or property rights for any high-speed rail system or related or ancillary facilities, the authority may acquire an entire lot, block, or tract of land if the interests of the public will be best served by such acquisition, even though the entire lot, block, or tract is not immediately needed for the right-of-way proper or for the specific related or ancillary facilities.

(5)  The authority, by resolution, may dispose of any interest in property acquired pursuant to this section on terms and conditions the authority deems appropriate.

(6)  The authority and its employees and agents shall have the right to enter upon properties which may be determined to be necessary for the construction, reconstruction, relocation, maintenance, and operation of a proposed high-speed rail system and associated development and related or ancillary facilities as described in subsection (1) for the purposes of surveying and soil and environmental testing.

(7)  The authority is authorized to accept donations of real property from public or private entities for the purposes of implementing a high-speed rail system.

History.--s. 43, ch. 2002-20.