Senate Bill 0144c1

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 144

    By the Committee on Transportation and Senator Hargrett





    306-1644-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Murphy Act lands; amending

  3         s. 253.82, F.S.; providing for conveyance of

  4         all Murphy Act transportation easements to the

  5         governmental entity currently having title to

  6         the adjacent roadway; requiring the

  7         establishment of a procedure for review of

  8         deeds containing Murphy Act transportation

  9         reservations; setting requirements for the

10         review process; providing for compensation of

11         certain property owners if the reservation

12         denies the property owner the current economic

13         use of the property; amending s. 712.04, F.S.;

14         providing for reservations of easements in

15         deeds by the Board of Trustees of the Internal

16         Improvement Trust Fund to be extinguished on a

17         specified date, subject to certain limitations;

18         amending s. 712.05, F.S.; providing procedures

19         by which a governmental entity may preserve a

20         road reservation; requiring notice; providing

21         an effective date.

22

23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

24

25         Section 1.  Subsection (6) is added to section 253.82,

26  Florida Statutes, to read:

27         253.82  Title of state or private owners to Murphy Act

28  lands.--

29         (6)(a)  All reservations of easements on deeds by the

30  Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund

31  conveying land acquired under chapter 18296, Laws of Florida,

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 144
    306-1644-99




  1  1937, are hereby vested by operation of law and without the

  2  necessity of instruments of conveyance from the Board of

  3  Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, in the

  4  governmental entity having right and title to the road to

  5  which the reservations are adjacent. All reservations adjacent

  6  to a road that was designated as a state road at the time of

  7  the reservation and which road is currently held by the state

  8  are conveyed to the Department of Transportation. All

  9  reservations adjacent to a road that was designated as a state

10  road at the time of the reservation and which is not held by

11  the state and which is located in an unincorporated area of a

12  county or on a road held by the county within any incorporated

13  area are conveyed to the respective counties. All other

14  reservations within incorporated areas adjacent to a road that

15  was designated as a state road at the time of the reservation

16  and which are not otherwise conveyed to the state or the

17  county are conveyed to the incorporated area. The conveyance

18  includes all right, title, and interests in the reservation

19  held by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement

20  Trust Fund.

21         (b)  Every entity holding title to Murphy Act

22  reservations must establish a procedure for review of any deed

23  containing a reservation when a review is requested or a road

24  project is anticipated. The review process must provide for:

25         1.  A determination of whether the language of the deed

26  created a reservation at the time of the original conveyance.

27         2.  Review of any release of the reservation provided

28  by the property owner.

29         3.  The recording of a notice of the nonexistence of a

30  reservation if reservation language in the deed does not

31  impact the property.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 144
    306-1644-99




  1         4.  A determination of whether any or all of the

  2  reservation may be released, and a form for recording the

  3  release.

  4         5.  A process to allow for review through mediation if

  5  requested by the property owner or through binding arbitration

  6  pursuant to the process in chapter 44.

  7         6.  Any administrative fee charged not to exceed the

  8  actual cost to review the deed, perform an appeal, and pay for

  9  any recording expenses, with no administrative fee to exceed

10  $300.

11         (c)1.  Any owner of property encumbered by a Murphy Act

12  reservation who has been denied a release pursuant to this

13  section of all or part of the reservation or who has received

14  notice of a governmental entity's intent to preserve the

15  reservation under s. 712.05, may appeal to the entity and show

16  that the reservation substantially denies the property owner

17  the current economic use of the property held by the owner.

18  For purposes of this determination, the term "current economic

19  use" means the use of the property on the date notice of the

20  easement is filed under s. 712.05 or, if notice has not been

21  received, upon the date the property owner applies for release

22  of the easement.

23         2.  Upon a determination by the governmental entity

24  that the reservation substantially denies the property owner

25  the current economic use of the property held by the owner,

26  the entity must purchase the real property and improvements

27  not retained by the property owner in fee simple title or

28  release all or part of the reservation as necessary to allow

29  for the current economic use of the property.

30         3.  Where the governmental entity and the property

31  owner are unable to agree as to whether the reservation

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 144
    306-1644-99




  1  substantially denies the current economic use of the property

  2  or as to the purchase price, the property owner may request

  3  mediation, and, if mediation is unsuccessful, the property

  4  owner may demand binding arbitration pursuant to the process

  5  in chapter 44 to resolve these issues.

  6         4.  Prior to the payment of any compensation, the

  7  property owner must provide the governmental entity copies of

  8  any title insurance policies and notice of any compensation

  9  received from a title company related to the easement, and the

10  amount of any compensation received or due as a result of such

11  title insurance policies shall be offset against the amount of

12  compensation paid by the governmental entity.

13         (d)  The process for release of any reservation covered

14  by this section or payment for property impacted by the use of

15  a reservation covered by this section shall be solely in

16  accordance with this section. Any action for the condemnation

17  or inverse condemnation of property related to road

18  construction is separate and distinct from any proceedings

19  pursuant to this section.

20         (e)  The governmental entity is not liable for

21  attorney's fees or costs incurred by the owner in establishing

22  substantial denial of the current economic use or in

23  establishing the purchase price of the property.

24         Section 2.  Section 712.04, Florida Statutes, is

25  amended to read:

26         712.04  Interests extinguished by marketable record

27  title.--Subject to the matters stated in s. 712.03, such

28  marketable record title shall be free and clear of all

29  estates, interests, claims, or charges whatsoever, the

30  existence of which depends upon any act, title transaction,

31  event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 144
    306-1644-99




  1  the root of title.  All such estates, interests, claims, or

  2  charges, however denominated, whether such estates, interests,

  3  claims, or charges are or appear to be held or asserted by a

  4  person sui juris or under a disability, whether such person is

  5  within or without the state, whether such person is natural or

  6  corporate, or is private or governmental, are hereby declared

  7  to be null and void, except that this chapter shall not be

  8  deemed to affect any right, title, or interest of the United

  9  States, Florida, or any of its officers, boards, commissions,

10  or other agencies reserved in the patent or deed by which the

11  United States, Florida, or any of its agencies parted with

12  title. However, all reservations of easements in deeds by the

13  Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund

14  conveying land acquired under chapter 18296, Laws of Florida,

15  1937, and not preserved in accordance with s. 712.05(3), shall

16  be extinguished by the Marketable Record Title Act on July 1,

17  2002, subject to the matters under s. 712.03, and further

18  subject to the right of any governmental entity holding title

19  to the reservations to preserve such reservations that are

20  necessary for future transportation projects in adopted

21  transportation plans by filing notice under s. 712.05(3),

22  before July 1, 2002.

23         Section 3.  Subsection (3) is added to section 712.05,

24  Florida Statutes, to read:

25         712.05  Effect of filing notice.--

26         (3)  Any governmental entity claiming a road

27  reservation pursuant to a deed conveyed pursuant to the Murphy

28  Act may preserve the reservation or any portion thereof

29  necessary for future transportation projects in adopted

30  transportation plans and protect it from extinguishment by the

31  operation of this chapter by filing for the record, prior to

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    Florida Senate - 1999                            CS for SB 144
    306-1644-99




  1  July 1, 2002, a notice, in writing, in accordance with the

  2  provisions of this chapter. The notice will have the effect of

  3  preserving the reservation or portion thereof for a period of

  4  10 years if, prior to the end of the 10 years, the reservation

  5  is used or identified by the governmental entity in the plans

  6  of a road project scheduled for construction to begin prior to

  7  the end of the 10 years. Any reservation used or identified in

  8  the final design plans of a road project scheduled for

  9  construction to begin before the end of the 10 years is not

10  extinguished.

11         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

12  law.

13

14          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
15                             SB 0144

16

17  The committee substitute provides the term "current economic
    use" means the use of the property on the date notice of the
18  easement is filed under s. 712.05, F.S., or, if notice has not
    been received, upon the date the property owner applies for
19  release of the easement.  The CS provides that if voluntary
    mediation between the property owner and the governmental
20  entity is unsuccessful the property owner may demand binding
    arbitration pursuant to the process in chapter 44, F.S. The CS
21  further provides that the amount of any compensation received
    or due as a result of title insurance policies shall be offset
22  against the amount of compensation paid by the governmental
    entity.
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