House Bill 2373

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 2373

        By the Committee on Environmental Protection and
    Representatives Dockery, Putnam, Constantine and Alexander





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to land management costs;

  3         amending s. 259.032, F.S., relating to the

  4         Conservation and Recreation Lands Program;

  5         providing additional requirements for land

  6         management plans; modifying categories of land

  7         management needs; requiring land management

  8         agencies to demonstrate contributions to

  9         performance measures; creating s. 259.037,

10         F.S.; creating the Land Management Uniform

11         Accounting Council; providing membership;

12         providing duties and responsibilities relating

13         to review and categorization of land management

14         activities, needs, and costs; providing for

15         accounting procedures; requiring reports;

16         providing an effective date.

17

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

19

20         Section 1.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (10) and

21  paragraph (c) of subsection (11) of section 259.032, Florida

22  Statutes, are amended to read:

23         259.032  Conservation and Recreation Lands Trust Fund;

24  purpose.--

25         (10)

26         (e)  Individual management plans shall conform to the

27  appropriate policies and guidelines of the state land

28  management plan and shall include, but not be limited to:

29         1.  A statement of the purpose for which the lands were

30  acquired, the projected use or uses as defined in s. 253.034,

31  and the statutory authority for such use or uses.

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  1         2.  Key management activities necessary to preserve and

  2  protect natural resources and restore habitat, and for

  3  controlling the spread of nonnative plants and animals, and

  4  for prescribed fire and other appropriate resource management

  5  activities.

  6         3.  A specific description of how the managing agency

  7  plans to identify, locate, protect, and preserve, or otherwise

  8  use fragile, nonrenewable natural and cultural resources.

  9         4.  A priority schedule for conducting management

10  activities, based on the purposes for which the lands were

11  acquired and on the categories adopted by the Land Management

12  Uniform Accounting Council pursuant to s. 259.037.

13         5.  A cost estimate for conducting priority management

14  activities, to include recommendations for cost-effective

15  methods of accomplishing those activities, based on the

16  categories adopted by the Land Management Uniform Accounting

17  Council pursuant to s. 259.037.

18         6.  A cost estimate for conducting other management

19  activities which would enhance the natural resource value or

20  public recreation value for which the lands were acquired,

21  based on the categories adopted by the Land Management Uniform

22  Accounting Council pursuant to s. 259.037. The cost estimate

23  shall include recommendations for cost-effective methods of

24  accomplishing those activities.

25         7.  A determination of the public uses and public

26  access that would be consistent with the purposes for which

27  the lands were acquired.

28

29  By July 1 of each year, each governmental agency, including

30  the water management districts, and each private entity

31  designated to manage lands shall report to the Secretary of

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  1  Environmental Protection on the progress of funding, staffing,

  2  and resource management of every project for which the agency

  3  or entity is responsible.

  4         (11)

  5         (c)  Due to limited resources for management of

  6  state-owned lands and the possible deterioration to the

  7  natural resource values and capital investments on state lands

  8  through inadequate management of lands, in requesting funds

  9  provided for in paragraph (b), state agencies shall prioritize

10  for immediate, intermediate, and long-term management of all

11  acquisitions pursuant to this chapter and for associated

12  contractual services.  When prioritizing management

13  activities, agencies shall consider routine and special

14  one-time management needs., The managing agencies shall

15  recognize the following categories of land management needs:

16         1.  Immediate land management needs, within 1 to 2

17  years, to prevent the threat of significant loss of natural

18  resource values or significant increases in repair costs to

19  capital facilities.

20         2.  Intermediate land management needs, within 3 to 4

21  years, to prevent the threat of loss of natural resource

22  values or the increase in repair costs to capital facilities.

23         3.  Long-term land management needs, within 5 to 6

24  years, to prevent the eventual threat of loss of natural

25  resource values or the increase in repair costs to capital

26  facilities.

27         1.  Lands which are low-need tracts, requiring basic

28  resource management and protection, such as state reserves,

29  state preserves, state forests, and wildlife management areas.

30  These lands generally are open to the public but have no more

31  than minimum facilities development.

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  1         2.  Lands which are moderate-need tracts, requiring

  2  more than basic resource management and protection, such as

  3  state parks and state recreation areas.  These lands generally

  4  have extra restoration or protection needs, higher

  5  concentrations of public use, or more highly developed

  6  facilities.

  7         3.  Lands which are high-need tracts, with identified

  8  needs requiring unique site-specific resource management and

  9  protection. These lands generally are sites with historic

10  significance, unique natural features, or very high intensity

11  public use, or sites that require extra funds to stabilize or

12  protect resources, such as lands with heavy infestations of

13  nonnative, invasive plants.

14

15  In evaluating the management funding needs of lands based on

16  the above categories, the lead land managing agencies shall

17  include in their considerations the impacts of, and needs

18  created or addressed by, multiple-use management strategies.

19  Land management agencies shall demonstrate how land management

20  activities are contributing to meeting of performance measures

21  developed pursuant to s. 259.0345(7)(c).

22         Section 2.  Section 259.037, Florida Statutes, is

23  created to read:

24         259.037  Land Management Uniform Accounting Council.--

25         (1)  The Land Management Uniform Accounting Council is

26  created within the Department of Environmental Protection and

27  shall consist of the director of the Division of State Lands,

28  the director of the Division of Recreation and Parks, the

29  director of the Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas,

30  and the director of the Office of Greenways and Trails of the

31  Department of Environmental Protection; the director of the

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  1  Division of Forestry of the Department of Agriculture and

  2  Consumer Services; the executive director of the Fish and

  3  Wildlife Conservation Commission; and the director of the

  4  Division of Historial Resources of the Department of State, or

  5  their respective designees.  Each state agency represented on

  6  the council shall have one vote.  The chair of the council

  7  shall rotate annually in the foregoing order of state

  8  agencies.  The agency of the representative serving as chair

  9  of the council shall provide staff support for the council.

10  The Division of State Lands shall serve as the recipient of

11  and repository for the council's documents.  The council shall

12  meet initially by May 20, 2000, and thereafter at the request

13  of the chair.

14         (2)  The Auditor General and the director of the Office

15  of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, or

16  their designees, shall advise the council to ensure that

17  appropriate accounting procedures are utilized and that a

18  uniform method of collecting and reporting accurate costs of

19  land management activities are created and can be used by all

20  agencies.

21         (3)  The council shall, by June 20, 2000, review

22  current land management practices and group closely related

23  land management activities and needs into categories.  All

24  land management activities and costs must be assigned to a

25  specific category, and any single activity or cost may not be

26  assigned to more than one category.  Administrative costs,

27  such as planning or training, shall be segregated from other

28  management activities.  Specific management activities and

29  costs must be grouped, at a minimum, within the following

30  categories:

31         (a)  Resource management.

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  1         (b)  Administration.

  2         (c)  New facility construction.

  3         (d)  Facility maintenance.

  4

  5  Upon adoption of a complete list of land management categories

  6  by the council, agencies assigned to manage conservation or

  7  recreation lands shall, on July 1, 2000, begin to account for

  8  land management costs in accordance with the category to which

  9  an expenditure is assigned.

10         (4)  The council shall provide its adopted list of land

11  management categories to the Governor, the Board of Trustees

12  of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, the President of the

13  Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the

14  Acquisition and Restoration Council by July 1, 2000.

15         (5)  The council shall report agencies' expenditures

16  pursuant to the adopted categories to the President of the

17  Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives

18  annually, beginning July 1, 2001.  The council shall also

19  provide this report to the Acquisition and Restoration Council

20  for inclusion in its annual report required pursuant to s.

21  259.105.

22         (6)  Should the council determine that the list of land

23  management categories needs to be revised, it shall meet upon

24  the call of the chair.

25         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

26  law.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000                HB 2373

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  2                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  3
      Provides additional requirements for land management
  4    plans for lands acquired under the Conservation and
      Recreation Lands Program. Modifies categories of land
  5    management needs for purposes of allocation of resources.
      Requires land management agencies to demonstrate land
  6    management activity contributions to meeting performance
      measures. Creates the Land Management Uniform Accounting
  7    Council to review current land management practices under
      the program and categorize land management activities,
  8    needs, and costs. Provides for uniform procedures for
      cost accounting and reporting. Requires annual reports of
  9    land management agencies' expenditures beginning July 1,
      2001.
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