House Bill hb0749e1

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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to state lands; amending s.

  3         253.002, F.S.; providing for certain duties of

  4         the Department of Agriculture and Consumer

  5         Services; amending s. 253.01, F.S.; revising

  6         the use of funds deposited into the Internal

  7         Improvement Trust Fund; deleting obsolete

  8         language; amending s. 253.02, F.S.; effective

  9         January 7, 2003, revising the membership of the

10         Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement

11         Trust Fund to conform to the requirements of

12         the State Constitution; amending s. 253.03,

13         F.S.; revising conditions under which the Board

14         of Trustees of the Internal Improvement trust

15         Fund is vested and charged with certain

16         responsibilities for current and future

17         state-owned lands to delete duplicative

18         language; amending s. 201.15, F.S; providing an

19         appropriation to the Conservation and

20         Recreation Lands Program Trust Fund beginning

21         in fiscal year 2003-2004; amending s. 570.207,

22         F.S. authorizing the department's use of funds

23         deposited into the Conservation and Recreation

24         Lands Program Trust Fund; amending s. 570.70,

25         F.S.; providing conclusions of a study

26         conducted by the department; providing

27         effective dates.

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

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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1         Section 1.  Section 253.002, Florida Statutes, is

  2  amended to read:

  3         253.002  Department of Environmental Protection, water

  4  management districts, and Department of Agriculture and

  5  Consumer Services; duties with respect to state lands.--

  6         (1)  The Department of Environmental Protection shall

  7  perform all staff duties and functions related to the

  8  acquisition, administration, and disposition of state lands,

  9  title to which is or will be vested in the Board of Trustees

10  of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. However, upon the

11  effective date of rules adopted pursuant to s. 373.427, a

12  water management district created under s. 373.069 shall

13  perform the staff duties and functions related to the review

14  of any application for authorization to use board of

15  trustees-owned submerged lands necessary for an activity

16  regulated under part IV of chapter 373 for which the water

17  management district has permitting responsibility as set forth

18  in an operating agreement adopted pursuant to s. 373.046(4).;

19  and effective July 1, 2000, the Department of Agriculture and

20  Consumer Services shall perform the staff duties and functions

21  related to the review of applications and compliance with

22  lease conditions for use of board of trustees-owned submerged

23  lands under leases issued pursuant to ss. 253.67-253.75 and

24  597.010. Unless expressly prohibited by law, the board of

25  trustees may delegate to the department any statutory duty or

26  obligation relating to the acquisition, administration, or

27  disposition of lands, title to which is or will be vested in

28  the board of trustees. The board of trustees may also delegate

29  to any water management district created under s. 373.069 the

30  authority to take final agency action, without any action on

31  behalf of the board, on applications for authorization to use


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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1  board of trustees-owned submerged lands for any activity

  2  regulated under part IV of chapter 373 for which the water

  3  management district has permitting responsibility as set forth

  4  in an operating agreement adopted pursuant to s. 373.046(4).

  5  This water management district responsibility under this

  6  subsection shall be subject to the department's general

  7  supervisory authority pursuant to s. 373.026(7).

  8         (2)  The Department of Agriculture and Consumer

  9  Services shall perform the staff duties and functions related

10  to the review of applications and compliance with lease

11  conditions for use of board of trustees-owned submerged lands

12  under leases issued pursuant to ss. 253.67-253.75 and 597.010.

13  The board of trustees may also delegate to the Department of

14  Agriculture and Consumer Services the authority to take final

15  agency action on behalf of the board on applications to use

16  board of trustees-owned submerged lands for any activity for

17  which that department has responsibility pursuant to ss.

18  253.67-253.75 and 597.010. However, the board of trustees

19  shall retain the authority to take final agency action on

20  establishing any areas for leasing, new leases, expanding

21  existing lease areas, or changing the type of lease activity

22  in existing leases. Upon issuance of an aquaculture lease or

23  other real property transaction relating to aquaculture, the

24  Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services must send a

25  copy of the document and the accompanying survey to the

26  Department of Environmental Protection.

27         (3)(2)  Delegations to the department, or a water

28  management district, or the Department of Agriculture and

29  Consumer Services of authority to take final agency action on

30  applications for authorization to use submerged lands owned by

31  the board of trustees, without any action on behalf of the


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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1  board of trustees, shall be by rule. Until rules adopted

  2  pursuant to this subsection become effective, existing

  3  delegations by the board of trustees shall remain in full

  4  force and effect. However, the board of trustees is not

  5  limited or prohibited from amending these delegations. The

  6  board of trustees shall adopt by rule any delegations of its

  7  authority to take final agency action without action by the

  8  board of trustees on applications for authorization to use

  9  board of trustees-owned submerged lands. Any final agency

10  action, without action by the board of trustees, taken by the

11  department, or a water management district, or the Department

12  of Agriculture and Consumer Services on applications to use

13  board of trustees-owned submerged lands shall be subject to

14  the provisions of s. 373.4275. Notwithstanding any other

15  provision of this subsection, the board of trustees, the

16  Department of Legal Affairs, and the department retain the

17  concurrent authority to assert or defend title to submerged

18  lands owned by the board of trustees.

19         Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 253.01, Florida

20  Statutes, is amended to read:

21         253.01  Internal Improvement Trust Fund established.--

22         (2)(a)  All revenues accruing from sources designated

23  by law for deposit in the Internal Improvement Trust Fund

24  shall be used for the acquisition, management, administration,

25  protection, and conservation of state-owned lands.

26         (b)  For the 2001-2002 fiscal year only, the use of

27  funds allocated to the Internal Improvement Trust Fund shall

28  be as provided in the General Appropriations Act. This

29  paragraph expires July 1, 2002.

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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1         Section 3.  Effective January 7, 2003, subsections (1)

  2  and (2) of section 253.02, Florida Statutes, are amended to

  3  read:

  4         253.02  Board of trustees; powers and duties.--

  5         (1)  For the purpose of assuring the proper application

  6  of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund and the Land

  7  Acquisition Trust Fund for the purposes of this chapter, the

  8  land provided for in ss. 253.01 and 253.03, and all the funds

  9  arising from the sale, transfer, or exchange thereof, after

10  paying the necessary expense of selection, management, and

11  sale, are irrevocably vested in a board of four seven

12  trustees, to wit: The Governor, the Chief Financial Officer

13  the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Comptroller,

14  the State Treasurer, the Commissioner of Education, and the

15  Commissioner of Agriculture and their successors in office, to

16  hold the same in trust for the uses and purposes provided in

17  this chapter, with the power to sell, transfer, or exchange

18  said lands and receive payment for the same, and invest the

19  surplus moneys arising therefrom, from time to time, in stocks

20  of the United States, stocks of the several states, or the

21  internal improvement bonds issued under the provisions of law;

22  also, the surplus interest accruing from such investments.

23  Said board of trustees have all the rights, powers, property,

24  claims, remedies, actions, suits, and things whatsoever

25  belonging to them, or appertaining before and at the time of

26  the enactment hereof, and they shall remain subject to and

27  pay, fulfill, perform, and discharge all debts, duties, and

28  obligations of their trust, existing at the time of the

29  enactment hereof or provided in this chapter.

30         (2)  The board of trustees shall not sell, transfer,

31  exchange, or otherwise dispose of any lands the title to which


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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1  is vested in the board of trustees except by vote of at least

  2  three five of the four seven trustees.

  3         Section 4.  Paragraphs (e), (f), and (g) of subsection

  4  (1) of section 253.03, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

  5         253.03  Board of trustees to administer state lands;

  6  lands enumerated.--

  7         (1)  The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement

  8  Trust Fund of the state is vested and charged with the

  9  acquisition, administration, management, control, supervision,

10  conservation, protection, and disposition of all lands owned

11  by, or which may hereafter inure to, the state or any of its

12  agencies, departments, boards, or commissions, excluding lands

13  held for transportation facilities and transportation

14  corridors and canal rights-of-way, spoil areas and lands

15  required for disposal of materials, or borrow pits; any land,

16  title to which is vested or may become vested in any port

17  authority, flood control district, water management district,

18  or navigation district or agency created by any general or

19  special act; and any lands, including the Camp Blanding

20  Military Reservation, which have been conveyed to the state

21  for military purposes only, and which are subject to reversion

22  if conveyed by the original grantee or if the conveyance to

23  the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund

24  under this act would work a reversion from any other cause, or

25  where any conveyance of lands held by a state agency which are

26  encumbered by or subject to liens, trust agreements, or any

27  form of contract which encumbers state lands for the repayment

28  of funded debt.  Lands vested in the Board of Trustees of the

29  Internal Improvement Trust Fund shall be deemed to be:

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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1         (e)  All lands covered by shallow waters of the ocean

  2  or gulf, or bays or lagoons thereof, and all lands owned by

  3  the state covered by fresh water; and

  4         (f)  All parks, reservations, or lands or bottoms set

  5  aside in the name of the state, excluding lands held for

  6  transportation facilities and transportation corridors and

  7  canal rights-of-way.;

  8         (g)  All lands which have accrued, or which may

  9  hereafter accrue, to the state from any source whatsoever,

10  excluding lands held for transportation facilities and

11  transportation corridors and canal rights-of-way, spoil areas,

12  or borrow pits or any land, the title to which is vested or

13  may become vested in any port authority, flood control

14  district, water management district, or navigation district or

15  agency created by any general or special act.

16         Section 5.  Effective July 1, 2003, subsections (12),

17  (13), and (14), of section 201.15, Florida Statutes, are

18  renumbered as subsections (13), (14), and (15), and a new

19  subsection (12) is added to said section, to read:

20         201.15  Distribution of taxes collected.--All taxes

21  collected under this chapter shall be distributed as follows

22  and shall be subject to the service charge imposed in s.

23  215.20(1), except that such service charge shall not be levied

24  against any portion of taxes pledged to debt service on bonds

25  to the extent that the amount of the service charge is

26  required to pay any amounts relating to the bonds:

27         (12)  From the moneys specified in paragraphs (1)(c)

28  and (2)(a) and prior to deposit of any moneys into the General

29  Revenue fund, $5 million shall be paid into the State Treasury

30  to the credit of the Conservation and Recreation Lands Program

31  Trust Fund in fiscal year 2003-2004 and each fiscal year


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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1  thereafter, to be used for the acquisition of conservation

  2  easements and rural land protection easements, and for funding

  3  agricultural protection agreements and resource conservation

  4  agreements as provided in s. 570.71.

  5         Section 6.  Subsection (1) of section 570.207, Florida

  6  Statutes, is amended to read:

  7         570.207  Conservation and Recreation Lands Program

  8  Trust Fund of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer

  9  Services.--

10         (1)  There is created a Conservation and Recreation

11  Lands Program Trust Fund within the Department of Agriculture

12  and Consumer Services. The purpose of the trust fund is to

13  provide for the management of conservation and recreation

14  lands by the department. Funds may be appropriated to the

15  trust fund from the Conservation and Recreation Lands Trust

16  Fund in the Department of Environmental Protection, as created

17  by s. 259.032(2), or from such other sources as the

18  Legislature may determine for the management of conservation

19  and recreation lands by the department. For fiscal year

20  2002-2003, the department may use funds deposited into the

21  Conservation and Recreation Lands Program Trust Fund pursuant

22  to the provisions of the General Appropriations Act, and funds

23  from such other sources as the Legislature determines for the

24  acquisition of conservation easements and rural land

25  protection easements, and for funding agricultural protection

26  agreements and resource conservation agreements pursuant to s.

27  570.71.

28         Section 7.  Section 570.70, Florida Statutes, is

29  amended to read:

30         570.70  Legislative findings; study.--

31         (1)  The Legislature finds and declares that:


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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1         (a)(1)  A thriving rural economy with a strong

  2  agricultural base, healthy natural environment, and viable

  3  rural communities is an essential part of Florida. Rural areas

  4  also include the largest remaining intact ecosystems and best

  5  examples of remaining wildlife habitats as well as a majority

  6  of privately owned land targeted by local, state, and federal

  7  agencies for natural resource protection.

  8         (b)(2)  The growth of Florida's population can result

  9  in agricultural and rural lands being converted into

10  residential or commercial development.

11         (c)(3)  The agricultural, rural, natural resource, and

12  commodity values of rural lands are vital to the state's

13  economy, productivity, rural heritage, and quality of life.

14         (d)(4)  There is The Legislature further recognizes the

15  need for enhancing the ability of rural landowners to obtain

16  economic value from their property, protecting rural

17  character, controlling urban sprawl, and providing necessary

18  open space for agriculture and the natural environment, and

19  the importance of maintaining and protecting Florida's rural

20  economy through innovative planning and development strategies

21  in rural areas and the use of incentives that reward

22  landowners for good stewardship of land and natural resources.

23         (e)(5)  The purpose of this act is to bring under

24  public protection lands that serve to limit subdivision and

25  conversion of agricultural and natural areas that provide

26  economic, open space, water, and wildlife benefits by

27  acquiring land or related interests in land such as perpetual,

28  less-than-fee acquisitions, agricultural protection

29  agreements, and resource conservation agreements and

30  innovative planning and development strategies in rural areas.

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                                        CS/HB 749, First Engrossed



  1         (2)  A study conducted by the department to determine

  2  and prioritize needs for implementing the provisions of this

  3  section and s. 570.71 concluded the following:

  4         (a)  Between 1964 and 1997, Florida lost nearly 5

  5  million acres of valuable agricultural land, with most of the

  6  loss involving ranch and forest lands.

  7         (b)  Florida currently has 9,114,000 acres of

  8  agricultural land with natural resource attributes, including

  9  groundwater recharge, natural floodplain, and significant

10  species habitat, and more than 900,000 acres of this land will

11  be converted to other uses within a decade.

12         (c)  The objective of a program to protect agricultural

13  land with natural resource value through conservation

14  easements and other tools should be protection of 1 acre for

15  every acre lost.

16         Section 8.  Except as otherwise provided herein, this

17  act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

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