| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to rural land protection; amending s. |
| 3 | 570.70, F.S.; providing conclusions of a study by the |
| 4 | Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; amending |
| 5 | s. 201.15, F.S.; providing for the distribution of certain |
| 6 | excise taxes on documents to the Rural Lands Program Trust |
| 7 | Fund of the department; specifying required uses; creating |
| 8 | s. 215.6195, F.S.; authorizing the issuance of bonds for |
| 9 | rural land protection; providing certain conditions; |
| 10 | providing for the deposit of proceeds; providing that |
| 11 | issuance of such bonds is in the best interests of the |
| 12 | state; amending s. 570.207, F.S.; providing uses for funds |
| 13 | in the Conservation and Recreation Lands Program Trust |
| 14 | Fund; amending s. 570.71, F.S.; authorizing the use of |
| 15 | rural land protection bonds to implement provisions |
| 16 | relating to conservation and rural land protection |
| 17 | easements and agreements; providing a contingent effective |
| 18 | date. |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Section 1. Section 570.70, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 23 | read: |
| 24 | 570.70 Legislative findings; study.-- |
| 25 | (1) The Legislature finds and declares that: |
| 26 | (a)(1) A thriving rural economy with a strong agricultural |
| 27 | base, healthy natural environment, and viable rural communities |
| 28 | is an essential part of Florida. Rural areas also include the |
| 29 | largest remaining intact ecosystems and best examples of |
| 30 | remaining wildlife habitats as well as a majority of privately |
| 31 | owned land targeted by local, state, and federal agencies for |
| 32 | natural resource protection. |
| 33 | (b)(2) The growth of Florida's population can result in |
| 34 | agricultural and rural lands being converted into residential or |
| 35 | commercial development. |
| 36 | (c)(3) The agricultural, rural, natural resource, and |
| 37 | commodity values of rural lands are vital to the state's |
| 38 | economy, productivity, rural heritage, and quality of life. |
| 39 | (d)(4) There is The Legislature further recognizes the |
| 40 | need for enhancing the ability of rural landowners to obtain |
| 41 | economic value from their property, protecting rural character, |
| 42 | controlling urban sprawl, and providing necessary open space for |
| 43 | agriculture and the natural environment, and the importance of |
| 44 | maintaining and protecting Florida's rural economy through |
| 45 | innovative planning and development strategies in rural areas |
| 46 | and the use of incentives that reward landowners for good |
| 47 | stewardship of land and natural resources. |
| 48 | (e)(5) The purpose of this act is to bring under public |
| 49 | protection lands that serve to limit subdivision and conversion |
| 50 | of agricultural and natural areas that provide economic, open |
| 51 | space, water, and wildlife benefits by acquiring land or related |
| 52 | interests in land such as perpetual, less-than-fee acquisitions, |
| 53 | agricultural protection agreements, and resource conservation |
| 54 | agreements and innovative planning and development strategies in |
| 55 | rural areas. |
| 56 | (2) A study conducted by the department to determine and |
| 57 | prioritize needs for implementing the provisions of this section |
| 58 | and s. 570.71 concluded the following: |
| 59 | (a) Between 1964 and 1997, this state lost nearly 5 |
| 60 | million acres of valuable agricultural land, with most of the |
| 61 | loss involving ranch and forest lands. |
| 62 | (b) This state currently has 9,114,000 acres of |
| 63 | agricultural land with natural resource attributes, including |
| 64 | groundwater recharge, natural floodplain, and significant |
| 65 | species habitat, and more than 900,000 acres of this land will |
| 66 | be converted to other uses within a decade. |
| 67 | (c) The objective of a program to protect agricultural |
| 68 | land with natural resource value through conservation easements |
| 69 | and other tools should be protection of 1 acre for every acre |
| 70 | lost. |
| 71 | Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section |
| 72 | 201.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 73 | 201.15 Distribution of taxes collected.--All taxes |
| 74 | collected under this chapter shall be distributed as follows and |
| 75 | shall be subject to the service charge imposed in s. 215.20(1), |
| 76 | except that such service charge shall not be levied against any |
| 77 | portion of taxes pledged to debt service on bonds to the extent |
| 78 | that the amount of the service charge is required to pay any |
| 79 | amounts relating to the bonds: |
| 80 | (1) Sixty-two and sixty-three hundredths percent of the |
| 81 | remaining taxes collected under this chapter shall be used for |
| 82 | the following purposes: |
| 83 | (d) The remainder of the moneys distributed under this |
| 84 | subsection, after the required payments under paragraphs (a), |
| 85 | (b), and (c), shall be paid into the State Treasury to the |
| 86 | credit of the General Revenue Fund of the state to be used and |
| 87 | expended for the purposes for which the General Revenue Fund was |
| 88 | created and exists by law, or to the Ecosystem Management and |
| 89 | Restoration Trust Fund or to the Marine Resources Conservation |
| 90 | Trust Fund as provided in subsection (11), or to the Rural Lands |
| 91 | Program Trust Fund of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer |
| 92 | Services pursuant to s. 215.6195. Moneys available under this |
| 93 | paragraph shall first be used to pay debt service due on any |
| 94 | rural land protection bond or to make any other payments |
| 95 | required pursuant to the bond documents authorizing the issuance |
| 96 | before such moneys are used for other purposes authorized by |
| 97 | this paragraph. |
| 98 | Section 3. Section 215.6195, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 99 | to read: |
| 100 | 215.6195 Bonds for rural land protection.-- |
| 101 | (1) The issuance of rural land protection bonds is |
| 102 | authorized. The rural land protection bonds may be issued over |
| 103 | the next 10 fiscal years commencing on July 1, 2004, in an |
| 104 | amount not exceeding $100 million in any fiscal year, subject to |
| 105 | the provisions of s. 570.71 and pursuant to s. 11(e), Art. VII |
| 106 | of the State Constitution. The duration of each series of bonds |
| 107 | issued may not exceed 20 annual maturities. Except for refunding |
| 108 | bonds, a series of bonds may not be issued unless an amount |
| 109 | equal to the debt service coming due in the year of issuance has |
| 110 | been specifically appropriated in the General Appropriations |
| 111 | Act. |
| 112 | (2) The state covenants with the holders of rural land |
| 113 | protection bonds that it will not take any action that will |
| 114 | materially and adversely affect the rights of such holders so |
| 115 | long as the bonds are outstanding, including, but not limited |
| 116 | to, a reduction in the portion of documentary stamp taxes |
| 117 | distributable to the Rural Lands Program Trust Fund of the |
| 118 | Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for payment of |
| 119 | debt service. |
| 120 | (3) Bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be payable |
| 121 | from taxes distributable to the Rural Lands Program Trust Fund |
| 122 | of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pursuant |
| 123 | to s. 201.15(1)(d). Bonds issued pursuant to this section do not |
| 124 | constitute a general obligation of, or a pledge of the full |
| 125 | faith and credit of, the state. |
| 126 | (4) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services |
| 127 | shall request the Division of Bond Finance of the State Board of |
| 128 | Administration to issue the rural land protection bonds |
| 129 | authorized by this section. The Division of Bond Finance shall |
| 130 | issue such bonds pursuant to the State Bond Act. |
| 131 | (5) The proceeds from the sale of bonds issued pursuant to |
| 132 | this section, less the costs of issuance, the costs of funding |
| 133 | reserve accounts, and other costs with respect to the bonds, |
| 134 | shall be deposited into the Conservation and Recreation Lands |
| 135 | Program Trust Fund of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer |
| 136 | Services as provided in s. 570.71. |
| 137 | (6) There shall be no sale, disposition, lease, easement, |
| 138 | license, or other use of any land, water areas, or related |
| 139 | property interests acquired or improved with proceeds of rural |
| 140 | land protection bonds which would cause all or any portion of |
| 141 | the interest of such bonds to lose the exclusion from gross |
| 142 | income for federal income tax purposes. |
| 143 | (7) The initial series of rural land protection bonds |
| 144 | shall be validated in addition to any other bonds required to be |
| 145 | validated pursuant to s. 215.82. Any complaint for validation of |
| 146 | bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be filed only in the |
| 147 | circuit court of the county where the seat of state government |
| 148 | is situated, the notice required to be published by s. 75.06 |
| 149 | shall be published only in the county where the complaint is |
| 150 | filed, and the complaint and order of the circuit court shall be |
| 151 | served only on the state attorney of the circuit in which the |
| 152 | action is pending. |
| 153 | Section 4. In accordance with section 215.98(1), Florida |
| 154 | Statutes, the Legislature determines that the issuance of rural |
| 155 | land protection bonds under section 3 of this act is in the best |
| 156 | interest of the state and should be implemented. |
| 157 | Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 570.207, Florida |
| 158 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 159 | 570.207 Conservation and Recreation Lands Program Trust |
| 160 | Fund of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.-- |
| 161 | (1) There is created a Conservation and Recreation Lands |
| 162 | Program Trust Fund within the Department of Agriculture and |
| 163 | Consumer Services. The purpose of the trust fund is to provide |
| 164 | for the management of conservation and recreation lands by the |
| 165 | department and to fund the Rural and Family Lands Protection Act |
| 166 | created in ss. 570.70 and 570.71. The department may use not |
| 167 | more than one-half of 1 percent of the bond proceeds deposited |
| 168 | into the trust fund for administrative purposes. Funds may be |
| 169 | appropriated to the trust fund from the Conservation and |
| 170 | Recreation Lands Trust Fund in the Department of Environmental |
| 171 | Protection, as created by s. 259.032(2), or from such other |
| 172 | sources as the Legislature may determine for the management of |
| 173 | conservation and recreation lands by the department. |
| 174 | Additionally, subject to the provisions of s. 11(e), Art. VII of |
| 175 | the State Constitution, the department may use bond proceeds |
| 176 | deposited pursuant to s. 215.6195 and funds from such other |
| 177 | sources as the Legislature determines for the acquisition of |
| 178 | conservation easements and rural land protection easements and |
| 179 | for funding agricultural protection agreements and resource |
| 180 | conservation agreements pursuant to s. 570.71. |
| 181 | Section 6. Subsection (12) of section 570.71, Florida |
| 182 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 183 | 570.71 Conservation easements and agreements.-- |
| 184 | (12) The department is authorized to use funds from the |
| 185 | following sources to implement this act: |
| 186 | (a) State funds; |
| 187 | (b) Rural land protection bonds as authorized by s. |
| 188 | 215.6195; |
| 189 | (c)(b) Federal funds; |
| 190 | (d)(c) Other governmental entities; |
| 191 | (e)(d) Nongovernmental organizations; or |
| 192 | (f)(e) Private individuals. |
| 193 |
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| 194 | Any such funds provided shall be deposited into the Conservation |
| 195 | and Recreation Lands Program Trust Fund within the Department of |
| 196 | Agriculture and Consumer Services and used for the purposes of |
| 197 | this act. |
| 198 | Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004, if |
| 199 | House Bill _____, or similar legislation creating the Rural |
| 200 | Lands Program Trust Fund, is adopted in the same legislative |
| 201 | session or an extension thereof and becomes law. |