HB 0347

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the Florida Inland Navigation District;
3amending s. 374.982, F.S.; including Nassau County within
4the jurisdiction of the district; amending s. 374.983,
5F.S.; increasing the membership of the board of
6commissioners of the district, to conform; providing for
7the appointment of a commissioner from Nassau County;
8providing for the initial and subsequent terms of office;
9amending s. 374.984, F.S.; revising an obsolete reference
10to Dade County; providing for a referendum with respect to
11the authority of the district to levy an ad valorem tax
12within Nassau County; providing effective dates.
13
14Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16     Section 1.  Section 374.982, Florida Statutes, is amended
17to read:
18     374.982  District.--An independent special taxing district
19to be known as the "Florida Inland Navigation District" is
20hereby created.  The territorial boundaries of the district
21shall be the counties of Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, Flagler,
22Volusia, Brevard, St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River, Palm Beach,
23Broward, and Miami-Dade Dade. For purposes of this chapter, the
24term "district" means the Florida Inland Navigation District and
25the term "board" means the Board of Commissioners of the Florida
26Inland Navigation District.
27     Section 2.  Subsections (1) and (2) of section 374.983,
28Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
29     374.983  Governing body.--
30     (1)  A governing body of the district is hereby created,
31and shall be known as and designated as the "Board of
32Commissioners of the Florida Inland Navigation District," and
33shall be composed of 12 11 members who shall be qualified
34electors residing in said district, no 2 of whom shall reside in
35the same county in the district. The governing body shall have
36all powers of a body corporate, including the power to sue and
37be sued as a corporation, in its name, and in any court having
38jurisdiction; to make contracts; to adopt and use a common seal
39and to alter the same as deemed expedient; to buy, acquire by
40gift, exchange, condemnation, or otherwise, sell, own, lease (as
41lessor or lessee), and convey such real estate and personal
42property as the board may deem proper to carry out the
43provisions of this act; to appoint and employ such engineers,
44attorneys, consultants, and such agents and employees as the
45board may require; to borrow money and issue negotiable
46promissory notes, bonds and/or other evidences of indebtedness
47therefor to enable them to carry out the provisions of this act;
48and generally to do and perform the things necessary to
49accomplish the purposes of this act.
50     (2)  The present board of commissioners of the district
51shall continue to hold office until their respective terms shall
52expire. Thereafter the members of the board shall continue to be
53appointed by the Governor for a term of 4 years and until their
54successors shall be duly appointed. Specifically, commencing on
55January 10, 1997, the Governor shall appoint the commissioners
56from Broward, Indian River, Martin, St. Johns, and Volusia
57Counties and on January 10, 1999, the Governor shall appoint the
58commissioners from Brevard, Miami-Dade Dade, Duval, Flagler,
59Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties. The Governor shall appoint
60the commissioner from Nassau County for an initial term that
61coincides with the period remaining in the current terms of the
62commissioners from Broward, Indian River, Martin, St. Johns, and
63Volusia Counties. Thereafter, the commissioner from Nassau
64County shall be appointed to a 4-year term. Each new appointee
65must be confirmed by the Senate. Whenever a vacancy occurs among
66the commissioners, the person appointed to fill such vacancy
67shall hold office for the unexpired portion of the term of the
68commissioner whose place he or she is selected to fill. Each
69commissioner under this act before he or she assumes office
70shall be required to give a good and sufficient surety bond in
71the sum of $10,000 payable to the Governor and his or her
72successors in office, conditioned upon the faithful performance
73of the duties of his or her office, such bond to be approved by
74and filed with the Chief Financial Officer. Any and all premiums
75upon such surety bonds shall be paid by the board of
76commissioners of such district as a necessary expense of the
77district.
78     Section 3.  Section 374.984, Florida Statutes, is amended
79to read:
80     374.984  Purpose; powers and duties.--It is the purpose and
81intent of this act that the board perform and do all things
82which shall be requisite and necessary to comply with the
83requirements and conditions imposed upon a "local interest" by
84the Congress of the United States in the several acts
85authorizing and directing the improvement and maintenance of the
86Intracoastal Waterway from St. Mary's River to the southernmost
87boundary of Miami-Dade Dade County. Said acts include but are
88not limited to:  the Rivers and Harbors Act approved January 21,
891927, as amended by the River and Harbor Act approved July 3,
901930; the River and Harbor Act of June 20, 1938; and s. 107 of
91the Federal River and Harbor Act of 1960. Pursuant thereto, the
92powers of the board shall include, but not be limited to:
93     (1)  Obtaining by gift, donation, purchase, exchange,
94condemnation, or otherwise, and conveying, or causing to be
95conveyed, free of cost to the United States, necessary right-of-
96way property, and in addition thereto, suitable fee simple or
97easement areas (as determined by the board) for the deposit of
98dredged material in connection with the work of improving or
99constructing, or both, the aforementioned waterway and its
100subsequent maintenance, including future improvement of said
101Intracoastal Waterway, with a view to providing a general depth
102of 12 feet, more or less, depending upon specific local
103conditions, referred to the plane of local mean water, and a
104width appropriate to said depth and such improvements as may be
105authorized and adopted by the Congress of the United States, and
106in connection with the subsequent maintenance of said waterway
107so improved. Prior to acquiring any property for the deposit of
108dredged material, the district shall inform the county and, if
109applicable, the municipalities in which the property to be
110acquired is located of the district's intent to acquire such
111property and the district shall further hold a public meeting to
112advise the residents of the area of its intent. Such public
113meeting shall be noticed in a paper of general circulation in
114the county in which the meeting is to be held not less than 15
115days prior to the meeting, said notice to contain the date,
116time, and place of the meeting and to identify the potential
117acquisition site or sites.
118     (2)  Obtaining by gift, donation, purchase, exchange,
119condemnation, or otherwise, and furnishing, free of cost, to the
120United States, any property, property right of every
121description, easement, riparian right, interest in property, and
122suitable dredged material management areas outside of said
123right-of-way that may be necessary to the United States for the
124construction, maintenance, or operation of said waterway.
125     (3)  Contracting for the purchase of any property to be
126acquired or obtained by the board under the provisions of this
127act and paying the purchase price therefor in a lump sum or in
128installments or deferred payments upon such terms as the board
129shall determine, said contract of purchase to provide for the
130payment of interest not to exceed the maximum interest rate
131permitted by law upon deferred payments. Any acquisition of
132property, other than by eminent domain, shall be pursuant to
133rules adopted by the board.
134     (4)  Exercising and using the right of eminent domain, and
135condemning for the use of the district or to effect the purposes
136of this act, or both, any and all lands, easements, areas for
137deposit of dredged materials, right-of-way, riparian rights,
138and/or property rights of every description required for the
139public purposes and powers of the board. Such condemnation
140proceeding shall be maintained by and in the name of the
141district and the procedures shall be those prescribed and set
142forth in chapters 73 and 74, as amended from time to time,
143prescribing the procedure for condemnation by counties, and the
144same rights and powers shall accrue to said district under such
145procedures defined and set forth as accruing to the counties in
146chapters 73 and 74, as well as pursuant to any other general law
147pertaining thereto, and the district and the board are hereby
148vested with power and authority to pay such judgment or
149compensation awarded in any such proceedings out of any fund
150available for the purchase of right-of-way, areas for deposit of
151dredged material, or other property under the provisions of this
152act.
153     (5)  Assuming and/or relieving the United States from the
154cost, expense, and/or obligation of constructing,
155reconstructing, maintaining, and/or operating any bridge over
156said Intracoastal Waterway, whenever, in the judgment of the
157board of commissioners, such action is necessary or proper upon
158its part to fully comply with the requirements and conditions
159imposed upon "local interests" by the Congress of the United
160States in the several acts authorizing and directing the
161improvement, navigability, and maintenance of the Intracoastal
162Waterway from St. Mary's River to the southernmost boundary of
163Miami-Dade Dade County; the expense therefor to be paid as a
164necessary expense of the district. The board is authorized and
165empowered to contract with the board of county commissioners of
166each or any county in the district to the end that, for a
167consideration from the district, said board of county
168commissioners, or county, shall assume the responsibility for
169any or all of the following activities:  the construction,
170reconstruction, maintenance, or operation of any such bridge.
171Any of said board of county commissioners or county is hereby
172authorized and empowered to enter into such a contract with the
173board of the district, and such contract shall be binding and
174obligatory upon said county or counties and the district.
175     (6)(a)  Contracting directly for, or entering into
176agreement from time to time with the district engineer of the
177Jacksonville, Florida, United States Army Corps of Engineers
178district, or other agency or party, to contribute toward the
179cost of dredging performed on the waterway, to construct
180retaining bulkheads, dikes, and levees, to construct ditches for
181the control of water discharged by the dredges, and to do all
182other work and/or things which, in the judgment of the board,
183shall be proper and necessary to produce economies in meeting
184the conditions with respect to right-of-way and dredged material
185management areas imposed upon a "local interest" by the Congress
186of the United States in the several acts authorizing and
187directing the improvement, navigability, and maintenance of the
188Intracoastal Waterway from St. Mary's River to the southernmost
189boundary of Miami-Dade Dade County.
190     (b)  In order to effectuate the purpose and intent of any
191law or laws that may heretofore have been, or may hereafter be,
192enacted by the Congress of the United States, authorizing and
193directing the Secretary of the Army to make preliminary
194examinations and surveys of the Intracoastal Waterway from St.
195Mary's River to the southernmost boundary of Miami-Dade Dade
196County, the board is authorized and empowered to collect,
197compile, and furnish to the Secretary of the Army, or his or her
198officers and agents, data, statistics, and other appropriate
199information bearing on the advantages, benefits, and increased
200usefulness that may be expected to accrue to the public and to
201the counties traversed by the Intracoastal Waterway from St.
202Mary's River to the southernmost boundary of Miami-Dade Dade
203County, by reason of any improvement thereof, that may
204subsequently be authorized by the Congress of the United States.
205     (c)  The board of county commissioners of Monroe County is
206hereby authorized and empowered to authorize the district to act
207as the board of county commissioners' agent in all matters
208pertaining to the extension of the inland waterway into Monroe
209County. The board of county commissioners of Monroe County is
210hereby authorized to levy an ad valorem tax not to exceed 1 mill
211for the purpose of defraying the expenses incurred by any action
212taken under this subsection. Moneys received as a result of this
213levy shall be paid into an inland waterway fund, the
214establishment of which is herewith authorized. The district is
215herewith authorized and empowered to act as the agent of Monroe
216County for extending the inland waterway into Monroe County, to
217make charges therefor, and to receive payment thereof.
218     (d)  The board is hereby authorized and empowered to expend
219funds of the district for publicizing the Intracoastal Waterway
220from St. Mary's River to the southernmost boundary of Miami-Dade
221Dade County, and its availability to watercraft, and to print
222and distribute information as to the route, channel, available
223depth, and utility of said Intracoastal Waterway and such other
224information and data as may, in the opinion of the board, be
225desirable, useful, or attractive to give full information
226regarding said waterway and/or to promote its use in navigation
227by watercraft of all kinds.
228     (e)  In order to defray the necessary expenses of the
229district and/or provide funds for expenditures incident to
230obtaining right-of-way or other property or easements and/or to
231pay the purchase price of said property and/or to defray other
232necessary expenses of the district or its board, the board is
233hereby authorized to borrow moneys from time to time for said
234purpose or purposes in an amount or amounts such that not in
235excess of $100,000 indebtedness will be outstanding at any one
236time.
237     (f)  All land owned, now or hereafter, by the district
238shall be, and the same is, hereby exempted from taxation of all
239kinds.
240     (g)  When the district desires to dispose of surplus land,
241it shall declare such land surplus by resolution of the board.
242Copies of said resolution shall be furnished to the Secretary of
243Environmental Protection, the chair of the county commissioners
244of the county in which the land is located, and, in the event
245the land is within a municipality, the mayor of said
246municipality. If any state agency, county, or municipality
247desires to utilize said land for outdoor recreation or
248conservation purposes and the Secretary of Environmental
249Protection finds that the land is required by the state, county,
250or city for its recreation or conservation program, it shall
251notify the district in writing within 60 days after receiving a
252copy of the resolution. Priority shall be in the state, county,
253and municipality in that order. The land may then be conveyed
254with or without consideration to the state agency, county, or
255municipality by the district; provided, however, that said land
256be used for outdoor recreation or conservation purpose in
257perpetuity by the appropriate county, municipal, or state
258agency. If the district does not receive notice as specified
259above, it may sell the land at public auction.
260     (h)  The district is designated the local interest sponsor
261for the sole purpose of maintaining navigability of that portion
262of the Okeechobee Waterway located in Martin County and
263extending from the Intracoastal Waterway to the St. Lucie lock.
264     Section 4.  This act shall take effect only upon approval
265of the levy of ad valorem taxation provided in section 374.986,
266Florida Statutes, by a majority vote of the qualified electors
267of Nassau County voting in a referendum to be held in
268conjunction with any subsequent regular primary or general
269election, as determined by the Board of County Commissioners of
270Nassau County, except that this section and section 3 of this
271act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.