CS/CS/HB 1355

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to management of state-owned lands;
3	providing legislative findings and intent; directing the
4	Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
5	Accountability to conduct a study on centralization of the
6	land management activities of the state and to submit the
7	study to the Legislature; directing the Department of
8	Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Fish
9	and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Department of
10	Agriculture and Consumer Services, to issue a request for
11	proposals or invitation to negotiate for a public-private
12	land management demonstration pilot project for specified
13	conservation lands; specifying requirements for the pilot
14	project; providing a limitation for the annual cost of the
15	pilot project; requiring a certified auditor to prepare
16	and submit a report to the Governor, the Legislature, the
17	Acquisition and Restoration Council, and the Legislative
18	Budget Commission; providing report requirements;
19	providing an effective date.
20
21	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23	Section 1.  The Legislature finds and declares:
24	(1)  Land acquisition programs have provided tremendous
25	financial resources for purchasing environmentally significant
26	lands to protect those lands from imminent development or
27	alteration, thereby ensuring present and future generations'
28	access to important waterways, open spaces, and recreation and
29	conservation lands.
30	(2)  Over the past 30 years, the state has invested more
31	than $6 billion to conserve approximately 3.8 million acres of
32	land for environmental, recreational, and preservation purposes.
33	With a total of 3.8 million acres of conservation land purchased
34	in this state, 2.4 million acres were purchased under the
35	Florida Forever and Preservation 2000 programs. Much of this
36	land is open to the public for recreation, including a total of
37	more than 500 state parks, preserves, forests, wildlife
38	management areas, and other conservation and recreation areas.
39	(3)  The Legislature has declared that state conservation
40	lands shall be managed to maintain or enhance the resources the
41	state is seeking to protect by acquiring the land and to
42	accelerate public access to the lands as soon as practicable.
43	(4)  A long-term financial commitment to restoring,
44	enhancing, and managing the state's public lands is required to
45	implement land management plans to ensure that:
46	(a)  The natural resource values of such lands are
47	restored, enhanced, managed, and protected;
48	(b)  The public enjoys the lands to their fullest
49	potential; and
50	(c)  The state achieves the full benefits of its investment
51	of public dollars.
52	(5)  Most of the state's conservation lands are managed by
53	the following state agencies:
54	(a)  The Division of Forestry in the Department of
55	Agriculture and Consumer Services.
56	(b)  The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
57	(c)  The Division of Recreation and Parks in the Department
58	of Environmental Protection.
59	(d)  The Office of Greenways and Trails in the Department
60	of Environmental Protection.
61	(e)  The Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas in the
62	Department of Environmental Protection.
63	(6)  Land management expenditures have generally increased
64	over the last 7 years, increasing from approximately $173
65	million in fiscal year 2001-2002 to approximately $215 million
66	in fiscal year 2006-2007. The average expenditure per acre
67	managed in fiscal year 2006-2007 was $66, but expenditures per
68	acre managed varied greatly from agency to agency and parcel to
69	parcel.
70	(7)  In its October 2008 report on the methodology and
71	formula for allocating land management funds, the Land
72	Management Uniform Accounting Council, created in s. 259.037,
73	Florida Statutes, concluded that the current level of land
74	management funding clearly will be insufficient to provide for
75	the full funding of land management needs.
76	(8)  If the state is to achieve the full benefits of its
77	investment of public dollars in conservation lands, it must
78	manage these lands as effectively and efficiently as possible.
79	(9)  With limited financial resources to fund competing
80	priorities and increasing funding needs to manage public lands,
81	the state cannot afford to fund unnecessary duplicative
82	management functions in multiple state agencies and programs.
83	Although the five state agencies and programs that manage the
84	state's conservation lands all have different management
85	approaches to address the missions and purposes of each
86	respective agency and program, the land management approach
87	should be governed by the purposes for which the conservation
88	lands were acquired.
89	(10)  In order to ensure that the state achieves the full
90	benefits of its investment of public dollars in conservation
91	lands and that the ongoing, substantial expenditure of tax
92	dollars on the management of these lands is cost-effective, the
93	Legislature declares it is necessary to:
94	(a)  Examine options to consolidate land management
95	functions in a single state agency to allow the Legislature to
96	better evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the state's
97	land management activities by:
98	1.  Identifying and achieving cost efficiencies and
99	reductions in administrative and operating costs; and
100	2.  Reducing duplication.
101	(b)  Conduct a pilot project to provide a basis to compare
102	the cost-effectiveness of public and private land management
103	approaches.
104	Section 2.  The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
105	Government Accountability is directed to conduct a study of the
106	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department
107	of Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
108	Commission, and any related state law enforcement officer
109	positions to determine the most efficient means of centralizing
110	the land management activities of the state, including, but not
111	limited to, recommendations for restructuring or subdividing
112	acquisition and management responsibilities. The study shall be
113	submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
114	House of Representatives no later than December 1, 2009.
115	Section 3.  Subject to specific annual appropriation, the
116	Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the
117	Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Department of
118	Agriculture and Consumer Services, shall issue a request for
119	proposals or invitation to negotiate for a public-private
120	conservation land management demonstration pilot project for a
121	period of 5 years. The request for proposals or invitation to
122	negotiate must clearly state the management goals for the
123	conservation lands and allow private contractors to propose how
124	these goals would be met within the prescribed budget. In
125	addition, the Legislature is particularly interested in how a
126	contractor would account for and report costs, activities, and
127	achievements and innovate the manner in which management plans
128	are formulated, presented, and implemented. A performance bond
129	of no more than $1 million shall be required for the contract.
130	The pilot project area shall be no more than 200,000 acres and
131	shall consist of existing nonsubmerged conservation lands where
132	the primary focus is not on developed recreation. To the maximum
133	extent practicable, the project area shall be proportionately
134	distributed across lands that are currently managed by the
135	Department of Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife
136	Conservation Commission, and the Department of Agriculture and
137	Consumer Services and are located within a reasonable proximity
138	to each other. Subject to specific annual appropriation, the
139	contract shall be awarded no later than December 31 of the year
140	in which the appropriation is made. The cost of the 5-year pilot
141	project may not exceed $4.5 million annually. Once awarded, the
142	contractor shall prepare a land management plan consistent with
143	the duties and responsibilities of the Department of
144	Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
145	Commission, and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
146	Services and the certification standard of the Forest
147	Stewardship Council, submit the plan to the Acquisition and
148	Restoration Council pursuant to s. 253.034, Florida Statutes,
149	and provide a copy of the plan to the Legislative Budget
150	Commission. Any funds appropriated for the land management pilot
151	project shall be held in budget reserve until such time as the
152	Department of Environmental Protection submits and the
153	Legislative Budget Commission approves a plan which includes a
154	recommended request for proposals or invitation to negotiate
155	regarding the expenditure of the funds. The contractor shall be
156	responsible for all land management activities except for law
157	enforcement, wildfire suppression, derelict vessel removal,
158	manatee surveys, water sampling, unless required for potable
159	water sources, or any other regulatory activity not specifically
160	related to the management of state conservation lands. Any
161	current full-time employees managing lands encompassed by the
162	pilot project who are directly impacted shall be given first
163	preference for continued employment by the contractor. The state
164	shall make all reasonable efforts to find suitable job
165	placements for employees who wish to remain within the state
166	personnel system. The Department of Environmental Protection
167	shall hire an auditor certified by the Forest Stewardship
168	Council to review and accurately and fairly compare the pilot
169	project to other state land management results and provide
170	recommendations to fully certify the project for all state
171	lands. The Acquisition and Restoration Council shall review and
172	evaluate the auditor's report and provide comments. The auditor
173	shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the
174	Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the
175	Acquisition and Restoration Council, and the Legislative Budget
176	Commission.
177	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

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