Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 1792 Ì106622}Î106622 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 03/25/2025 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (Gruters) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete lines 76 - 267 4 and insert: 5 (f) Preserves natural shoreline habitat; or 6 (g) Provides retention of natural open space in otherwise 7 densely built-up areas. 8 9 Any land approved by the Acquisition and Restoration Council 10 under this subsection must have a management plan and a 11 designated manager who will be responsible for implementing the 12 management plan. 13 (9) The Acquisition and Restoration Council, created in s. 14 259.035, shall maintain a list of nonprofit entities that are 15 qualified to enforce the provisions of a conservation easement. 16 Section 2. Paragraph (l) is added to subsection (2) of 17 section 259.032, Florida Statutes, and subsection (1) of that 18 section is reenacted, to read: 19 259.032 Conservation and recreation lands.— 20 (1) It is the policy of the state that the citizens of this 21 state shall be assured public ownership of natural areas for 22 purposes of maintaining this state’s unique natural resources; 23 protecting air, land, and water quality; promoting water 24 resource development to meet the needs of natural systems and 25 citizens of this state; promoting restoration activities on 26 public lands; and providing lands for natural resource-based 27 recreation. In recognition of this policy, it is the intent of 28 the Legislature to provide such public lands for the people 29 residing in urban and metropolitan areas of the state, as well 30 as those residing in less populated, rural areas. It is the 31 further intent of the Legislature, with regard to the lands 32 described in paragraph (2)(c), that a high priority be given to 33 the acquisition, restoration, and management of such lands in or 34 near counties exhibiting the greatest concentration of 35 population and, with regard to the lands described in subsection 36 (2), that a high priority be given to acquiring lands or rights 37 or interests in lands that advance the goals and objectives of 38 the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s approved species 39 or habitat recovery plans, or lands within any area designated 40 as an area of critical state concern under s. 380.05 which, in 41 the judgment of the advisory council established pursuant to s. 42 259.035, or its successor, cannot be adequately protected by 43 application of land development regulations adopted pursuant to 44 s. 380.05. Finally, it is the Legislature’s intent that lands 45 acquired for conservation and recreation purposes be managed in 46 such a way as to protect or restore their natural resource 47 values, and provide the greatest benefit, including public 48 access, to the citizens of this state. 49 (2) The Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Board of 50 Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, may expend 51 moneys appropriated by the Legislature to acquire the fee or any 52 lesser interest in lands for any of the following public 53 purposes: 54 (a) To conserve and protect environmentally unique and 55 irreplaceable lands that contain native, relatively unaltered 56 flora and fauna representing a natural area unique to, or scarce 57 within, a region of this state or a larger geographic area; 58 (b) To conserve and protect lands within designated areas 59 of critical state concern, if the proposed acquisition relates 60 to the natural resource protection purposes of the designation; 61 (c) To conserve and protect native species habitat or 62 endangered or threatened species, emphasizing long-term 63 protection for endangered or threatened species designated G-1 64 or G-2 by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory, and especially 65 those areas that are special locations for breeding and 66 reproduction; 67 (d) To conserve, protect, manage, or restore important 68 ecosystems, landscapes, and forests, if the protection and 69 conservation of such lands is necessary to enhance or protect 70 significant surface water, groundwater, coastal, recreational, 71 timber, or fish or wildlife resources which cannot otherwise be 72 accomplished through local and state regulatory programs; 73 (e) To promote water resource development that benefits 74 natural systems and citizens of the state; 75 (f) To facilitate the restoration and subsequent health and 76 vitality of the Florida Everglades; 77 (g) To provide areas, including recreational trails, for 78 natural resource-based recreation and other outdoor recreation 79 on any part of any site compatible with conservation purposes; 80 (h) To preserve significant archaeological or historic 81 sites; 82 (i) To conserve urban open spaces suitable for greenways or 83 outdoor recreation which are compatible with conservation 84 purposes; 85 (j) To preserve agricultural lands under threat of 86 conversion to development through less-than-fee acquisitions;or87 (k) To complete critical linkages through fee or less-than 88 fee acquisitions that will help preserve and protect the green 89 and blue infrastructure and vital habitat for wide-ranging 90 wildlife, such as the Florida panther, within the Florida 91 wildlife corridor as defined in s. 259.1055(4); or 92 (l) To protect dry sandy beaches and provide areas, 93 including public parking and ancillary facilities, related to 94 public dry sandy beach access. 95 Section 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of 96 section 259.035, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 97 259.035 Acquisition and Restoration Council.— 98 (1) There is created the Acquisition and Restoration 99 Council. 100 (a) The council shall consistbe composedof 1210voting 101 members, 54of whom shall be appointed by the Governor. Of 102 these fivefourappointees, three mustshallbe from scientific 103 disciplines related to land, water, or environmental sciences, 104andthe fourth mustshallhave at least 5 years of experience in 105 managing lands for both active and passive types of recreation, 106 and the fifth must be a specialist in beach and shore 107 preservation or the management of public dry sandy beaches. They 108 shall serve 4-year terms, except that, initially, to provide for 109 staggered terms, two of the appointees shall serve 2-year terms. 110 All subsequent appointments shall be for 4-year terms. An 111 appointee may not serve more than 6 years. The Governor may at 112 any time fill a vacancy for the unexpired term of a member 113 appointed under this paragraph. 114 (b) The fivefourremaining appointees shall consistbe115composedof the Secretary of Environmental Protection, the 116 director of the Florida Forest Service of the Department of 117 Agriculture and Consumer Services, the executive director of the 118 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,andthe director of 119 the Division of Historical Resources of the Department of State, 120 and the director of the Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed 121 Areas, or their respective designees. 122 Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 123 259.036, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 124 259.036 Management review teams.— 125 (1) To determine whether conservation, preservation, and 126 recreation lands titled in the name of the board are being 127 managed for purposes that are compatible with conservation, 128 preservation, or recreation in accordance with a land management 129 plan adopted pursuant to s. 259.032, the board, acting through 130 the department, shall cause periodic management reviews to be 131 conducted as follows: 132 (a) The department shall establish a regional land 133 management review team composed of the following members: 134 1. One individual who is from the county or local community 135 in which the parcel or project is located and who is selected by 136 the county commission in the county which is most impacted by 137 the acquisition. 138 2. One individual from the Division of Recreation and Parks 139 of the department. 140 3. One individual from the Florida Forest Service of the 141 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 142 4. One individual from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 143 Commission. 144 5. One individual from the department’s district office in 145 which the parcel is located. 146 6. A private land manager, preferably from the local 147 community, mutually agreeable to the state agency 148 representatives. 149 7. A member or staff from the jurisdictional water 150 management district or local soil and water conservation 151 district board of supervisors. 152 8. A member of a conservation organization. 153 9. One individual from the Office of Coastal and Aquatic 154 Managed Areas. 155 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 156 259.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 157 259.04 Board; powers and duties.— 158 (1) For projects and acquisitions selected for purchase 159 pursuant to ss. 259.035 and 259.105: 160 (a) The board is given the responsibility, authority, and 161 power to develop and execute a comprehensive, statewide 5-year 162 plan to conserve, restore, and protect environmentally 163 endangered lands, ecosystems, lands necessary for outdoor 164 recreational needs, dry sandy beaches, and other lands as 165 identified in ss. 259.032 and 259.105. This plan shall be kept 166 current through continual reevaluation and revision. The 167 advisory council or its successor shall assist the board in the 168 development, reevaluation, and revision of the plan. 169 Section 6. Subsection (21) is added to section 259.105, 170 Florida Statutes, to read: 171 259.105 The Florida Forever Act.— 172 (21)(a) The Legislature finds that Florida beaches are an 173 extremely valuable economic and recreational resource. If this 174 state fails to adequately prioritize the acquisition and 175 management of public beaches, adequate provisions for such 176 beaches will not be made to ensure public access. Therefore, the 177 Division of State Lands and the Office of Coastal and Aquatic 178 Managed Areas shall establish a pilot program to conduct an 179 inventory of existing dry sandy beaches in preparation for an 180 application to the Acquisition and Restoration Council pursuant 181 to subsection (7). The inventory must do all of the following: 182 1. Determine the number of dry sandy beaches in this state. 183 2. Investigate the adequacy of existing public dry sandy 184 beaches. 185 3. Identify deficiencies in existing public dry sandy 186 beaches relating to public access and ancillary facilities. 187 4. Determine criteria for selecting and prioritizing the 188 acquisition of privately owned beach parcels. Such selection 189 criteria must prioritize acquiring suitable contiguous dry sandy 190 beach parcels and expanding the acreage of existing dry sandy 191 beaches in heavily populated counties. 192 5. Determine specific criteria and numeric performance 193 standards pursuant to subsection (7). 194 (b) The Division of State Lands and the Office of Coastal 195 and Aquatic Managed Areas shall use the inventory to 196 197 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 198 And the title is amended as follows: 199 Delete lines 6 - 23 200 and insert: 201 property; reenacting and amending s. 259.032, F.S.; 202 revising purposes for which the Governor and Cabinet 203 may expend moneys appropriated by the Legislature to 204 acquire the fee or any lesser interest in lands; 205 amending s. 259.035, F.S.; revising the composition of 206 the Acquisition and Restoration Council; amending s. 207 259.036, F.S.; revising the composition of the 208 regional land management review team; amending s. 209 259.04, F.S.; revising the goal of a comprehensive, 210 statewide 5-year plan to conserve, restore, and 211 protect certain lands; amending s. 259.105, F.S.; 212 providing legislative findings; requiring the Division 213 of State Lands and the Office of Coastal and Aquatic 214 Managed Areas to establish a pilot program to