Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 546
By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
Senators Mayfield and Harrell
592-01913-26 2026546c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to conservation lands; amending s.
3 253.0341, F.S.; requiring the Division of State Lands
4 to publish certain information on its website before
5 the Acquisition and Restoration Council or the Board
6 of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund
7 meets to review the proposed sale of conservation
8 lands; amending s. 253.42, F.S.; requiring that
9 certain parcels proposed for exchange be appraised in
10 accordance with certain criteria; deleting provisions
11 requiring the division to submit certain requests to
12 the council for review; deleting provisions requiring
13 the division to provide certain recommendations to the
14 board; requiring the division to publish certain
15 information on its website before the council or the
16 board meets to review a proposed land exchange;
17 requiring the division to submit certain requests to
18 the council for review and requiring the council to
19 provide recommendations to the division in certain
20 circumstances; requiring the division to provide
21 certain recommendations to the board of trustees in
22 certain circumstances; making a technical change;
23 amending s. 373.089, F.S.; requiring the governing
24 board of a water management district to publish
25 certain information on its website before meeting to
26 review the proposed sale or exchange of certain lands;
27 amending s. 215.196, F.S.; conforming a cross
28 reference; providing an effective date.
29
30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32 Section 1. Present subsections (7) through (19) of section
33 253.0341, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (8)
34 through (20), respectively, a new subsection (7) is added to
35 that section, and present subsection (11) of that section is
36 amended, to read:
37 253.0341 Surplus of state-owned lands.—
38 (7) At least 30 days before any meeting of the Acquisition
39 and Restoration Council or board of trustees to review the
40 proposed sale of conservation lands, the Division of State Lands
41 shall publish the following information on its website:
42 (a) The parcels of state-owned land for sale; and
43 (b) A statement from the division explaining why the lands
44 are no longer needed for conservation purposes.
45 (12)(11) Requests to surplus lands may be made by any
46 public or private entity or person and shall be determined by
47 the board of trustees. All requests to surplus conservation
48 lands shall be submitted to the lead managing agency for review
49 and recommendation to the Acquisition and Restoration Council,
50 and all requests to surplus nonconservation lands shall be
51 submitted to the Division of State Lands for review and
52 recommendation to the board of trustees. The lead managing
53 agencies shall review such requests and make recommendations to
54 the council within 90 days after receipt of the requests. Any
55 requests to surplus conservation lands that are not acted upon
56 within the 90-day period shall be immediately scheduled for
57 hearing at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the council.
58 Requests to surplus lands shall be considered by the board of
59 trustees within 60 days after receipt of the requests from the
60 council or division. Requests to surplus lands pursuant to this
61 subsection are not required to be offered to state agencies as
62 provided in subsection (8) (7).
63 Section 2. Present paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of
64 subsection (4) of section 253.42, Florida Statutes, are
65 redesignated as paragraphs (d), (e), and (f), respectively, new
66 paragraphs (b) and (c) are added to that subsection, and
67 paragraph (a) of that subsection is amended, to read:
68 253.42 Board of trustees may exchange lands.—This section
69 applies to all lands owned by, vested in, or titled in the name
70 of the board of trustees whether the lands were acquired by the
71 state as a purchase, or through gift, donation, or any other
72 conveyance for which no consideration was paid.
73 (4)(a) A person who owns land contiguous to state-owned
74 land titled to the board of trustees may submit a request to the
75 Division of State Lands to exchange all or a portion of the
76 privately owned land for all or a portion of the state-owned
77 land, whereby the state retains a permanent conservation
78 easement over all or a portion of the exchanged state-owned land
79 and a permanent conservation easement over all or a portion of
80 the exchanged privately owned land. State-owned land exchanged
81 pursuant to this subsection must shall be contiguous to the
82 privately owned land upon which the state retains a permanent
83 conservation easement. Each parcel proposed for exchange
84 pursuant to this subsection must have at least one appraisal
85 that follows the appraisal criteria, techniques, and methods
86 adopted by the board of trustees pursuant to s. 253.025(8)(e) If
87 the division elects to proceed with a request, the division must
88 submit the request to the Acquisition and Restoration Council
89 for review and the council must provide recommendations to the
90 division. If the division elects to forward a request to the
91 board of trustees, the division must provide its recommendations
92 and the recommendations of the council to the board. This
93 subsection does not apply to state-owned sovereign submerged
94 land.
95 (b) At least 30 days before any meeting of the Acquisition
96 and Restoration Council or board of trustees to review the
97 proposed land exchange of conservation lands, the Division of
98 State Lands shall publish the following information on its
99 website:
100 1. The parcels of state-owned lands proposed for exchange;
101 2. The privately owned parcels of land proposed for
102 exchange;
103 3. The portions of the lands identified in subparagraphs 1.
104 and 2. which will be preserved in a permanent conservation
105 easement;
106 4. A statement from the division explaining how the
107 exchange will result in a conservation benefit to the state; and
108 5. Any recommendations from the division and the council
109 related to the request.
110 (c) If the Division of State Lands elects to proceed with a
111 request, the division must submit the request to the council for
112 review, and the council must provide recommendations to the
113 division. If the division elects to forward a request to the
114 board of trustees, the division must provide its recommendations
115 and the recommendations of the council to the board.
116 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section
117 373.089, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
118 373.089 Sale or exchange of lands, or interests or rights
119 in lands.—The governing board of the district may sell lands, or
120 interests or rights in lands, to which the district has acquired
121 title or to which it may hereafter acquire title in the
122 following manner:
123 (6) Any lands the title to which is vested in the governing
124 board of a water management district may be surplused pursuant
125 to the procedures set forth in this section and s. 373.056 and
126 the following:
127 (a) For those lands designated as acquired for conservation
128 purposes, the governing board shall make a determination that
129 the lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes and may
130 dispose of them by a two-thirds vote. At least 30 days before
131 the governing board meets to review the proposed sale or
132 exchange of such lands, the governing board shall publish the
133 following information on its website, as applicable:
134 1. The parcels of district-owned lands for sale or proposed
135 for exchange;
136 2. The parcels of privately owned lands proposed for
137 exchange;
138 3. The portions of the lands identified in subparagraphs 1.
139 and 2. which will be preserved in a permanent conservation
140 easement; and
141 4. A statement from the district explaining why the lands
142 are no longer needed for conservation purposes.
143
144 If the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund
145 declines to accept title to the lands offered under this
146 section, the land may be disposed of by the district under the
147 provisions of this section.
148 Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 215.196, Florida
149 Statutes, is amended to read:
150 215.196 Architects Incidental Trust Fund; creation;
151 assessment.—
152 (1) There is created the Architects Incidental Trust Fund
153 for the purpose of:
154 (a) Collecting all funds received through the sale of
155 surplus state-owned office buildings, as defined in s. 255.248,
156 and the nonconservation lands associated with such buildings;
157 (b) Diverting funds referenced in s. 253.0341(15)(b) s.
158 253.0341(14)(b); and
159 (c) Providing sufficient funds for the operation of the
160 facilities development activities of the Department of
161 Management Services.
162 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.